#17 Terps Set for Showdown with #18 Nebraska
4/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 17 Maryland baseball team will host No. 18 Nebraska in its second Big Ten home series of the season this weekend at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium.
Friday's contest will be streamed live on BTN2Go and aired on tape delay on BTN. Sunday's game will be shown live on BTN.
Leading it off
No. 18 Nebraska
Sat., April 4
12:00 p.m. RHP Mike Shawaryn (6-0, 2.11 ERA) vs. RHP Chance Sinclair (4-3, 3.45 ERA)
Sat., April 4
3:00 p.m.. LHP Tayler Stiles (2-2, 3.81 ERA) vs. LHP Kyle Kubot (1-1, 1.33 ERA)
Sun., April 5
12:00 p.m. TBA vs. RHP Derek Burkamper (4-1, 2.87 ERA)
Location: College Park, Md.
Stadium: Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium
Television: BTN (Friday; 7 p.m., Sunday)
Live Streaming: BTN2Go (Friday, Sunday)
Live Audio: Maryland Baseball Network
Live Stats: umterps.com
Twitter: @TerpsBaseball
*Parking Information: Parking in Union Lane Garage is $3 per hour from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. daily. Admitted Student Open House is expected to bring up 4,000 to campus and will be using lot 1. Arrive early.
• With a 3-1 win over Michigan Saturday, Maryland head coach John Szefc picked up his 300th career win as a head coach. Szefc has 88 at Maryland after winnings 212 as the skipper at Marist.
• The contest will mark Maryland's first all-time meeting with Nebraska.
• Sophomore second baseman Brandon Lowe captured Big Ten Player of the Week honors on March 23 after a spectacular performance at the plate. Lowe batted .522 (12-for-23) with eight runs scored and seven RBIs. He recorded two home runs, two triples and two doubles along with the game tying RBI against Elon.
• Lowe hit his sixth home run Wednesday against James Madison. His total ranks second in the conference.
• In its first year in the Big Ten, Maryland has put together an offensive performance that paces the conference. The Terrapins lead the league in slugging percentage (.446), on-base percentage (.395), runs scored (193), triples (10) home runs (23) and walks (128). Maryland ranks third in average at .285.
• Maryland's pitching staff has been mowing opposing batters down all season. The Terps lead the Big Ten with 226 strikeouts on the season, including 79 struck out looking, also a conference high.
• Third baseman Jose Cuas is second in the Big Ten in RBIs with 27 and ranks t-3 in the conference with five home runs. Cuas is fourth in the Big Ten in runs scored (24).
• Alex Robinson has been untouchable this season in relief. The junior has not given up an earned run over 11.0 innings of work and has 16 strikeouts to just two walks.
• Kevin Mooney earned his second save of the season in the win over Minnesota set a new Maryland career saves record (24). The record was previously held by Brett Cecil. Mooney recorded his third save against Michigan.
LOWE SETS THE TABLE
• He is seventh in the country in runs per game with 1.31.
Super Shawaryn
MARYLAND BY THE NUMBERS
.395...Maryland's on-base percentage, good enough for 25th in the country.
1...Maryland won its first regional title in 2014
1.31...Brandon Lowe's runs per game, which is the seventh best mark in the country.
7.4...Maryland's runs per game, good enough for 15th in the country.
8.9...The number for strikeouts per nine innings for the Terps so far this year, good enough for 25th in the nation.
34...Brandon Lowe's number of runs, the most in the B1G and 11th in the nation.
54...Mike Shawaryn's season strikeout total, the most in the B1G and 20th in the country.
POWER SURGE
• Maryland has already topped its home run output of 19 dingers from last season.
• Brandon Lowe is second in the conference with six home runs. Jose Cuas is third with five homers.
Highly rated
| Terps in the Polls | ||||||||||
| D1Baseball | Baseball America | USA Today/ESPN | NCBWA | |||||||
| Team | 17 | NR | 15 | 28 | ||||||
• After a historic 2014, Maryland has received its highest preseason ranking in history from multiple polls. D1Baseball.com had the Terrapins the highest at No. 14.
• Maryland is the highest ranked Big Ten team in most major polls.
Preseason Honors
INF Jose Cuas
• Perfect Game Preseason All-Conference Team.
INF Brandon Lowe
• D1Baseball Preseason All-American (3rd Team)
• Big Ten Player to Watch
RHP Kevin Mooney
• Big Ten Player to Watch
• 2015 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List
RHP Mike Shawaryn
• D1Baseball Preseason Big Ten Pitcher of the Year.
• Big Ten Player to Watch
B1G Favorite
• The Terps have been picked to top the Big Ten in its inaugural season in the conference. The conference's coaches voted on the top six teams.
1. Maryland
2. Nebraska
3. Illinois
4. Indiana
5. Michigan
6. Ohio State
• Maryland is also the consensus selection to win the conference among national publications.
Super 2014
• Following a 43-year absence, Maryland advanced to the NCAA Tournament, and then swept the Columbia Regional, beating Old Dominion and South Carolina, to make their first trip to a Super Regional in team history. The squad's first victory in that regional over the Gamecocks snapped the home team's 28-game postseason winning streak. Maryland fell one game short of a trip to Omaha, falling to Virginia in the Super Regional.
• Maryland set a school record for wins in a season with 40. The Terps notched its third straight winning season, a streak not seen since 1976-78.
• The Terrapins left the ACC with a bang, notching its first winning season in the conference since 1981 and appearing in the ACC title game for the first time since 1976
• The Terps' success did not fly under the radar. Maryland finished the season with its highest ever ranking, rising to as high as No. 13 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Terps finished the season ranked 14th by Baseball American, Collegiate Baseball News and Perfect Game. The NCBWA ranked the Terps No. 16 in its final poll.
Postseason Plaudits
• The Terps had five players named to the Columbia All-Regional Team led by centerfielder Charlie White (graduated), who was named the regional's most outstanding player. Jose Cuas (third base), Kevin Martir (catcher) Mike Shawaryn (pitcher) and LaMonte Wade (first base) joined White on the squad.
• Shawaryn and Brandon Lowe earned Freshman All-American honors from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, the NCBWA and Perfect Game. Shawaryn recorded a Maryland single-season record 11 victories while Lowe paced the Terps in average (.348), slugging (.464), on-base percentage (.464) and triples (3).
• Lowe, White and Jake Stinnett all earned All-ACC honors. Stinnett and White were named to the second team while Lowe was a third-team selection.
• Maryland had three players placed on the ACC All-Tournament Team. Martir batted .462 in the tournament and added two home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs. Wade and Blake Schmit were also named to the team.
Stellar Szefc
• Head coach John Szefc is 70-48 at Maryland entering his third year in College Park. No Maryland skipper has ever won that many games in a two-year span.
• Szefc picked up his 300th career victory against Michigan on March 28.
• The native of Middletown, N.Y., has coached 80 players that have been drafted or signed professional contracts since 1997.
• Szefc earned 30 victories in his first season, the most ever by a Maryland first-year head coach. He was most previously the associate head coach at Kansas State.
pro Terps
• Four Terrapins were selected in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, led by Jake Stinnett who was taken 45th overall by the Chicago Cubs. Left-handed pitcher Ben Brewster was chosed in the 15th round by the Chicago White Sox while Charlie White was picked in the 21st round by the Cubs. Blake Schmitt rounded out the selections, drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 26th rounds.
• The four join former Maryland players Brett Cecil (Toronto Blue Jays), Justin Maxwell (San Francisco Giants)*, Alfredo Rodriguez (Milwaukee Brewers), Adam Kolarek (New York Mets), Jimmy Reed (St. Louis Cardinals) and Jack Cleary (Milwaukee Brewers) as members of MLB organizations.
