COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The Maryland baseball team (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) heads to Coastal Carolina (4-3, 0-0 Sun Belt) to face off for a three-game series at Springs Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina. First pitch for Friday, Feb. 28, is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. Saturday afternoon's contest is slated for a 2 p.m. ET start, while Sunday's series finale will begin at 1 p.m. ET.

The Last Time Out

• Maryland improved to 6-1 with a win in its first midweek matchup of the season, a decisive 13-3 victory over George Mason on Tuesday. Randy Bednar and Maxwell Costes contributed home runs while RHP Zach Thompson tossed five innings of one-run ball in his first start of the season for the Terps.

The News and Notes

• After not hitting a homer in the first four games of the season, Maryland has blasted seven in its last three games. Costes leads the charge with three, going deep in three of his last six at-bats. Bednar, Austin Chavis, Benjamin Cowles, and Troy Schreffler Jr. have also gone yard for the Terps.
• Maryland leads the nation in hit-by-pitches, already at 27 through seven games. The Terps led the conference in HBPs last year and have started the 2020 campaign in a similar fashion. Tucker Flint has been plunked a team-high seven times, a mark which ranks eighth-highest in the nation.
• The new-look starting pitching rotation for the Terps has been dominant through the first two weekends of the season. Sean Fisher, who had only come out of the bullpen in his first two seasons, has starred in the Friday night slot, tossing 11.2 innings giving up just one run. Nick Dean was solid in his debut vs. Iona and occupies the Saturday spot, while Burke has been electric in both of his starts this season, leading the team with 16 strikeouts and ranking second among starters with a 0.84 ERA.
• 10 of Maryland's 12 freshmen have already seen the field through the first seven games of the season. Two of them are starting pitchers (Dean, Burke), three are relief pitchers (Sam Bello, Connor Staine, Ryan Ramsey) while five others have made their debut in the field.
• Flint has started in all seven games either at left field or as the designated hitter. Flint caught fire in his opening weekend, leading the team in hits (6) and runs scored (6).
• Schreffler and Aaron Perez have been in-and-out of the lineup at left field and second base, respectively. Matt Orlando got a start at third base, Bobby Zmarzlak got a start as DH but has been primarily used as a pinch hitter, and Michael Bouma got a pinch-hit opportunity.
• Bednar, Costes, and Fisher all landed selections on the Big Ten Preseason "Players to Watch" list.
• Costes was selected as a preseason third-team Diamond Sports All-American, Collegiate Baseball newspaper announced. Costes became the first freshman in Maryland history to receive first-team All-Big Ten honors and was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year following the 2019 campaign.
• Bednar was named a third-team preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Bednar received second-team All-Big Ten honors following his sophomore campaign in which he notched a team-high 70 hits, 48 runs scored, and 55 RBIs.

The Matchups

• LHP Sean Fisher (2-0, 0.77 ERA, 11.2 IP, 9 K, 4 BB) vs. RHP Zach McCambley (1-1, 2.08 ERA, 13.0 IP, 18 K, 2 BB)
• RHP Nick Dean (0-0, 6.75 ERA, 9.1 IP, 11 K, 4 BB) vs. LHP Scott Kobos (0-2, 2.45 ERA, 11.0 IP, 9 K, 1 BB)
• RHP Sean Burke (1-0, 0.84 ERA, 10.2 IP, 16 K, 6 BB) vs. RHP Nick Parker (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 10.0 ERA, 6 K, 2 BB)

The Opposition

• Coastal Carolina is 4-3 on the season with all of their games coming at home in Springs Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C.
• The Chanticleers are on a two-game winning streak after beating Kennesaw State (13-5) and West Virginia (14-2) in a non-traditional doubleheader on Sunday, Feb. 23.
• McCambley, Kobos, and Parker have proven to be Coastal's most reliable starters, each of them having pitched at least 10.0 innings on the season. McCambley's 2.08 ERA is the best among Chanticleer starting pitchers.
• Shortstop Scott McKeon has given Coastal Carolina its most offensive production, batting .393 (11-for-28) with seven runs scored. Catcher BT Riopelle leads the team in extra-base hits (4) and RBIs (7).