No. 21 Maryland (30-7, 7-2 Big Ten) at Illinois (19-15, 10-2)
Apr. 22
Memorial Stadium
9:00 p.m. EST
Apr. 23
Memorial Stadium
3:00 p.m. EST
Apr. 23
Memorial Stadium
8:00 p.m. EST
COLLEGE PARK, MD -- The Maryland baseball team takes on the Illinois Fighting Illini for a weekend series starting on Friday at 9 p.m. EST. The Terps are coming off a dramatic 4-3 victory against Towson this past Tuesday as the reigning Big Ten Player of The Week
Bobby Zmarzlak hit a go-ahead solo home run in the tenth inning to win the game. Maryland has accumulated a 30-7 record to begin the year, the program's best mark through 37 games in school history. Maryland is currently ranked at No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The Rotation
- Nick Dean, Ryan Ramsey, and Jason Savacool have combined to be one of the most formidable weekend rotations in the entire country.
- Dean has starred on Friday nights, accumulating a 0.93 ERA in his first three starts against Baylor, Campbell, and Michigan.
- Ramsey leads the team and the entire Big Ten conference in wins with seven, defeating Baylor, Campbell, Indiana State, Cornell, Siena, Dallas Baptist, and Minnesota so far this season. Ramsey's 13 strikeout performance against the Big Red was a career-high and helped earn him Big Ten pitcher of the week honors.
- Savacool leads the entire country in innings pitched with 64 and also leads the Big Ten in strikeouts with 76 punchouts so far this year.
Impact Starters
- The Terps received a boost when starting center fielder Chris "Bubba" Alleyne spurned signing with an MLB team and announcing his return to College Park for his fifth year of eligibility. This season, Alleyne is batting .311 with a career-high 10 home runs and 36 RBIs.
- After a stellar freshman year where he batted .332 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs, Matt Shaw is back for the Terps. Against Baylor, Shaw terrorized the Bears, batting .538 with four runs scored, five RBIs, and two home runs en route to earning the Big Ten Player of The Week award. On March 11th, Shaw hit a walk-off two-run home run to defeat the Georgetown Hoyas 10-9.
- Troy Schreffler Jr. is enjoying a breakout season in his junior year, batting a team-high .356 to go along with five home runs and 33 RBIs. Schreffler Jr. has also been incredible on the defensive end, with his diving catch against Georgetown earning him a spot on SportsCenter's Top Plays.
- Third baseman Nick Lorusso has been stellar to start the year, batting third in the lineup and hitting .331 with seven home runs and 38 RBIs. Lorusso has reached base in 34 of 37 games this season and was recently on an 18-game hitting streak.
- Maryland has had four players win Big Ten Player of The Week honors with Matt Shaw, Troy Schreffler Jr., Nick Lorusso, and Bobby Zmarzlak all taking home the award this season.
Costes Crushing It
- Senior leader and All-Big Ten performer Maxwell Costes is batting .273 this season and is currently second in the Big Ten in home runs with 11. Costes now has 35 career home runs, good for second-most all-time in program history. Costes now trails only Paul Schager's 43 which was hit between 1984-87.
- Costes has also been hit by 57 pitches in his career, good for second all-time in Maryland baseball history.
- He trails Kyle Convissar's 67 hit by pitch mark, set between 2011-14.
Meet The Coaches
- Fifth-year Head Coach Rob Vaughn signed a contract extension this past summer after the program reached its first regional since 2017. Vaughn is a career 123-89 as the coach of the Terps Matt Swope and Anthony Papio return to the bench this year for Maryland, with Papio being named assistant coach this past summer. Mike Morrison joins the staff from Coastal Carolina, where won a national championship as a player in 2016 and where he spent the last two years as Director of Player Development and Scouting of the Chanticleers, as well as interim pitching coach. Former Maryland baseball player Tommy Gardiner joins the staff as Director of Player Development after spending the last four seasons playing under Vaughn, Swope, and Papio.
Scouting The Opponent
- OF/INF Cam McDonald has been strong for the Illini, batting a team best .361 to go along with six home runs and 36 RBIs.
- Cole Kirschsieper projects to start one of the weekend games for the Illini having accumulated a 2.75 ERA in 52.1 innings pitched.
Series History
- This will be the 20th, 21st, and 22nd matchup between Maryland and Illinois with the Terps holding the slight 10-9 advantage in the series.
- Last season saw the Illini take two out of three against Maryland.
