The Terps look for their first series win of the season.
After a polarizing win at home in its midweek contest against George Mason, Maryland baseball stays in College Park to face Northwestern this weekend.
Maryland’s offense struggled on the road last weekend at Washington, scoring just six runs in three games, dropping two of them.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Friday, 2:00 p.m. Saturday and 1:00 p.m. Sunday. All three games are available on Big Ten Plus.
Northwestern (10-12, 3-3 Big Ten)
2024 Record: 18-34, 4-20 Big Ten
Head coach Ben Greenspan is in his second season leading the Wildcats. The first-time head coach took over a Northwestern program that had not been successful at any point this century, as its last winning season came in 2000 and its worst year came in 2023 with 10-40 record.
In Greenspan’s first season in 2024, the Wildcats improved by eight wins. However, they struggled to compete in conference play, winning only four games. This season, Northwestern already has three wins in Big Ten play, though.
Hitters to watch
Trent Liolios, junior infielder, No. 28 — After failing to hit above .209 in his first two seasons, Liolios has broken out, leading the team with a .371 batting average, 21 RBIs, 26 hits, nine home runs and a 1.301 OPS.
Owen McElfatrick, junior infielder, No. 8 — For the second straight season, McElfatrick is a consistent bat in Northwestern’s lineup. He is second on the team with a career-high .316 batting average, 24 hits and seven doubles.
Ryan Kucherak, sophomore infielder, No. 17 — The LSU transfer has started all 22 games this season for the Wildcats. He is batting .256 with five home runs and 14 RBIs.
Pitchers to watch
Sam Hliboki, graduate right-hander, No. 16 — After five seasons at Vanderbilt, Hliboki has been a staple in Northwestern’s rotation. He has made 11 appearances — four starts — pitching to a 3.78 ERA in 33 innings.
Matthew Kouser, freshman right-hander, No. 26 — Kouser leads the team with seven starts this season, pitching 32 innings and earning a 5.63 ERA with a 2-2 record.
Crawford Wade, graduate left-hander, No. 23 — Crawford spent five seasons at Wake Forest, recording a 4.47 ERA. He has not seen the same success in six starts this season, as his ERA has risen to 6.82 in 30.1 innings pitched with a 2-3 record.
Strength
Defense. Northwestern is top 10 in the nation with a .983 fielding percentage, committing only 15 errors this season.
Weakness
Starting pitching. Northwestern has three pitchers with over 30 innings of work and ERAs of 3.78, 5.63 and 6.82.
Three things to know
- Bad Company. Maryland suffered two losses to the Wildcats last season — which was half of their conference win total for the season.
- Alex Calarco’s revenge game. Maryland’s best hitter, Calarco, will play against his former team for the second time as a Terp this weekend.
- New momentum? Despite trailing for much of the game against George Mason, Maryland scored 9 runs in the eighth inning to win, 15-8, as they look for any spark going forward.