Maryland baseball at UCF series preview

After a profitable two weeks, Maryland heads right down to Orlando, Florida, to face a red-hot Central Florida workforce to spherical out its nonconference schedule.

Maryland has received eight of its previous 9 video games, going from 4-7 to 12-8 in two weeks. Regardless of this, the Terps haven’t confronted a top-100 RPI opponent in that span, taking midweek video games in opposition to UMBC, Delaware and George Washington, and weekend sequence in opposition to Albany and Maine.

Now Maryland will get an actual check in UCF in a three-game sequence that might be out there to stream on ESPN+. The Friday and Saturday video games might be at 6 p.m, and the Sunday recreation might be at 1 p.m.

UCF Knights (15-6, 0-0 AAC)

UCF is in contrast to any workforce Maryland has confronted up to now two weeks. The Knights received huge wins over Florida State, Troy, Clemson and Georgia Southern of their nonconference slate. Head coach Greg Lovelady is in his seventh 12 months with this system and is trying to get the Knights to their first NCAA Match since his first 12 months in 2017. UCF most just lately suffered a walkoff loss at North Florida.

Gamers to look at

Ben McCabe, redshirt senior catcher, No. 40 — McCabe’s offensive numbers via 20 video games are spectacular. He has a 1.432 OPS, .912 slugging share, 10 dwelling runs and an otherworldly wRC+ of 216. It is just 20 video games in, however McCabe seems like one of the harmful hitters Maryland will face this 12 months,

Andrew Sundean, sophomore designated hitter/catcher, No. 44 — Sundean was a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 2022 and was named American Athletic Convention Participant of the Week final week tallying after 14 RBIs and two dwelling runs. He has a .455 batting common and has gotten on base in additional than half of his plate appearances in 14 video games.

Pitchers to look at

Ruddy Gomez, redshirt senior right-handed pitcher, No. 19 — Gomez is slated as UCF’s Friday starter, and might be the perfect pitcher on the employees. He presently has a 3.07 ERA and 35 strikeouts on the 12 months, with a stroll charge below 5%. Gomez is sweet at producing floor balls — final 12 months, 65% of contact in opposition to him was the bottom and this 12 months his ground-ball charge is 52.5%.

Kyle Kramer, senior right-handed pitcher, No. 30 — Kramer has the bottom ERA on the workforce at 2.70, however when taking a look at his different metrics his performances have been even higher. He has a 40% strikeout charge in 13 innings, and has solely three walks to his 20 strikeouts. Whereas he has allowed some hits, he’s nonetheless one in every of UCF’s finest relievers.

Energy

Offensive firepower. The Knights completely rake. They presently rank seventh within the nation in complete dwelling runs with 45, and 4 gamers on the roster have already got over 5 dwelling runs. Six gamers have 18 or extra RBIs, and 7 Knights have an OPS over .900. This workforce is deep with offensive expertise and might be a troublesome matchup for the struggling Maryland pitching employees.

Weak spot

Permitting hits. UCF’s pitching employees has surrendered loads of hits, averaging over eight hits per 9 innings and permitting 171 complete. The Knights don’t stroll many batters, however they do put individuals on base. If Maryland’s offense can break via, it could get a rally going that would make the distinction in a recreation.

Three issues to look at

1. How will Kyle McCoy do in his first huge begin? Maryland head coach Rob Vaughn has given Kyle McCoy the previous two Sunday begins, however has stored him on a leash with reference to pitch depend. This week, Vaughn advised McCoy, “it’s time to take the coaching wheels off,” and acknowledged his plan is to offer McCoy 85 to 90 pitches Sunday in opposition to UCF. McCoy confirmed he can deal after a one-hit shutout in opposition to Albany — can he do it in opposition to a high-powered offense like UCF?

2. Can Maryland’s offense produce in opposition to higher expertise? The Maryland offense has been wildly inconsistent. On at some point, it seems like the perfect offense within the nation, scoring 25 and 18 runs, respectively, in opposition to Maine and Albany in these sequence openers. However in some video games, the offense has been underwhelming. The Terps had been unable to drag away from UMBC and George Washington till the eighth inning, and their offense was silent when going through Albany in video games two and three. Going through higher pitching, Maryland can’t afford a chilly spell like final sequence.

3. Can Maryland’s pitching take care of the warmth? Maryland’s pitching has been subpar this 12 months, and mixing that with a robust offense is a trigger for a priority. However, it has not been as dangerous as of late, which might be an indication of a midseason turnaround. The Terps’ arms are definitely one thing to control.