No. 15 Maryland baseball vs. James Madison preview (part two)

It was a terrific weekend for No. 15 Maryland baseball, sweeping Michigan within the Terps final house sequence of the season to crack the 40-win mark and transfer right into a tie for first place within the Massive Ten. Now, in its final midweek sport of the season, Maryland will host James Madison on Tuesday.

The primary sport within the Michigan sequence was an sudden nail biter as Michigan tied the sport with a six-run seventh inning. However junior outfielder Troy Schreffler Jr. stole house on a wild pitch within the eighth inning, clinching an 8-7 Maryland win on Friday.

On Saturday, beginning junior left-handed pitcher Ryan Ramsey uncharacteristically let up six runs, but it surely didn’t matter a lot. Behind sophomore shortstop Matt Shaw’s whopping eight RBIs and three house runs, Maryland exploded offensively to win, 20-6.

On a sunny Senior Day in Sunday’s sequence finale, Maryland overpowered Michigan once more by scoring 15 runs. The primary 4 batters within the order totaled 10 RBIs to assist lead Maryland to the sequence sweep in a 15-10 win.

James Madison, however, was swept by Hofstra in a three-game sequence final weekend.

Tuesday’s sport will start at 5 p.m. and will probably be streamed on BTN Plus.

What occurred final time

The earlier time these two groups confronted off was in Harrisonburg, Virginia, on April 13. It was a nailbiter, however Maryland managed to drag out the 8-7 win.

The Dukes struck first within the second inning when redshirt sophomore shortstop Mason Dunaway hit an RBI single, and freshman catcher Jason Schiavone blasted a two-run homer to place James Madison up 3-0 by way of two innings.

Maryland instantly struck again within the prime of the third inning with an RBI double from freshman second baseman Jacob Orr. Two batters later, a sacrifice fly from fifth-year heart fielder Chris Alleyne introduced the Terps inside one run.

This back-to-back scoring affair continued within the backside of the third when junior heart fielder Travis Reifsnider hit an RBI double adopted by Fenwick Trimble’s RBI fielder’s alternative. After 2 ⅔ innings pitched, sophomore right-handed pitcher Logan Ott was taken off the mound, and the Dukes held a 5-2 lead.

However Maryland wouldn’t give in. Orr contributed once more within the prime of the fourth with a two-RBI single with the bases loaded. An ensuing RBI double from sophomore catcher Luke Shliger tied the sport heading into the underside half of the inning.

Nonetheless, Dunaway scored after a wild throw by Shliger put James Madison up 6-5 after 4 innings.

James Madison wouldn’t rating once more till the underside of the seventh. A wild pitch from senior right-handed pitcher Sean Heine introduced redshirt junior third baseman Trevor Dabney house.

The Dukes held a 7-5 edge with two innings left, however Maryland wouldn’t surrender as Orr got here up clutch but once more within the prime of the eighth with a two-run RBI single to tie the sport at seven apiece.

Alleyne was the hero with a game-winning solo homer to proper area within the prime of the ninth.

What’s occurred since

Maryland has been on a tear since final assembly up with the Dukes, and it’s been a nightmare for any workforce that has come within the Terps method.

The Terps have gone 15-3 because the James Madison sport and haven’t misplaced a single weekend sequence in that span. They managed to tie Rutgers for first place within the Massive Ten after beating the Scarlet Knights in a street sequence after which sweeping the Wolverines at house.

The Dukes have been simply above .500 since their sport towards the Terps with a 9-8 file in that span. They at the moment sit in fourth place within the Colonial Athletic Affiliation and will probably declare third with a sequence win towards UNC Wilmington this weekend.

Three issues to look at

1. Who will declare the Massive Ten house run crown? Earlier than the Michigan sequence, this wouldn’t have been a lot of a query. In latest weeks, Alleyne held the lead for house runs within the convention. Nonetheless, sophomore shortstop Matt Shaw hit six homers in three video games towards the Wolverines to catapult himself into the Massive Ten-lead for homers. Presently, Shaw has 19 homers on the season whereas Alleyne shouldn’t be far behind with 18. It’s a two-man race of Terps on the prime, however who will declare the highest spot with simply 4 video games left to play? This makes for a enjoyable storyline to look at, each inside the workforce and the convention.

2. Will James Madison come out like final time? Maryland has struggled with its midweek pitching rotation at instances this 12 months, which has allowed some groups to steal a sport from the Terps. James Madison might thieve a win towards Maryland if it replicates its efficiency from simply over one month in the past. Nonetheless, the Dukes simply bought swept by a Hofstra workforce that has a 26-21 file. In addition they couldn’t rating greater than six runs in a sport final weekend, which in all probability is not going to be sufficient to beat Maryland’s explosive bats.

3. Can Maryland tie the all-time program single-season wins file? The Terps have a file of 41-10 after their sweep of Michigan. The 2015 Terps went 42-24, setting the file for probably the most wins in program historical past. That workforce managed to make all of it the way in which to the Tremendous Regionals of the NCAA Match, and this 12 months’s squad has excessive aspirations as effectively. In the event that they win on Tuesday, the Terps might tie the program-best mark with three video games left to play, not together with postseason video games. Maryland is enjoying in addition to anybody within the nation proper now, and it’s on its strategy to shattering that file.