Maryland baseball opens 2022 season facing Michigan State
Maryland Beginning Baseman Maxwell Costes (Photo Courtesy of Maryland Athletics)
The Terps are set to return to the field on March v, opening with a four-game weekend series against Michigan State at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.
Maryland enjoyed a promising 2022 season, finishing 10-5, before the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Offensively, junior infielder Maxwell Costes is the team'southward leader. The Baltimore product led Maryland with a .432 batting average, while adding four habitation runs and 15 RBI in the shortened 15-game season.
D1Baseball.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Clan awarded Costes First Team Preseason All-American honors. He was as well named one of 55 players named to United states Baseball's Golden Spikes Honour Preseason Watch List, awarded to the best amateur baseball player in the United States.
"Max stepped in from mean solar day 1, and the guy can just hit," Maryland head coach Rob Vaughn said. "He'southward just a presence in the lineup. He's an intimidating dude."
Junior outfielder Randy Bednar also impressed. He finished with 1.040 OPS last season, leading the team in doubles (9), RBI (16) and total bases (36). Fellow junior outfielder Chris Alleyne is another talented bat in Maryland'southward lineup. Final flavor, his OBP was .410 and he led the team with 18 runs.
Withal, the Terps will wait for more than product from the rest of the lineup every bit only four players hit over .250 last season.
While the Maryland pitching staff struggled in 2020, redshirt sophomore Sean Burke was a breakout star.
The 6-foot-6 from Sutton, Mass, stuck out 35 batters in 22 2/3 innings. Burke led starting pitchers with a 1.99 ERA and teams only hit 0.183 against him.
"[Burke] is an imposing concrete kid," Vaughn said. "He has the fastball that plays. He was astounding in his four starts. It was every bit electric equally it gets."
Burke struggled in the pre-flavor later recovering from Tommy John surgery, which led to him missing his freshman flavour.
"Probably the worst I've pitched in my life," Burke said. "It was something that was necessary and allowed me to abound up. Information technology allowed me to have a mindset shift and accept a more simple approach to the game."
It's expected that Burke is the ace of Maryland'southward rotation moving forrad.
Confronting Michigan Land, the Terps will have a tough challenge with the talented Spartans rotation highlighted by Stonemason Erla and Jarrett Olson.
"I am not thrilled to see Mason Erla right out of the gate," Vaughn said. "That guy has had quite a career at Michigan State."
Erla was nearly unhittable in 2020. The redshirt junior struck out 42 batters in 26 innings with a 1.04 ERA in 4 starts. Olson was too strong for the Spartans has he struck out 28 in 26.2 innings, while batters merely hit .149 against him.
Michigan State's lineup also presents some issues, every bit the Spartans hit .293 in fifteen games last flavor. Senior outfielders Bailey Peterson and Bryce Kelley along with redshirt sophomore infielder Peter Ahn lead the fashion offensively.
Last season, Peterson had an OPS of 1.070 and tied Kelley to lead the team in steals with eight. Kelley led Kelley led the Spartan with 17 runs scored, while Ahn led the team in slugging and tied the squad atomic number 82 in RBI's with fifteen.
If Maryland is to win this series, the pitching must meliorate from 2020. The Terps will rely on Shush to atomic number 82 a staff that had a 4.twenty ERA. Senior pitcher Sean Fisher is looking to improve later on a 5.66 ERA in 2020.
Sophomore Nick Dean is expected to go along progressing this year subsequently posting a iii.98 ERA in 2022 striking out 23 in twenty. 1 innings.
And at the plate, Maryland needs more than than its "Big Three" to produce against a staff that had a iii.35 ERA. The infield tandem of senior Austin Chavis and junior Benjamin Cowles alongside sophomore outfielder Tucker Flint are expected to step up also.
Outset pitch is Friday at half-dozen:30 p.m. on the game will air on BTN Plus.
Source: http://wmucsports.net/maryland-baseball-opens-2021-season-facing-michigan-state/
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