Maryland Baseball returns to the diamond this weekend for a three-game series with the Charlotte 49ers. The Terps come into the weekend second in the Big Ten standings, and this weekend will begin a 7 game road trip for Maryland. Friday will be the third all-time meeting between the two schools, with the previous two coming in the 2021 NCAA Greenville Regional. They split the meetings, but Maryland’s victory eliminated Charlotte that season.
Where we are:
Maryland
The Terps have had a fabulous start to the season, sitting at 10-3 over their first 13 games. The Terps won a nail-biter on Tuesday at The Bob, a 3-2 final over Delaware. They were led by great pitching by Ryan Van Buren and Omar Melendez. This upcoming series against the 49ers is Maryland’s penultimate series before beginning conference play.
Charlotte
The 49ers are coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history. Charlotte went 36-28 and 17-12 in their final season in Conference USA. They won the C-USA tournament, their first conference tournament win since 2011. They were also the three-seed in the Clemson regional and made it to the regional final while knocking out #3 Clemson along the way. This season, the Niners have started 7-6 and have already played two series against power 5 opponents (Virginia Tech and West Virginia). They are coming off of a 5-2 over Western Carolina on Tuesday, a game that saw 49ers pitching strikeout 18 Catamounts. They will begin their first season of conference play in the American in two weeks at Florida Atlantic.
Series Schedule:
Due to inclement weather expected in the Charlotte area over the weekend, the series schedule has shifted. The two teams will play Friday afternoon, and a doubleheader on Sunday, beginning at 12:00. In addition, game two of Sunday’s doubleheader will be 7 innings.
Friday – 3:00: Kenny Lippman (1-0, 1.20 ERA) vs Cole Reynolds (1-1, 6.35 ERA)
Lippman threw his best outing of the season last time out against Bryant. He went six innings allowing just one unearned run. Reynolds is a senior and an Elon transfer from Clayton, Delaware. He will be making his fourth start of the season. His last start of the season came on March 1st, and he threw well against Old Dominion, going five innings and allowing one run.
Sunday – 12:00: Logan Koester (3-0, 2.25 ERA) vs Cameron Hansen (1-2, 4.73 ERA)
Similar to Lippman, Koester also had his best outing of the season last weekend against Bryant. It was also the best outing by a Maryland starter so far this season and the first time a Term pitcher finished seven innings. Koester didn’t allow a run in his seven innings while striking out four, and allowing just one hit. A senior from Hendersonville, TN, Hansen was a two time C-USA Pitcher of the Week last season. He struggled in his first two starts, but held Old Dominion scoreless through five innings last time out.
Sunday – 3:00 Joey McMannis (0-0, 3.24 ERA) vs TBD
McMannis made his first career collegiate start last Sunday and it did not go as he had hoped, but he will make another start for the Terps this weekend. McMannis went just two and a thirds innings allowing three earned runs throwing 51 pitches. He’ll look for a bounce back start against the 49ers this weekend. Charlotte has not announced a starter for Sunday’s game.
Hitters to watch:
Maryland
Kevin Keister is starting to heat up for the Terps. He has a hit in four of Maryland’s last five games, and had three hits on Tuesday in the win over Delaware. Jacob Orr continues to sizzle for the Terps, adding two hits on Tuesday including a big RBI single, bumping his average up to .346. Coming into the weekend, Eddie Hacopian currently ranks 2nd in the Big Ten in runs, 5th in average, and leads the conference in walks.
Charlotte
Charlotte is led by the top two hitters in their lineup, starting with Tyrone, Georgia native Thad Ector. Ector is hitting .378 and has 14 hits in the team’s first 13 games. In the two spot, third baseman Noah Furcht is hitting .341 for the 49ers and has 15 hits. Shortstop Brandon Stahlman leads the team with 11 RBIs.
All three games can be streamed on ESPN+. All Maryland Baseball games are free to listen to on the Maryland Baseball Network.
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