Non Rev

Maryland baseball welcomes Big Ten leading Illinois to College Park

Head Coach Matt Swope Maryland Baseball at Georgetown at Capital One Park in Tysons, VA on Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2024. Chris Lyons/Maryland Athletics Photo by Chris Lyons/Maryland Athletics

The schedule does not get any easier for Matt Swope and the Dirty Terps. After dropping a series to second place Nebraska, Maryland will now play a three-game set against the current conference leaders, Illinois. This is the Illini’s first trip to College Park since 2018; they hold a slim 12-10 advantage in the all-time series. Here’s a preview for this weekend:

Where We Are

Illinois

The Illini are having a season to remember. Illinois is 10-2 in Big Ten play, holding a two-game lead over both Nebraska and Purdue. They are a dominate 15-1 at home, but have struggled a bit on the road, going 4-8 so far. The Illini have an opportunity to win their first Big Ten regular season title since 2015, and are looking good to make their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. Illinois is also winners of eight straight games, including a 12-1 thrashing of Western Illinois in their last time out on Tuesday.

Maryland

The Terps picked up a a really nice non-conference win on Tuesday at James Madison. The Dukes were 23rd in RPI before Tuesday’s game, and the Terps jumped up four spots to 42 following the win. Maryland got excellent bullpen work from Kenny Lippman and Logan Berrier, and the first collegiate home run for Michael Iannazzo (a three-run blast in the fifht) proved to be the game-winner. With the Terps’ at-large hopes all but dashed, every Big Ten game becomes critical so Maryland can be one of the eight to make the Big Ten Tournament. Maryland is currently 6-9 in Big Ten play, good for ninth in the standings.

Series Schedule

Friday – 5:00 – Jack Crowder (3-1, 5.03 ERA) vs Logan Koester (4-5, 6.44 ERA)

Crowder has been on a good run recently allowing seven runs in his last 17 innings. His last start was a good one as he pitched into the seventh inning against Northwestern and allowed just two runs. Illinois will likely let Crowder work deep into the game as well, as his lowest pitch count of the season is 84, which came against Minnesota at the beginning of the month.

Koester’s first Friday night start of the season did not go great in Lincoln last weekend. He lasted four innings allowing six earned runs. Koester has really struggled in conference play after a great run to start the season in non-conference play. He has allowed at least five earned runs in his last four starts, not making it out of the fifth inning in any of them.

Saturday – 2:00 – Cooper Omans (4-1, 3.55 ERA) vs Omar Melendez (3-1, 4.76 ERA)

Nova Southeastern transfer Cooper Omans has had a nice season on the bump for the Illini. He threw a gem in his last outing against Northwestern going seven innings and allowing just one. His Big Ten starts have been a bit of a rollercoaster as he allowed six to Penn State earlier in the season, but has gone at least five innings in each of his last three starts.

In Melendez’s first start of the season last week, he gave Maryland one of their best pitching performances of the season going six innings and allowing just two earned runs in route to Maryland’s only win in Lincoln last weekend. After spending almost all of the season in the bullpen, Melendez will likely be thrust into the rotation for the remainder of the season after his stellar outing against the Cornhuskers.

Sunday – 1:00 – Regan Hall (2-1, 5.27 ERA) vs Joey McMannis (0-1, 4.95 ERA)

The Albuquerque native Hall has only made two starts for Illinois this season but has pitched a significant amount of long relief. He threw five good innings against Northwestern last weekend and will likely pitch a fair amount on Sunday. Hall was the number two left-hander coming out of the state of New Mexico for his graduating class.

McMannis had his first clunker of the season last week allowing eight runs to Nebraska in just three innings. It was the first time all season he had allowed more than three earned runs in an outing this season. Despite last week, McMannis has been one of the Terps’ most consistent pitchers this year and will look for a bounce-back start this weekend against the Illini.

Hitters to Watch

Illinois

The Illini’s lineup is extremely dangerous. They have hit 71 home runs, more than any team in the conference. They are led by leadoff man Jacob Schroeder, who’s 1.265 OPS leads the Big Ten. Another notable name for Illinois is Coltin Quagliano, who comes into the weekend with a sixteen game hitting streak, and even more impressively, has ten multi-hit games during that span. Each of the first six batters in the Illini lineup currently have an average of over .300.

Maryland

Eddie Hacopian continues to be on a tear for the Terps. His batting average of .391 currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten and his 53 hits are tied for second in the conference. He has hit safely in 22 of his last 24 games. Additionally, Sam Hojnar comes into the weekend with a six-game hitting streak. He also has two homers and six knocked in during that span.

Friday’s game can be seen on Big Ten Network, while Saturday and Sunday can be streamed on Big Ten Plus. All Maryland baseball games are free to listen to on the Maryland Baseball Network.