The Terps head south for their final nonconference series of the season.
Maryland baseball (9-8, 1-2 Big Ten) makes its furthest trip south of the season to Tampa, Florida, to face USF this weekend.
In the Terps’ first conference series last weekend, they finished 1-2, followed by a heartbreaking loss to No. 23 Virginia on Tuesday.
Maryland then bounced back Wednesday, beating Mount St. Mary’s 9-3 to get back in the win column.
Friday’s game will start at 6:30 p.m., while Saturday’s game will begin at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s game will kick-off at 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.
USF Bulls (7-7, 0-0 AAC)
2024 record: 26-29, 11-16 AAC
Head coach Mitch Hannahs is in his first season with USF after 11 seasons at Indiana State. In his time coaching the Sycamores, Hannahs accumulated more than 350 wins, while guiding them to four of the last five NCAA Tournaments and the 2023 NCAA Super Regional. He also won the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2023 and 2024.
Hannahs took over a USF team with only one winning season in the past six, but it already has four wins against power conference opponents this year. The Bulls defeated Iowa twice in their opening series and beat UCF and Villanova.
Hitters to watch
Ryan Pruitt, junior outfielder, No. 27 — This is Pruitt’s third team in three collegiate seasons, playing for Western Texas in 2023 and Yavapai College in 2024. Pruitt is one of two players to start every game so far, leading the Bulls with a .373 batting average and 19 hits. He also has two home runs.
Sebastian Greico, senior first baseman, No. 9 — The fifth-year is playing his first season for the Bulls. Greico batted .299 in his previous two seasons at Florida A&M and has picked up where he left off. The Tampa native leads the team with a 1.262 OPS, six home runs and 20 RBIs in 13 games.
Jackson Mayo, senior outfielder, No. 4 — Mayo is the only returning player with at least 20 at-bats in the top five in batting average this season. The senior has been a regular starter all four years at USF and is batting a career-best .275. He is third on the team with six RBIs and a home run as well.
Pitchers to watch
Corey Braun, redshirt junior left-hander, No. 31 — Braun is at his fourth school in as many years, but looks to have found a home. The redshirt junior has started four games, pitching a 2.59 ERA in 24.1 innings with a 2-0 record to lead the team.
Bryce Archie, junior right-hander, No. 25 — Archie is a dual-sport athlete who also plays quarterback for the football team. This is his second season at USF, cutting his ERA by more than half to 3.27, the team’s second-best mark, in three starts.
Jorge DeCardenas, senior right-hander, No. 34 — The Charlotte transfer has split time between starting and the bullpen this season, pitching a 4.97 ERA. He is second on the team with 12.2 innings pitched.
Strength
Starting Pitching. USF has a combined nine starts from guys with an ERA below five, keeping them in games.
Weakness
Bullpen. USF’s bullpen is not as strong, with most relievers posting an ERA above six in large sample sizes.
Three things to know
1. Three-game series. Maryland has not won a three-game weekend series this season, going 1-2 against Western Carolina and UCLA.
2. Bullpen struggles. Maryland’s bullpen has struggled all season and looked to have turned a corner Sunday against UCLA. However, they blew another game against Virginia on Tuesday.
3. The offense is still producing. The Terps are still top 10 in the nation in runs per game (10.2) and total runs (164), despite posting a losing record over the past week.