With every passing game, Big Ten play becomes more important for the Terps

Following Friday’s 4-2 loss to Michigan State, the Maryland Terrapins fell to 3-9 in Big Ten play and now sit in 11th place in the conference. For a team that has made the postseason tournament in all three seasons since entering the league, a chance at a fourth consecutive visit is slipping away.

Reaching the Big Ten Tournament, which takes the top eight teams from the conference, is always one of the main goals for any team during the season, other than making the NCAA tournament. However, for the Terps this year, one will not come without the other.

Holding a 17-24 record overall, Maryland does not have a strong enough resume to warrant a seeding in an NCAA Regional series without a strong finish to conference play and, most likely, a Big Ten Tournament championship.

“Winning our conference is our best chance to keep playing baseball for a while,” said head coach Rob Vaughn. “We’re trying to put our best foot forward and run our best guys out there in a situation where we feel like we can compete in the league.”

In order to accomplish that, the Terps will need to play well for the remainder of the season. Following the final two games against Michigan State, which currently sits seventh in the Big Ten, Maryland will face off against Nebraska, Rutgers and Indiana. The Cornhuskers and Scarlet Knights are the two teams right above Maryland right now, also on the outside of the playoff picture, while the Hoosiers are in fourth.

The clearest way for Maryland to find a spot in the tournament as of now is simple: win their games and let the rest play out.

“What we can’t control is where we are in the standings. What we can’t control is the last two months of baseball,” said Vaughn a few series back. “All we can control is our effort today.”

Winning will present its own challenges, as the conference is filled with tough competition.

“[The] Big Ten is good this year,” said Vaughn. “Our schedule is very unforgiving.”

From the Michigan Wolverines, who just had their 20-game win streak snapped on Friday, to teams like Northwestern and Penn State, who only have one win each in the Big Ten, every team possesses a challenge. The Wildcats even stole one game from the Terps during their series at the end of March.

“Every Big Ten team [that’s] coming in here, wherever we’re going, they compete. Every game is a dog fight,” said senior outfielder Zach Jancarski. “We’re gonna get their best effort for three games. There’s not weekend where we can kind of take it easy.”

With 11 Big Ten games left on the schedule, the Terps have not entered “must-win” territory yet. If they can find their footing in the next series or two, they know they have enough time to turn things around.

“It’s still early,” said pitcher Tyler Blohm.

Besides time, there’s one other thing that the Terps believe they have that will propel them into the postseason: the players they put out on the field.

“I like our chances. I like our guys in our dugout,” said Jancarski. “I think we’re going to be just fine.”