No. 23 Maryland baseball vs. Delaware midweek preview

No. 23 Maryland baseball (30-15, 11-4 B1G) looks to extend its seven-game win streak in a weekday matchup against Delaware (21-23, 10-11 CAA).

The Terps will work to get the season sweep over the Blue Hens after taking the first two games earlier this season.

Maryland was originally scheduled to meet Mount St. Mary’s on Tuesday, but the game was canceled Monday afternoon.  

The Terps are coming off a weekend sweep against Indiana, moving atop the Big Ten standings. The victories pushed Maryland into D1Baseball’s rankings.

“Proud of the guys for finishing,” coach Rob Vaughn said. “We’ve set that up three times this year and [it’s] the first time being able to finish the weekend.”

The Hoosiers were in first entering the weekend, but the losses dropped them down to third. The sweep in Bloomington was the first since 2011, when Minnesota swept Indiana. 

Maryland used an offensive explosion to defeat Indiana, outscoring the Hoosiers 43-12 and posting double-digit runs in each of the three games. The Terps collectively batted .407 during the series with eight home runs.

Shortstop Matt Shaw broke the program’s all-time home run record last Wednesday with his 44th career blast against Georgetown, and he continued his hot stretch over the weekend, batting .571 on the weekend alongside three home runs. Shaw’s performances earned him Big Ten Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. 

The junior is batting .359 on the season, posting a team-high and conference-high 18 home runs.

The bottom of the lineup has also been red hot for the Terps recently. Their seventh, eighth, and ninth hitters contributed for 37% of Maryland’s runs against Indiana.

“The bottom of the lineup is really getting going and when that happens this lineup gets really scary … when some of those guys at the bottom get going it just lengthens your lineup,” Vaughn said. 

The pitching side is where the Terps have struggled this season. Their collective 6.00 ERA is the third-worst in the Big Ten, and they’ve allowed five or more runs in 14 of their 15 losses. 

Junior Nate Haberthier is likely to receive the starting nod on Wednesday, as the right-hander started the past three Tuesday games. Yet, Haberthier has struggled in 34 innings, posting an 8.21 ERA on the season. He’s also failed to make it out of the fourth inning in any of his past four starts. 

The Blue Hens have struggled on the mound too, sporting a 6.65 ERA on the season. Delaware holds a poor 10.50 ERA in the two meetings against Maryland this season. 

Delaware has no clear Wednesday starter, having started six different arms in its 10 midweek games this season.

Junior right-hander Wyatt Nelson has seen the most time on the mound against the Terps, throwing 11 innings en route to a 10.64 ERA.

Unlike their pitching, the Blue Hens excel offensively, averaging 7.68 runs per game. Redshirt junior infielder Joey Loynd leads the group with team-highs in batting average (.368), OPS (1.046) and RBIs (56).

Infielder Dan Convino has showcased power for the Blue Hens, blasting a team-high 10 home runs. The redshirt senior struggled in both games against Maryland, batting a combined 2-11 at the plate with no RBIs or home runs. 

“We’re gonna have to be ready to go because it’s so easy to look ahead … we can’t come out and be sluggish,” Vaughn said. 

First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Bob Hannah Stadium. 

“There’s a lot of baseball left to be played,” Vaughn said. “We’ve got three big weeks coming up that we got to finish.”