Preview: Maryland baseball returns home after 10-game road trip to face Illinois

Photo courtesy of Chris Lyons/Maryland Athletics

Maryland baseball seeks to snap its Big Ten series losing streak in its weekend series against Illinois in College Park.

Maryland (26-16, 6-9 Big Ten) returns to Bob Turtle Smith Stadium after a two-week road stretch that saw the Terps go 4-6, including its fourth consecutive Big Ten series loss against Nebraska.

“It’s been a rough season. There’s no doubt about that.” coach Matt Swope said. “It’s the first time in a while I think that we’ve had the back-to-back Big Ten road series, which is not common [and] wrapped around the mid-weeks of being away.”

The Terps have just three Big Ten series remaining — two at home — making the matchup against Illinois an important series. The team currently sits three games under .500 in conference play. 

The series is a must-win for the Terps. Losing another conference series would put the team in a situation where they would need to win at least five of their last six conference games to reach the .500 mark in conference play.

However, a series win this weekend will be difficult since Illinois (24-13, 10-2 Big Ten) enters the weekend at the top of the Big Ten standings. The last time Maryland finished with a sub-.500 conference record was in 2018.

The series will also be crucial for Maryland’s RPI. The Terps’ road win against James Madison places them at No. 43 — second-best in the Big Ten — while Illinois enters the series ranked No. 70 in RPI.

The fighting Illini have won their past eight games, including a series sweep against Northwestern. Maryland lost two of three games to Northwestern two weeks ago.

Spearheading the Illinois offense is catcher Jacob Schroeder. The senior leads the team with a .370 batting average and a .482 on-base percentage and can also hit for power. His 11 home runs are just one shy of the team lead.

Illinois also features great depth in its lineup showcasing seven players with at least 28 games played and hitting over a .300 batting average.

“I think they have a lot of power,” Swope said. “They’ve always been able to hit they’ve always been offensive.”

Maryland is coming off a 6-4 win against James Madison – a crucial big bounce-back win for the Terps after an ugly showing in their final game against Nebraska. 

The Terps showcased timely hitting and got an excellent performance from their bullpen, which used just two pitchers and allowed four combined baserunners over 6.2 innings.

The staff may get a boost in the weekend series against Illinois, as Swope said after practice on Thursday that Alex Walsh should be back soon. While Walsh doesn’t feature game-breaking statistics — a 6.75 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP — the Terps’ bullpen needs healthy arms.

Swope revealed Thursday that James Gladden and Garrett French are out for the season and Duke McCarron is dealing with an injury. 

Trystan Sarcone is also dealing with an injury since exiting Maryland’s game against UMBC on Apr. 3 but returned against Nebraska on Apr. 19.

Maryland will begin its three-game home series against Illinois on Friday at 5 p.m. The Terps will round out the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.