The Terps take a seven game winning streak into Big Ten play Saturday after 61 years in the ACC. They’ll begin their history in the Big Ten against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Minnesota (7-10) has yet to play a home game. They’re coming off a split of a two-game set with Richmond, a team who Maryland beat 8-3. The Golden Gophers allowed 25 runs in the two games against the Spiders.

Maryland’s offense is operating at an all-time high. The Terps have averaged 10.6 runs per game over their current winning streak. For more stats and figures on the 2015 Terps, check out the game notes.

Pitching Matchups

SATURDAY AT 1 PM

So. RHP Mike Shawaryn (4-0, 2.84) vs. Sr. RHP Ben Meyer (0-2, 4.56)

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The first battle of Big Ten aces in 2015 will be a good one.

Shawaryn is the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after an 11 strikeout performance that saw the Terps’ righty shutout the Princeton Tigers over seven innings of work. He leads the Big Ten in strikeouts by a wide margin and is holding opponents to a .189 batting average.

Meyer was one of the best pitchers in the conference in 2014, finishing sixth in ERA (2.39), fifth in strikeouts (67) and fourth in innings pitched (98). He’s as seasoned as they come and should be one of the best starting pitchers the Terps have seen this season.

SATURDAY AT 4:30 PM

Fr. LHP Willie Rios (1-0, 2.19) vs. Jr. LHP Dalton Sawyer (3-2, 3.54)

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Rios was terrific in his last start against Princeton, allowing only four hits over six innings while shutting out the Tigers. He could’ve pitched deeper but was pulled after 72 pitches. The freshman showed he can be economical by keeping the ball down in the zone and forcing batters to pound pitches into the slow Shipley Field turf.

Sawyer is transitioning into the starting rotation this year after posting a 2.62 ERA as the team’s closer last year. He is considered a major prospect and is pitching well at the moment. Scouts will certainly be paying close attention to the Rios-Sawyer Saturday matchup.

SUNDAY AT NOON

Sr. RHP Bobby Ruse (4-0, 3.50) vs. So. RHP Tim Shannon (1-1, 3.86)

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Ruse makes his second start of the season after leaving the bullpen last weekend. Bobby struck out eight Princeton hitters in five innings on Monday as he looks to pin down the Sunday starter role with another strong outing.

Shannon is in his first year with the program after transferring in. His control has been excellent, having walked only two batters over his first 21 innings. He’ll be the third Minnesota starting pitcher to toe the rubber at at least 6-foot-5 this weekend.

Scouting the Gophers

This is the first ever meeting between Maryland and Minnesota.

The Gophers have been a long-time powerhouse in the Big Ten. Head coach John Anderson is in his 34th season in Minneapolis and has taken Minnesota to 17 NCAA Tournaments. He’s had 32 winning seasons and has captured 16 Big Ten titles and six Coach of the Year awards. Anderson has more wins than any other Big Ten coach (1,151) and has produced 90 pro draft picks, including 18 Major Leaguers.

Strengths: experience, rotation

Offensively, Minnesota returned five of their top eight hitters from last season, including their top four bats. Connor Shaefbauer led the team in hitting last year and returns for his third year at second base.

Matt Fiedler has had a breakout sophomore campaign, ranking second in the conference in hitting with an average of .422. He’s slugging at .609 and has been dominant on the mound, allowing only one hit through six innings this season.

Dan Motl, Tony Skjefte, Jordan Smith and Michael Handel all started last year as well and will be in the lineup this weekend against the Terps.

The rotation for the Gophers is as steady as there is. The ace, Ben Meyer has had an ERA in the twos throughout his career. Dalton Sawyer has only allowed 19 hits in 28 innings this seasons and Tim Shannon has only walked two batters through 21 innings and has a sub-4 ERA. They are all capable of pitching deep into games, and will likely need to.

Weaknesses: offensive firepower, bullpen

Despite an experienced and united lineup, the Gophers have not been hitting this year. Their team slash line of .242 / .313 / .344 is well off the Terps pace of .305 / .411 / .467. Fiedler is the only Gopher batting above .258.

In the bullpen, Minnesota has five relievers with double-digit ERAs. Excluding their weekend rotation, 10 of their remaining 13 arms have ERAs north of six. The Terps will look to rally late in games again this weekend.