As Maryland plays its first midweek road game of the season, they face a familiar foe in the Delaware Blue Hens. Though, instead of losers of three of their last four, this time the Terps ride a four-game win streak that was highlighted by their first sweep of the season against the Maine Black Bears.

Maryland kicked off last weekend with a dominant 25-10 victory where Jason Savacool was in prime form after allowing only one run on two hits after six innings pitched. The Terps also hit six homers on the night with Matt Shaw, Nick Lorusso, and Elijah Lambros getting two a piece.

Saturday proved to be a bit more suspenseful, but the Terps squeaked by with a 5-4 victory after a solo shot by Ian Petrutz in the bottom of the eighth gave Maryland a permanent one-run lead. Nigel Belgrave closed out the ninth.

Nate Haberthier, Kyle McCoy, and David Falco Jr. all combined for a one-run day to clinch the sweep for Maryland with a 9-1 victory on Sunday, which also saw home runs from Matt Woods and Bobby Zmarzlak. The Terps’ efforts got them over the .500 plateau as they climbed to 8-7 on the year.

Delaware Blue Hens (6-9)

Last Season

Delaware had an underwhelming season last year as they only managed a 25-26 record and went a miserable 8-15 in conference play in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Blue Hens finished second-to-last in the conference and went into the conference tournament as the No. 8 seed. Their season ended with two straight losses to the No. 6 Northeastern in the tournament. 

Delaware’s offense was far from miserable last year, however, as they finished the year with a .277/.356/.439 slash line, with the batting average being good enough to place them at the top of their conference. The Blue Hens also had three hitters bat over .300 on the year in second team All-CAA Joseph Carpenter, two-way player Bryce Greenly, and Jake Dunion. Two out of three of these players remain on the roster. It was the Blue Hens’ pitching that gave them issues, as their above-five ERA and 1.54 WHIP was only good enough for seventh in the conference.

This Season

Delaware has continued its losing ways, as after 15 games they once again find themselves underwater at 6-9. The Blue Hens offense has remained at a high level with an even higher slash line of .287/.402/.473, but their pitching has fallen off a cliff with an overall ERA of 8.54 and a horrendous WHIP that sits at 2.01. However, the team comes into Tuesday relatively hot after they took two of three during a weekend series at home in which they outscored Hofstra 40-22.

Hitters to Watch

Delaware lost one of its best hitters from last year in Joseph Carpenter, but the Hens have had multiple players fill the gap. Like last year, Bryce Greenly continues to lead the team with a .368 batting average, with his 21 hits on the year being good enough for second-best on the team. 2022 First team All-CAA Joey Loynd continues to build on last year’s campaign, with a slash line of .344/.419/.656 as he leads the team with 22 RBIs and four home runs. 2022 Honorable mention All-CAA member JJ Freeman, Jake Dunion, and Brett Lesher are also all batting over .300 for the Blue Hens.

Pitchers to Watch

Although Delaware’s pitching has been unquestionably horrendous to start the year, there have been those who have been far from disappointing. One such name is Joey Silan who in four appearances and 16.1 IP has maintained a 4.41 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. Dan Frake has also made four appearances and has maintained a 3.48 ERA with a 1.35 WHIP after 10.1 IP. And Bryce Greenly is once again earning his two way player title as he has started four games in four appearances so far, although he does have an 0-2 record with a 6.00 ERA. 

Probable Starting Pitching Matchup

TBD

One cannot predict for certain who will start this game for the Terps, though it remains a strong possibility that Logan Ott will get the nod. This is after the midweek starter in the last two games in Kyle McCoy pitched three innings in the Sunday win against Maine. Ott has formed the second part of a one-two punch with McCoy for midweek games with a 4.85 ERA in 13 IP and a 2-0 record on the year. Ott did not pitch this weekend, so there is a strong chance he at least makes an appearance against the Blue Hens.

In Delaware’s three midweek games on the year, there have been three different starters, although Wyatt Nelson, who started the midweek game against the Terps two weeks ago, has been utilized heavily in every midweek game so far. Nelson also did not pitch in any of the Hofstra games in the weekend series for the Blue Hens, so he may earn the start for Wednesday’s game in Newark.