After a weekend series which saw Maryland take two out of three in Columbus, the Terps remain on the road, though closer to home as they take on the George Washington Colonials for this week’s midweek game.

This will be Maryland’s second midweek matchup against George Washington, with the Terps taking the first matchup at home in a 9-6 victory. Maryland also comes into this game on a roll after earning its 17th straight conference series win against Ohio State this past weekend.

Jason Savacool had yet another dominant outing to start out the weekend, only allowing six hits and one run in a six-inning outing to lead Maryland to the 7-5 victory. Saturday would prove to be more suspenseful for the Terps, though Eddie Hacopian sealed the 3-2 victory and series win with an eighth inning RBI single. Kyle McCoy made his first start after being hit in the face by a line drive against Rutgers last Sunday, and the freshman proved to be a bit rusty, allowing six runs in only 3.1 innings as the Terps dropped the final game of the series, 13-8.

George Washington Colonials (13-24, 4-5 A10)

Last Season

George Washington didn’t have the strongest season, finishing with a 22-30 record overall and 10-14 record in conference play. The Colonials finished ninth overall in the A10, which wasn’t good enough to make the conference tournament. George Washington ended its season with a series win against UMass.

The Colonials’ offense wasn’t an issue last season, as they finished with a .285/.368/.409 slash line, with their batting average being good enough for fourth overall in the conference. They were led by First Team A10 Conference member Cade Fergus, who had a .321 batting average and team-leading 13 home runs and 37 RBI.

George Washington’s pitching wasn’t top tier, but its 5.43 team ERA was good enough for fourth in the conference. Although this may be a sign of weaker A10 pitching overall, as the Colonials allowed opponents to have a .284 batting average and possessed a substandard 1.62 WHIP on the year.

This Season

The Colonials have seemingly suffered a slight regression this year, though they come into this weekend with a decent amount of momentum after gaining their first conference series win against Fordham. They outscored Fordham 32-21 to take two out of three in a hard-fought battle between the conference foes.

George Washington could build more momentum for conference play if they are able to beat the Terps. A Tuesday victory would give them their first three-game win streak of the season heading into a home weekend series with VCU, the defending A10 conference champions.

Hitters to Watch

George Washington lost its best hitter in Cade Fergus to the 2022 MLB Draft after he was selected in the 13th round by the Philadelphia Phillies, but the Colonials have stepped up for a nearly identical .285/.371/.431 on the year so far.

Eddie Micheletti has come into his own after his 2022 season was cut short by injury as he leads the team with a .361 batting average and also has three home runs and 31 RBI on the season. Graduate student and transfer Michael Kohn has also been a huge add as he as .326/.438/.576 slash line with a team leading seven homers and 34 RBI. Sam Gates has also been a rising star for George Washington, as he didn’t play in his first season last year due to injury, but he holds a .314 batting average with four home runs and 22 RBI on the year.

Pitchers to Watch

Pitching this year has been truly abysmal with a 7.56 ERA, allowing a .311 batting average to opponents with a disastrous 1.85 WHIP on the year. Though one Colonial who has stood out for good reasons on the pitching staff is Colin Ruddy, who has a 4.85 ERA after 13 IP, with his best outing being against Binghamton where he pitched a hitless and scoreless 3.2 inning outing.

There is also Max Haug, who started George Washington’s last midweek game against Maryland and had his best outing on the year, tossing five innings while only allowing six hits and two runs on the day. Haug has only gone downward since however, as he has an 8.74 ERA on the year with a 1.99 WHIP after 22.2 IP.

Probable Starting Pitchers

TBD

The Terps haven’t had a consistent midweek starter since head coach Rob Vaughn moved McCoy into the Sunday starting role. Nate Haberthier may start another Tuesday game, although with a 7.32 ERA on the year and a 2.2 inning start with three runs allowed last Tuesday against Georgetown, Vaughn may look elsewhere. Ryan Van Buren, who didn’t pitch this weekend and has started in Tuesday games in the past, is another potential candidate to start.

George Washington has also had no consistent Tuesday starters through the year, starting a different player in each of its past four midweek games. Austin Odell has six starts under his belt, highlighted by a 6.0 inning one run outing against JMU, and he didn’t pitch in the Fordham series, which probably makes him the Colonials strongest starting candidate.