Maryland baseball will keep the young season rolling on Tuesday, as they face off against in-state rival Mount St. Mary’s at 4 p.m. from ‘The Bob’ in the team’s home opener. Although the Terps lead the all-time series 10-3, the Mountaineers took the last two games in College Park, one of which was the last matchup between the two squads a decade ago.

The Terps are coming off a weekend down in Statesboro, Georgia, where they clinched their first series of the season against the Georgia Southern Eagles, two games to one. Although the squad was unable to complete the sweep in Sunday’s finale, the team’s impressive debut on both sides of the ball has the season off to a strong start. 

Perhaps the most encouraging thing for the Terps thus far has been their bullpen. Last season, the team struggled to find a reliable arm out of the pen. However, in the season opener, multiple new arms had strong performances, as only a third of Georgia Southern’s runs were scored on relief pitchers. Most notably was true freshman Joey McMannis, who pitched four scoreless innings in Game 2 in his first ever collegiate baseball appearance. 

Looking ahead, here is what to expect from the Mountaineers.

Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (1-2)

Last Season

In the 2023 season, the Mountaineers finished just under .500 with an overall record of 25-27 and a 10-14 record in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). This ranked No. 7 out of 11 teams, and they were the first team out of the conference playoffs.

The team was impressive at home, securing a 13-10 record, but was disappointing on the road, finishing 10-15 while they were 2-2 at neutral sites.

This Season

The Mountaineers also had their first series of the season this past weekend, where they went 1-2 against Norfolk State on the road. In their victory, they were dominant, beating the Spartans, 14-4. 

However, in the final game of the series, Mount St. Mary’s suffered a heartbreaking 7-6 loss. Up 6-5 entering the bottom of the ninth, the pitching staff surrendered a game tying home run. The game would last until the bottom of the 12th, when a single into left field scored a Norfolk State runner from second. 

Hitters to Watch

On the offensive side, The Mount has a few hitters which the Terps will need to keep in check. The first is graduate student David Stirpe, who finished his first weekend with a .273 batting average, .884 OPS, three hits (two of which were doubles), and three runs scored.

Another is senior first baseman Shane Wockley. Thus far, Wockley has a .250 batting average, .688 OPS, three hits, and one run scored. However, where Wockley has been most impressive is his RBI and walk numbers. He is tied for first on the team with five RBIs and is second in walks with four. 

Despite solid starts, the two players do have a shared flaw: strikeouts. They struck out five times apiece across the first three games, tied for the team lead. The Terps should look to capitalize on this. 

Pitchers to Watch

Two out of the three starting pitchers for the Mountaineers from this past weekend got roughed up in their debuts, both surrendering ERAs of over seven. The best starting performance came from sophomore Brandon Yagesh. He finished his outing with two earned runs over four innings pitched, with two hits and one walk surrendered but four striekouts to account for it. He comes into Tuesday’s game with a 4.50 ERA, an impressive .143 batting average allowed, and a 0.75 WHIP. 

However, the bullpen for the Mountaineers has been impressive. In his lone appearance thus far, sophomore Kyle Speas did not allow a run over four innings pitched, also surrendering three hits, one walk, and tallying four strikeouts. His batting average allowed .200 and his WHIP is 1.00. 

Probable Starting Pitchers

The most likely starter for the Terps appears to be graduate student Kenny Lippman, who tossed a gem in his first appearance in the first game of the season on Friday. For the Mountaineers, right now it is unclear as to who will take the rubber.