A weekend of home cooking is among us.

The Maryland Terrapins (6-3) are set to host the Bryant Bulldogs (1-4) for three games at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium in the first home weekend series of the season beginning Friday at 4:00 p.m. ET.

After destroying Georgetown on Tuesday but getting blown out by Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday, the Terps look to get back to their winning ways.

It’s certainly been a busy stretch for Maryland, who, in addition to the two midweek games, won two out of three at the Kleberg Bank College Classic last weekend in Corpus Christi.

The Terps face a Bryant team this weekend who they have not faced since before the pandemic hit, but have a 13-2 all-time record against. Here is what to know about the visiting Bulldogs.

Bryant Bulldogs (1-4)

Last Season

With an overall record of 26-24 and a conference record of 12-12, the Bulldogs were relatively average last season. They finished in fourth place in the seven-team America East.

Bryant had a rough start to last year, which included a sweep to High Point and series losses to both Virginia Tech and Liberty – all of which were on the road. There were also some inconsistencies, including a five-game losing streak followed by a seven-game winning streak.

The Bulldogs got swept by the Maine Black Bears to conclude the regular season, who finished as the top team in the conference and who Maryland swept last season, including a 25-10 landslide on a rainy Friday night in College Park.

Although having a higher seed than their opponent when it came time for the America East Championships in late May, Bryant lost to No. 5 UMass Lowell to end its season.

This Season

The Bulldogs have had a rough go of it. In just five games, they find themselves sitting with just one win. It’s a small sample size, but things have not gone so well for the small Rhode Island school.

They could have beaten Central Florida in the first game of the season, but suffered a mid-game meltdown and ended up losing, 12-11, in Orlando. Weather put an end to the next two games of that series, as the first was suspended in the fifth inning and the second was canceled altogether.

Last weekend, the Bulldogs played at George Washington and despite salaving the first game of the series, they gave up double digits in each of the three matchups. Then, in a midweek matchup against Stonehill, Bryant dropped another game in its home opener.

Hitters to Watch

If your name is Gavin, then watch out: Gavin Greger and Gavin Noriega have been mashing so far this season. The former, a sophomore, has had 20 plate appearances and has a hit in half of them. He has driven in a team-leading nine runs and also has four doubles.

The latter, a senior, already has five home runs in as many games, which is the benefactor to a 1.091 slugging percentage. He also has seven runs and seven RBIs.

The Bulldogs have been averaging 6.8 runs per game in their first five games, and the lineup has not been as bad as their record shows. But the pair of Gavins should be circled on the scorebook this weekend after both of their hot starts.

Pitchers to Watch

Toby Scheidt has been a bright spot of the Bryant bullpen so far, as he has yet to give up an earned run in 4.1 innings of work. The sophomore is also averaging 14 strikeouts per nine innings and has a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.15.

Luke Delongchamp, whose only appearance was last Saturday against George Washington, pitched 3.2 innings and gave up four runs (one earned), five hits, and recorded a walk and a strikeout.

Bryant’s ace, Austin Wainer, has pitched to a 4.70 ERA in 7.2 innings and has already given up three home runs. He should take the ball on Friday afternoon against a Terps lineup that can end any pitcher’s outing early.

Probable Starting Pitchers

Friday, March 1: Kenny Lippman vs. Austin Wainer

Saturday, March 2: Logan Koester vs. Luke Delongchamp

Sunday, March 3: Joey McMannis vs. Tyler Horvat