The two-month marathon has come down to this.

After winning the past two Big Ten regular season titles, the Maryland Terrapins find themselves in relatively unfamiliar territory.   

Maryland (34-19, 10-11) currently sits in a three-way tie with Michigan State and Ohio State for seventh in the Big Ten (all with 10-11 conference records). One game behind that trio is Minnesota and Penn State, who hold a tie for tenth at 9-12 each. 

All five squads still have a chance to make the eight-team conference tournament. But with the top six teams in the Big Ten already being virtual locks for tournament berths—barring complete chaos—three of the five will almost certainly see their seasons end after this weekend.     

While there’s a host of scenarios that could play out the bottom line is this: Maryland controls its own destiny. No matter what happens elsewhere, the Terps are guaranteed a spot in the Big Ten Tournament if they can sweep the Nittany Lions. 

Taking two of three from Penn State would also give Maryland a pretty good chance at securing a tournament berth, but if the Terps lose this weekend’s set the 2024 campaign will likely come to an end.        

With so much still up for grabs across the Big Ten, let’s take a look at the Penn State squad that Maryland will be hosting this weekend. 

Penn State Nittany Lions (23-23, 9-12)

Last Season

Penn State hasn’t had a huge track record of success since joining the Big Ten in 1992, and last season was yet another addition to that lineage.

The Nittany Lions were very average overall—finishing the campaign at 25-25—and lacked significant midweek or non-conference series victories throughout the season. A night and day difference based on location was also hidden in this evenly split record. 

Penn State went a combined 23-8 in home and neutral site games but was ultimately plagued by a dreadful 2-17 record on the road. Just one of those two away victories came in the Big Ten, which caused the Nittany Lions to miss out on the conference tournament with a 12th-place finish.     

This Season

Despite being slightly better on the road this season, Penn State has also been slightly worse at home. Oddly enough though, the minor difference in each has once again left the Nittany Lions at .500 overall (23-23 to this point).

Penn State has played below this .500 mark in the Big Ten, but the Nittany Lions have been better than they were in 2023. At 9-12, they already have more conference wins than they had last season and they’ve also won two Big Ten sets thus far, which is an improvement on the lone series victory they notched last year.     

Also as previously mentioned, the Nittany Lions still have an outside shot of making the Big Ten tournament, which wasn’t in the cards at this time last year. 

Hitters to Watch

The Nittany Lions tote a fairly deep lineup that primarily prizes the on-base tool rather than excessive power numbers. 

Leading the pack in batting average is catcher J.T. Marr. The Penn State two-hole hitter flaunts a .418/.467/.598 slash line, while also leading the team with his 46 RBIs. Including Marr, the Nittany Lions have five qualifying hitters who reach base at a clip of .400 or better. 

Because of the limited power threats, Grant Norris and Adam Cecere’s 27 combined home runs—14 and 13 respectively—account for 45% percent of Penn State’s 60 total long balls. Cecere also leads his squad in OPS, at 1.094.       

Pitchers to Watch

Like many teams in the Big Ten, Penn State has featured two consistent weekend starters this season and tried a plethora of arms in the Sunday-slot. 

Neither Travis Luensmann (Friday starter) nor Jaden Henline (Saturday starter) have been dominant this year, but both have shouldered a huge chunk of the innings load for the Penn State pitching staff. 

The righty Luensmann stands at an imposing 6ft.-6in. tall, with an arsenal that includes effective strikeout stuff. However, he also has a tendency to be wild, averaging just over four walks per game in his 12 starts this season.   

Henline has the exact same 1.56 WHIP as Luensmann, yet his ERA is nearly two points higher, at 6.50. Nevertheless, the senior is coming off his best outing of the season after tossing seven shutout innings against Rutgers last Saturday.  

Probable Starters

Thursday: Omar Melendez vs. Travis Luensmann

Friday: Logan Koester vs. Jaden Henline 

Saturday: TBD vs. TBD

Other Notable Points

*Maryland will honor its seniors prior to Saturday afternoon’s series finale.

**Head coach Matt Swope told the media on Wednesday afternoon that Joey McMannis would be unavailable this weekend due to illness.