It was a successful weekend for Maryland (6-5) back in North Carolina. 

Despite playing four games in three days, the Terps finished the weekend 3-1, sweeping Princeton (1-7) and splitting with No. 12 Wake Forest (10-3) in Winston-Salem. Their victory over the Demon Deacons was the program’s first ranked win under Matt Swope. 

The Terps outscored their opponents 37-25 overall. The pitching woes that had gotten the best of the Terps in their first seven games of the season improved significantly while the offensive firepower remained steady.

Now, the Terps return to College Park for a four-game homestand, beginning with Tuesday’s midweek against the James Madison Dukes. The Terps narrowly hold the all-time series advantage, 36-35-1, winning both games against the Dukes last season to take the lead. 

Here’s what to know about the Dukes. 

James Madison Dukes (5-6)

Last Season

The Dukes finished last season 36-25, with a 17-13 record in the Sun Belt Conference.

As the fourth seed in the Sun Belt Tournament, the Dukes lost their first game against the No. 5 seeded Georgia Southern but then responded with a dramatic 10-9 victory over top-seeded Louisiana — who was also ranked No. 21 in the country at the time. The Dukes also defeated No. 8 seed Old Dominion, before falling to Georgia Southern once again.

The Dukes qualified for the NCAA tournament, traveling to Raleigh to take on No. 11 North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Bryant. The Dukes lost their first game to South Carolina but prevailed against Bryant in the following contest. JMU impressively took down South Carolina to reach the regional final, but ultimately fell 5-3, at the hands of the hosting Wolfpack. 

This Season

The Dukes have begun the 2025 season with a 5-6 record, currently putting them in a tenth-place tie among Sun Belt teams. 

They were swept by No. 9 Florida State to start the campaign — a series that included two shutout defeats. The Dukes responded with four straight victories — one against Radford, and an ensuing series sweep over Canisius. 

More recently, the Dukes lost their series against Fairfield this past weekend, losing 14-2 in game two before getting shut out for the third time this year in the series finale. 

Hitters to Watch

The Dukes’ leader on offense is graduate infielder Corey Dowdell. The graduate student, who has started in six games and appeared in 10, has a team-leading OPS of 1.018 and a batting average of .300 — tied for the team lead. Dowdell has just six hits this year, two of which have been doubles while another two have been home runs. Those two home runs are part of only three total home runs hit by the Dukes so far this season. He is also tied for the team lead in RBIs, with six.

Another name to watch is Eli Steadman. The senior outfielder is tied with Dowdell for that team lead in batting average. Steadham is also second on the team in on-base percentage (.382). 

The rest of the Dukes’ offense has had a very lackluster season. Amongst the four players to start all 11 games this season, the highest batting average is .222. 

Pitchers to Watch

The Dukes’ best pitcher this season has been sophomore reliever Corey Costello. He is yet to allow an earned run over five games and 12.1 innings pitched. Costello has also accumulated 13 strikeouts to seven walks, with a .167 opponent batting average, and a 1.14 WHIP.

Amongst the three pitchers to start three games, sophomore Jackson Logar has been the most impressive. He has a 3.65 ERA over 12.1 innings pitched, with a .240 batting average against. He’s added 18 strikeouts to eight walks.

Probable Starting Pitchers

The Terps will trot out freshman Jake Yeager for his second appearance. Yeager had a solid outing last Tuesday against Delaware and will look to avoid the trouble he ran into in his later innings.

JMU’s probable starting pitcher is senior Casey Smith. It will be his third start of the season. So far, he has amassed an 8.00 ERA over nine innings pitched.