Maryland baseball currently sits in the midst of its hardest stretch of opponents this season. The Terps are 1-8 in their last nine games and enter this weekend on a five-game losing streak. Over that nine game stretch, the Terps have lost midweek games to No. 22 West Virginia and No. 9 Virginia, while also being swept by No. 1 UCLA last weekend.

The Terps’ most recent loss came on Tuesday as they traveled down to Virginia Credit Union Stadium. The Terps fell to the Virginia Cavaliers 16-6, marking Maryland’s fourth double-digit loss of the season.

Despite the Terps entering the seventh inning of Tuesday’s game with a one-run lead, things quickly began to take a turn for the worst for Maryland. After surrendering two runs and the lead in the bottom of the seventh, a nine run explosion in the eighth for Virginia was enough to put the Terps away on a mercy rule.

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Logan Hastings started off the inning for the Terps, but it turned out to be his worst outing of the season. Hastings let up a season-high five runs in just 0.1 inning of work. That was followed by junior lefty Landon Edwards giving up the next four earned runs.

This weekend won’t get much easier for the Dirty Terps as they welcome No. 12 USC to College Park. This will be the first time in program history that the Terps face off against the 12-time National Champion USC Trojans.  

USC Trojans (24-2, 8-1 B1G)

Last Season 

The Trojans’ 2025 season didn’t finish the way they hoped. USC finished fourth in the Big Ten standings with a 18-12 conference record and a 37-23 overall record.

In the Big Ten tournament, USC was unable to make it out of pool play and advance to the semi-final round after losing to Penn State 2-1 and beating Washington 6-5.

It was more of the same for the Trojans in the NCAA Tournament. Despite a 13-1 victory over No. 22 TCU and a 6-4 win over Saint Mary’s, back-to-back losses to No. 8 Oregon State did not allow the Trojans to make it out of the Corvallis Regional.

This Season

USC currently sits second in the Big Ten standings with an 8-1 conference record despite having the best overall win percentage at .923 so far this year.

The Trojans got off to their best start in program history this season, winning each of their first 19 games. They tied their program best 19-game win streak that they previously set in 1955 and surpassed their previous best 15-0 start set in 1988. 

USC’s first loss came in the second part of a doubleheader against Northwestern. In that loss, the Trojans were walked off 2-1 by Northwestern after redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Adam Troy gave up an RBI single with two outs in the ninth.

Entering this weekend’s series, USC is coming off only its second loss of the season, dropping its latest midweek to No. 16 Oregon State, 12-4. After finding themselves down 9-0 halfway through the fourth inning, the Trojans were able to get on the board in the bottom of the frame as they plated four runs. That was all the scoring they would be able to produce throughout the game, while the Beavers were able to tack on three more in the ninth.

Hitters to Watch

Junior utility player Kevin Takeuchi has been as consistent as they come for USC this season. Starting in all 26 games for the Trojans, Takeuchi leads the team with 30 hits, nine doubles, three triples and 22 RBIs. The junior has a .316 batting average with three home runs. 

Junior infielder Adrian Lopez has also been a big contributor to USC’s offense this season. Lopez is currently batting .304 with 28 hits, 21 RBIs and two home runs. He went one for four with an RBI double in his most recent start against Oregon State.

Pitchers to Watch

The Trojans’ rotation is led by a stellar 1-2 punch in junior left-hander Mason Edwards and sophomore right-hander Grant Govel.

Edwards has had a remarkable season through his first six starts of 2026. Among qualified pitchers, the junior is posting a Big Ten low 0.25 ERA with seven hits over 36 innings pitched. He also leads the Big Ten with 64 strikeouts. Edwards has allowed a run in only one start this season, which came at Northwestern. In that game, Edwards only allowed three hits while striking out 10 Wildcats. Edwards was named last week’s Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season.

Govel, the Trojans’ second man in the rotation, is nothing short of an ace himself. Govel trails only Edwards for the best Big Ten ERA with a 0.69 through 39 innings. Govel has racked up 41 strikeouts in his six starts while allowing a Big Ten low four walks. The sophomore is coming off an outing against Washington where he gave up a season-high two earned runs through six innings pitched. Govel has been the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week twice this season.

Probable Starters

Friday: Lance Williams vs. Mason Edwards

Saturday: Evan Smith vs. Grant Govel

Sunday: Jake Yeager vs. Andrew Johnson