The Dirty Terps are hitting the road for their second conference series away from College Park in 2026.

Maryland bounced back from a sour end to its weekend series against No. 12 USC with a dominant, run-rule midweek win over Richmond, avenging the Terps’ 7-5 loss to the Spiders from March 17.

Maryland brought out the bats big time against Richmond, slugging seven extra base hits with four home runs across the lineup. Two of the four long balls came from Jackson Sirois, who’s been especially hot for the Terps since playing his former squad, No. 9 Virginia, on March 24 in Fredericksburg.

Trying to build momentum after its 19-4 thrashing of the Spiders, here’s what Maryland needs to know about this weekend’s host.

Ohio State Buckeyes (14-13, 4-5 Big Ten)

Last Season

Ohio State had a year to forget in 2025.

The Buckeyes finished dead last in the Big Ten, going 5-25 in conference play with a 13-37 record overall. Ohio State struggled mightily away from Columbus, going just 1-17 in road games last season.

Arguably the lone bright spot of the Buckeyes’ 2025 season was infielder Tyler Pettorini. The then-senior started all 50 games for Ohio State, hitting .319 with a .921 OPS and 10 home runs. He signed with the Phillies organization last summer and currently plays with their Low-A affiliate.

This Season

After hitting rock bottom in 2025, the Buckeyes have improved so far in 2026.

Unsurprisingly, the Buckeyes went portal-hunting in the offseason, majorly shaking up the roster after one of the worst years in program history. So far it’s worked. Ohio State has already passed its win total from last season, collecting 14 wins in its first 27 games. 

Like the Terps, the Buckeyes also had the displeasure of playing No. 1 UCLA for a three-game slate. Ohio State hosted the Bruins for its first conference series of 2026, dropping all three games, but never allowing UCLA to earn a run-rule win. The Buckeyes then lost two of three to Washington, but picked up a weekend sweep over Minnesota in their most recent weekend set.

Ohio State is currently eighth in the Big Ten and would be in the field for the conference tournament if it started today.

Hitters to Watch

Henry Kaczmar leads an above-average Buckeyes hitting core. The South Carolina transfer is first in hits with 37 and fourth in RBIs with 21. That said, he can be a bit of a free swinger at the plate, recording 23 strikeouts to 12 walks so far this season.

Also keep an eye on Ellis Lee. Another South Carolina transfer, the Maryland-native has started 20 of 27 games for Ohio State. Though his overall hitting stats are pretty average, he’s been a demon on the basepaths. Lee leads the Buckeyes with nine steals on 10 attempts in 2026, four stolen bags ahead of second place.

Pitchers to Watch

Gavin Kuziewski, one of the few players to stick with Ohio State from 2025 to 2026, is the Buckeyes’ usual Friday starter. The sophomore right-hander has logged 35.2 innings on the mound this year, holding a 4.29 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 20 walks. Despite the middling overall numbers, Kuziewski turned in his best outing of 2026 last time out against Minnesota. In five innings against the Golden Gophers, he allowed just one hit with 10 K’s and three walks in Ohio State’s 4-3 win.

The Buckeyes’ primary relief arm is Ryan Zamora. The junior transferred to Ohio State after two productive years at Sacramento City College. Now experiencing his first year with a Big Ten schedule, Zamora has stepped up to the task. He’s thrown 20.2 innings, the most of any Buckeye reliever, and has one of the team’s two saves this season. Zamora was the one who locked down Kuziewski’s win in Minnesota, tossing a scoreless ninth inning to earn the save against the Golden Gophers.

Probable Pitchers

Lance Williams vs. Gavin Kuziewski

Evan Smith vs. Chris Domke

Jake Yeager vs. Pierce Hurrenbruck

Other Notable Points

After getting the conference’s top two teams in back-to-back weekend series, it’s no secret the Terps need Big Ten wins badly. Luckily for Maryland, games with Ohio State have historically gone its way.

The Terps haven’t played the Buckeyes since 2023, but are 15-6 all-time against Ohio State. The two schools never played each other until Maryland joined the Big Ten. From 2021 to 2023, the Terps held a nine-game winning streak over the Buckeyes.

Maryland is yet to win a Big Ten series in 2026 and given that Ohio State is squarely on the bubble of the conference standings, winning at least two out of three could greatly shake up the Big Ten Tournament race.