Jordan Hagel
The 55-game Terrapins baseball season lends itself to inconsistent play.
From Feb. 22 through March 3, the Terps strung together a nine-game winning streak that included four-game sweeps of both Oakland and Princeton. Their offense averaged more than nine runs per game over the stretch, and the pitching staff allowed fewer than three runs per contest.
But in the month leading up to today’s matchup with nonconference foe Rider, the Terps have been a different team. They have dropped nine of their past 15 games and lost all four of their conference series as coach John Szefc’s once-potent offense has become stagnant against ACC pitching.
Szefc won’t do anything drastic to the lineup or urge his team to change its style, though. It’s simply about execution.
“When we play ACC opponents on the weekends, we just haven’t been clean enough to win,” the first-year coach said. “We’re not going to change what we do. We just need to start doing the little things and bringing what we practice to the games. At this point, it’s all about moving forward and staying positive.”
A large factor in the Terps’ slump has been injuries to two key contributors. Right fielder Jordan Hagel suffered a broken thumb against Florida State only days before first baseman Tim Kiene returned to the lineup after missing 23 games with a hamate bone injury.
Hagel — who remains day to day and is unlikely to start against Rider (13-10) — is the Terps’ (15-12) most-seasoned hitter. He has more than 350 career at-bats and is batting .344 this season behind dynamic leadoff man Charlie White. Hagel is a crucial table-setter, especially when combined with White’s ability to get on base.
“Jordan’s a big loss,” Szefc said. “Not having that kind of experience in our order really hurt us. He’s played in this league before. He’s a senior. He has at-bats under his belt, and not having our regular players in the lineup has come back to bite us.”
The Terps, though, don’t know when the Fairfield, Conn., native will return, and the pressure falls on the rest of the team to pick up the slack.
The Terps have averaged two errors and nearly 11 runners left on base the past three games. Unsurprisingly, they dropped two of those three contests.
“It’s a matter of focusing on each pitch and executing our game plan,” second baseman Kyle Convissar said. “Our pitchers need to throw strikes, and our defense needs to make plays behind them. We’re really close, but we need to start focusing on executing, and we’ll be more successful.”
A rough start to league play and the battle with injuries has made the early-season nine-game winning streak a distant memory. But one area the Terps have excelled in is nonconference play, in which they boast an 11-4 record. With MAAC opponent Rider visiting College Park tonight, the Terps’ opportunity to shore up their play is there.
“We’re going to focus this week on getting back to the basics and the fundamentals,” starting pitcher Jimmy Reed said. “Rider is going to come in here to try and win, and we have to be ready to answer them.”
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