After pitching in just about every role he has been asked to this season, Terrapin pitcher Brett Harman has come full circle.
Now he’s back where he wants to be.
After beginning the season as the opening-day starter for the Terps against UNC-Wilmington, Harman was bumped from his role in the weekend rotation as he struggled with his command, especially with his breaking ball.
But according to pitching coach Jim Farr, Harman’s work ethic between this year and last has been “night and day” and that hard work has paid off as the Terps (13-15, 3-9 ACC) will call upon Harman to start the opener in a pivotal ACC series at Virginia.
“It’s nice to get the opportunity again, but we weren’t successful last weekend, which is why we made the change,” Harman said. “So hopefully I can go out there and pick our team back up. At the beginning of the year, it was more nerves than anything, but lately I have been able to throw my pitches for strikes. Now it’s just a matter of keeping the ball down so they can’t drive the ball.”
Harman’s numbers aren’t very good thus far – 3-2 with a 6.68 ERA – and he struggled in his last outing in relief against Florida State, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing six runs on seven hits. But he has been getting ahead in the count, and his breaking ball is the best it’s been all year, according to Farr.
He will need to have his best stuff because the Cavaliers (24-4, 6-4) have been nearly perfect at home (19-2) and are one of the best offensive teams in the country this season. The No. 24 team in the nation, according to Baseball America, is entering the series hitting .217 as a team with 266 runs scored, compared to the Terps’ 176 total runs.
Head coach Terry Rupp knows the series opener will be a good barometer for how the rest of the series will go, and he thinks that if Harman can command the strike zone and keep the Terps close, they will have a good chance to get the victory.
“I think the important thing for Brett is that he needs to get ahead in the count and throw the first pitch for a strike,” Rupp said. “Brett has an impressive set of pitches, and if he gets ahead consistently, [he’ll pitch longer]. The longer he pitches, the better chance we have.”
The Terp hitters will have a similar challenge throughout the weekend.
As good as Virginia has been at the plate, they’ve been even better on the mound. Their staff’s ERA is just 2.56, and they are paced by two starters, Danny Hultzen and Andrew Carraway, who are a combined 9-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 81 strikeouts.
If the Terps are going to have success offensively, other players will need to continue to step up. The Terps have been unable to find consistent offensive performers outside of A.J. Casario, Mike Murphy and Will Greenberg. But after two midweek games, in which the team scored 19 runs on 31 hits, Rupp thinks the offense will be much improved.
“I really don’t think that we’ve had everybody hitting well together in one series,” Rupp said. “If you look back to the N.C. State series, we got great production from the bottom of our lineup. And if that’s any indication on how important it is, then if we get that same type of production, we will be in good shape.”
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