K.J. Hockaday
After a weekend sweep at the hands of No. 1 North Carolina, the Terrapins baseball team has now lost all five of its conference series this season, and eight of its past 10 games overall.
Coach John Szefc and his squad now sport the second-worst record in the ACC at 4-11, ahead of winless Boston College. Inconsistency at the plate and on the mound has prevented the Terps — who will take on VCU today at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium — from putting a complete nine-inning performance together.
It keeps getting worse, though.
Their recent struggles have come hand-in-hand with an onslaught of injuries that have left three starters — right fielder Jordan Hagel, left fielder Mike Montville and third baseman K.J. Hockaday — watching from the dugout.
Hagel has been out of the starting lineup for 14 games after breaking his left thumb in a series-opening win against Florida State on March 15. Szefc has used the senior as a defensive replacement and pinch runner, but Hagel remains day-to-day because the injury continues to hamper his bat control.
Montville has been sidelined since suffering an elbow injury before the series opener at Virginia on March 9, and Hockaday is the latest to fall victim to the injury bug. The sophomore has been day to day since injuring his shoulder in Friday’s opener against the Tar Heels, in which he went 1-for-4 with a run scored.
With the absences of three key contributors from last season and the early games of this season, Szefc has turned to his young talent.
Freshman utility infielder Jose Cuas started at third base for the final two games against the Tar Heels after spending time at second base earlier this year. Redshirt freshman Anthony Papio has taken over in right field for Hagel, and sophomores Andrew Amaro and Greg Olenski each made a start in left field this weekend. The quartet batted a combined 5-for-27 with two RBIs in the three-game series.
“We just have a lot of young guys in the lineup now that are playing every day and trying to figure some things out,” Szefc said. “Once some of those younger guys start to play where they need to and pitch where they need to, I think we’ll be alright.”
Getting to that point will not be easy for the Terps, though. Montville, Hockaday and Hagel recorded more than one-fourth of the Terps’ RBIs last season, and replacing that kind of offensive production will be a challenge to players who had little to no ACC experience entering this season.
“This week is going to be a real test for this team, how positive we can be, how well we can execute and how we keep our spirits up,” said second baseman Kyle Convissar, who has also made five starts in left field.
Despite all the adversity his team has faced over the past month, Szefc has continued to see the positives in his squad. His young players have gained invaluable experience against quality opponents after replacing their injured teammates in the starting lineup.
Now, it’s time to convert that experience into results. The Terps (16-15) have thrived against nonconference foes this season, and VCU (15-14) presents an opportunity similar to the one Rider provided last week.
“It’s not like we don’t know what we have to do,” Szefc said. “It’s just a matter of guys going out and executing the plan, getting things done and trying to put our inexperience behind us.”
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