For baseball programs such as those at Florida State and North Carolina, 30-win seasons are expected. For the Terrapins, they are practically unprecedented.

The Terps have only reached the plateau once, in 2002, when they won 34 games. But today, they have an opportunity to reach that mark in their season finale at Delaware.

Even though the Terps didn’t qualify for postseason play, a 30-win season would signal much-needed improvement for the program.

“For me, 30 wins puts an exclamation point on your season,” coach Terry Rupp said. “It can show that we really have made some improvements.”

For the seniors, it’s also a chance to leave the program in better shape than it was in when they arrived in 2004. The Terps won just 22 games that year.

“Besides the fact it’s only been done once, it’s just a great way to go out,” senior catcher Chad Durakis said. “It’s the last time a lot of us are going to be playing baseball, so we obviously want to win our last game.”

While 30 wins would be a departure from a typical season, Rupp realizes the team still has many things to accomplish.

“A lot of times, you have to step back and look at things [and] take baby steps toward achieving those ultimate goals,” Rupp said. “I know 30 wins for this program would be a good stride forward, but by no means am I satisfied.”

And the Terps (29-26, 9-21 ACC) aren’t holding anything back in pursuit of a win in their season finale today. Rupp will send sophomore ace Scott Swinson to the mound for his second start against a non-conference opponent in seven days.

Swinson’s last start, a 7-4 win over Towson on Wednesday, worked out in the Terps’ favor after the Tigers’ sloppy defense allowed three Terp runs in the seventh inning and the eventual win.

Delaware (21-30, 10-17 CAA) is coming off a weekend in which it lost two out of three games to Towson. The Terps beat the Blue Hens 5-1 on March 11 and 8-6 on March 12 at Shipley Field.

Two months later, the two teams will play again in what the Terps hope is a game that will show the development of their team, even if it’s only in the form of a number.

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