The Terrapin baseball team is looking to convert its early-season offensive success into ACC play this weekend and in the process end a 30-game losing streak.
Through its first nine games, the Terrapin baseball team has shown it’s a statistically better offensive club than in years past, and with this weekend’s conference opener at No. 8 Florida State, the increased offensive production could only mean good things.
After all, the Terps haven’t beaten the Seminoles since March 26, 1998.
“We are swinging the bats a lot better, and overall, I think this team is more offensively oriented than last year’s team,” coach Terry Rupp said. “Only time will tell once we get into conference play, but we’ve got a lot of guys throughout the lineup, one through nine, that are very capable hitters.”
The Terps are hitting .326 as a team, led by senior catcher Chad Durakis’s .471 mark. With 11 homers through nine games the Terps are on pace for 70 homers on the year, a stat that would dwarf the 34 round-trippers the team hit last season.
While the numbers might not hold up against stiffer ACC competition, junior left fielder Gerry Spessard noticed real improvement at the plate.
“We returned a lot of guys and we’re just coming in and working real hard,” said Spessard. “You come in on the off days and you see guys working and getting extra cuts.”
Senior center fielder Nick Jowers agrees that experience is a key factor for the offensive improvement. The Terps lost only one regular hitter, Dan Melvin, to graduation last year.
“We definitely matured more as a team,” Jowers said. “I think everyone is more patient than last year, and, if we continue to lay off curveballs and stuff in the dirt like that, we’ll keep getting good pitches to hit.”
The Terps will need their offense to work if they expect to compete with high-powered Florida State. The Seminoles are 9-0 and feature a pair of preseason All-Americans in catcher Buster Posey and outfielder Jack Rye, along with infielder and current ACC player of the week Dennis Guinn. The Seminoles are an established national power with premier facilities.
Durakis says he is prepared for the heightened atmosphere of Florida State’s Dick Howser Stadium, which holds 6,700 fans.
“Florida State is a great place,” said Durakis. “They’re gonna have a ton of fans there and it’s going to be a hostile atmosphere. We have to go out there and get some wins.”
But for a team that is 5-4 overall and 0-4 when it scores fewer than 10 runs, keeping the offense going will be the key to any upset wins in Tallahassee.
“They’re a tough team,” Spessard said. “It’ll be a good challenge for us to go down there to see what we’re made of.”
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