One week after coach Matt Swope said Maryland baseball hit “rock bottom” after a 5-2 loss to UMBC, the Terps dropped their fifth straight game Tuesday — this time 11-7 to Georgetown.

But instead of dwelling on the negatives as he had in previous postgame interviews, Swope struck a different tone.

“We’re in a position now where we’re trying to be positive,” Swope said. “I got to throttle it back.”

After Tuesday’s loss, Swope noted that he’s a “super competitive individual.” With high expectations and excitement heading into the season, he admitted his intensity level is very high.

But the Terps currently sit six games below .500 in conference play with only six Big Ten series remaining. It was time for a new attitude.

Swope cited the 2019 Washington Nationals — a team that started 19-31 but went on to win the World Series. While college baseball has less than 60 games compared to Major League Baseball’s 162, his point was clear that there’s still time to turn things around with 22 games remaining.

That started with a 10-2 road victory over Delaware on Wednesday .

“This is baseball man,” Swope said. “We don’t have as many games, but those things do happen.”

[Maryland baseball swept for first time this season with 11-0 loss to Illinois]

Sophomore shortstop Chris Hacopian said the team’s energy hasn’t wavered, despite the recent skid. In a nod to popular television series Ted Lasso, players have hung “Believe” signs in the locker room, which players tap on their way out.

“If you looked at our pregame, you looked at just the way we were going about our business … it would look like we’re on a five-game winning streak,” Hacopian said.

Working through struggles on the mound

When Jimmy Jackson arrived at James Madison in 2016, he inherited the worst ERA in the conference from the previous season. Four years later, the Dukes led the conference in the stat and set a program record for strikeouts.

Maryland’s pitching coach took over a similar situation in the summer of 2023, inheriting a Terps group that collapsed in the previous season and posted the third-worst ERA in the Big Ten.

Jackson hasn’t found the same success at Maryland that he did at James Madison yet — the Terps currently hold a 6.69 ERA, still third-worst in the conference. But he’s confident his group can rebound from the struggles more than halfway through the season.

“They all work hard, they all get along, they’re all good guys,” Jackson said. “That’s what keeps it a lot easier for me … trying to figure out how to make guys better.”

Jackson gives a report to each pitcher after every game, detailing the Trackman data from their appearance. It includes the velocity of pitches, where the balls moved horizontally or vertically and the swing-and-miss percentage of throws.

Starters and relievers share three similar goals that they write down on a goal sheet — having a high first-pitch strike percentage, recording two strikes within the first three pitches and maintaining a favorable strike-to-walk ratio.

However, depending on a pitcher’s role, they will also have three additional goals catered to them specifically.

[Maryland baseball never leads in series opener against Illinois, falls 7-4]

“[The goals are] some general pitching stuff, but more so sticking to some basic things,” Jackson said. “The data stuff … has helped us in the sense of lately knowing, ‘Okay, a certain guy, a certain pitch might not be as good as we thought, or maybe it was moving differently.’”

Earlier this season, Jackson and the staff discovered that the Terps were tipping off their pitches to opposing teams.

They found evidence through watching film and noticing verbal cues opponents gave during games. They’ve since hung a mirror inside the practice facility to work on avoiding the issue.

Midweek recaps

Swope has emphasized a need for consistency across all units through 34 games this season. The Terps’ pair of midweeks showcased two different outcomes — highlighting what happens when they can’t click at the same time, versus when they can.

Maryland never led against Georgetown. The Terps evened the score in both the second and third innings, only to see both ties slip away — stamped by a Hoyas grand slam in the seventh inning off of graduate student Jack Wren.

“That was really the game right there,” Swope said of the home run.

The next day, Maryland delivered one of its most complete performances of the season against the Blue Hens.

Redshirt sophomore Brayden Ryan pitched four innings in his longest appearance as a Terp, allowing one run and striking out a season-high five batters for his first win with Maryland. Sophomore Andrew Koshy and senior Ryan Van Buren combined for five innings of relief, giving up just one run. Van Buren earned his first save of the season.

The Terps scored double-digit runs for the first time since March 30, with senior outfielder Elijah Lambros and sophomore outfielder Liam Willson both recording three RBIs.

“We needed a really good start [and] Brayden did that. And then everybody kind of followed and was working ahead,” Swope said. “We were able to get some timely hits.”