COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Maryland baseball head coach Rob Vaughn announced the program’s 2019 schedule Wednesday, which features marquee home series against East Carolina, Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan. All four of those programs have made the NCAA Tournament over the last two seasons, giving the Terps one of their strongest home slates in recent memory.
Maryland, who has made NCAA Regionals in three of the last five seasons, begins its 126th season of baseball in 2019. The Terrapins will play a total of 24 games at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, including nine against teams that advanced the NCAA Tournament. The Terps will also play three-game sets on the road against two teams that advanced to NCAA Super Regionals last season: Stetson and Minnesota.
“One of the reasons that guys choose to come and play at Maryland is that they know, year in and year out, we will line up against some of the best teams in the country and this year is no different,” head coach Rob Vaughn said. “A trip to Louisiana-Lafayette along with competing against two regional hosts from last season in weeks four and five gives us a chance to see where we stack up. As always, the Big Ten is continuing to pump out good teams and we are excited to compete for a conference championship. We’ve got our hands full this year, but we aren’t going to back down from the challenge and we are looking forward to February!”
The Terps will play 13 games against teams that finished in the top-50 in the RPI in 2018, including six against top-20 RPI teams. Twenty-four games will be played against 2018 RPI Top-100 teams.
The Terps open the season in Conway, S.C. at a tournament hosted by 2016 National Champion Coastal Carolina where the Terps will also face Campbell and VCU (Feb. 15-17). Maryland begins its home slate with a three-game set against Maine (Feb. 22-24) before traveling to VCU for a midweek clash (Feb. 26).
Maryland will head to Sun Belt power Louisiana-Lafayette for a three game set (March 1-3) prior to hosting Delaware at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium (March 5). The Terps then go back on the road to face off with Stetson in a three-game series (March 8-10) before traveling to take on Delaware (March 13).
A super regional program in 2014 and 2015, Louisiana-Lafayette, who regularly ranks in the top-10 attendance in the nation, will provide a tough early test for Maryland. The Terps won its series against Stetson in College Park in 2018, the biggest series victory of the season for Maryland.
A three-game series between the Terps and East Carolina is Maryland’s final non-conference home set (March 15-17). The Terps traveled to face the Pirates on the road last year, and ECU will represent Maryland’s toughest home non-conference opponent since Cal State Fullerton came to College Park in 2015.
A five-game spring break road trip follows as the Terps clash with Elon for two midweek matchups (March 19-20) and go to Creighton (March 22-24) for a weekend series. Creighton plays its home games at TD Ameritrade Park, home of the Big Ten Tournament and the College World Series.
The Terps open Big Ten play against Indiana to finish out March (29-31) before making the short trip to William & Mary (April 2). Maryland then faces Illinois on the road in its second conference series (April 5-7). A pair of midweek home games against William & Mary (April 9) and West Virginia (April 10) come prior to the Terps returning to Illinois to take on Northwestern (April 12-14).
Indiana and Illinois will represent a big opportunity for the Terps in Big Ten play. The Hoosiers were an NCAA Regional club in 2018 while Illinois was one of the last four teams left out of the tournament last season.
Maryland hosts James Madison (April 16) before traveling to George Mason the following day (April 17). The Terps then face Ohio State for the first time since 2016 in a three-game home series (April 19-21). The Buckeyes rebounded from a tough 2017 campaign to make the NCAA Tournament in 2018.
The Terps face off with VCU in their return at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium on April 23 before a weekend set at Penn State (April 26-28). After a midweek clash at Villanova (May 1), the Terps host Michigan for three contests (May 3-5).
The final home midweek game of the season comes against Towson on May 7 before the Terps travel to face Minnesota for a three-game series (May 10-12). The Golden Gophers are the defending Big Ten Regular Season and Tournament Champions. After a road matchup with James Madison (May 14), Maryland closes the season with three games at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium against Iowa (May 16-18).
The Big Ten Tournament will take place at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb., May 22-26. Maryland’s non-conference home weekend series tentatively have the following game times: Friday (4 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.). Maryland’s conference home weekend series will tentatively have a 6:30 p.m. first pitch time on Friday with first pitch times for Saturday and Sunday remaining at 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. Game times are tentative until television broadcasts designations are announced.
