Maryland was swept over the weekend by No. 1 UCLA in Los Angeles. Two out of the three games caused the run-rule to be enacted, leading to the first game ending in the seventh inning and the third ending in the eighth inning.
Early into the 2025 season, Terps held a five-game win streak after defeating Delaware twice and sweeping Wagner. Now Maryland will look to end its four-game losing streak against its third ranked opponent of the season — No. 9 Virginia.
The game will be held at Virginia Credit
Union Station in Fredericksburg, Virginia. First pitch is at 5:35 p.m., and the game will be streamed on ESPN+.
No. 9 Virginia Cavaliers (20-5, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference)
2025 Season: 32-18, 16-11 ACC
Head coach Chris Pollard was announced as head coach of the Cavaliers this season after spending 13 seasons with Duke. While at Duke, Pollard led the Blue Devils to seven NCAA tournament berths, four Super Regional appearances and two ACC Baseball Tournament championships. Pollard coached 50 MLB Draft picks and 28 All-ACC selections.
The Cavaliers are coming off a series victory against the previously No. 24-ranked Wake Forest. The first game was close, with Virginia only winning by two runs. It then fell to the Demon Deacons by nine runs in Game 2.
In the third game, the Cavaliers came back with a vengeance and defeated Wake Forest, 14-4, ending the game in the eighth inning.
Hitters to watch
Sam Harris, junior first baseman and outfielder, No. 18 — Harris is new to Virginia after transferring from Duke, where recorded nine home runs and 42 RBIs. The junior is close to beating his career-highs while leading the Cavaliers in RBIs with 30 and tying for the lead in home runs (8). Harris recorded two home runs on March 14 against Virginia Tech and four RBIs on Sunday against Wake Forest in Virginia’s 14-4 victory.
Eric Becker, junior infielder, No. 21 — Becker is in his third year with the Cavaliers, leading the team in RBIs with 30 and tying for second in home runs (5) with Noah Murray. The junior recorded five RBIs on Feb. 25 against George Washington University and three over the weekend against Wake Forest, including two home runs.
Pitchers to watch
Henry Zatkowski, sophomore left-handed pitcher, No. 9 — Zatkowski also followed his coach from Duke. The sophomore leads the team in strikeouts with 37 in his five starts and six total appearances. Zatkowski is 4-0 — against Wake Forest on Friday, he threw seven strikeouts, only allowing three runs.
Lucas Hartman, graduate right-handed pitcher, No. 28 — Hartman transferred from Western Kentucky, where he went 5-1 with a 2.70 ERA in 22 appearances and one start. The graduate student ranks second on the team with most strikeouts (32) and has only allowed ten walks.
Strength
Scoring. Virginia ranks fifth in the nation for runs with 233 in 23 games — holding an average of 10 runs per game. The Cavaliers have only allowed 148 runs from opponents, the most being 14 by Charlotte on March 3. Over the weekend, Virginia scored a total of 28 runs — more than three times the scoring Maryland accomplished against UCLA.
Weakness
Road battles. Three out of five of Virginia’s losses have occurred on the road. Two of the losses were only by one run, but the third occurred when the Cavaliers faced Charlotte and were dominated, 14-0.
Three things to know
1. A golden anniversary match up. Tuesday will mark Maryland and Virginia’s 50th meeting on the diamond. The Cavaliers lead the all-time series by a whopping 41-8, winning 19 straight games between 2002 and 2009. The Terps haven’t won against the Cavaliers since 2014.
2. Home run frenzy. Ryan Costello’s 10th home run of the year has him tied for second in the Big Ten in total home runs. Jordan Crosland scaled to the top ten of the leaderboard with his homer, as well. The Terps are one of three teams to have more than one player in the top ten.
3. Continued ranked woes. Maryland is yet to beat a team on the national leaderboard. Tuesday’s game will be the fifth of eight projected ranked games of the year. The last time the Terps beat a ranked team was in 2025 against then-No. 12, Wake Forest.
