After avoiding a sweep by Purdue last weekend, Maryland fell 7-5 to Richmond on Tuesday.
Redshirt junior Devin Russell notched his first home run of the season, a three-run bomb, and Ryan Costello recorded his 30th RBI during the game against Richmond, but the Terps struggled to hold onto a lead.
Now, Maryland will travel to Los Angeles to face the No. 1 team in the country and the Big Ten.
The series begins on Friday at 9:00 p.m. EST at Jackie Robinson Stadium. First pitch on Saturday is set for 5:00
p.m. EST, and the series wraps up on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. EST. All games will be on Big Ten Plus.
No. 1 UCLA Bruins (18-2, 6-0 Big Ten)
2025 Season: 48-18, 22-8 Big Ten
UCLA has had a terrific start to the 2026 season, with only two losses across 20 games. The Bruins have only given up 73 runs while recording 207 strikeouts so far. Both games that UCLA lost were only by one run.
The Bruins are looking to continue their 12-game win streak following a 5-4 victory against Pepperdine on Tuesday and a sweep of Michigan last weekend where they tallied 19 runs and only allowed seven.
Hitters to watch
Will Gasparino, junior outfielder, No. 9 — During his first season with the Bruins, Gasparino ranks first in the Big Ten and ninth in the nation for RBIs with 34 and home runs with 11. The junior recorded four RBIs last weekend during UCLA’s series against Michigan and five on Feb. 22 against TCU.
Roch Cholowsky, junior infielder, No. 1 — Cholowsky also recorded five RBIs against TCU and five RBIs during the series against Michigan last weekend. The junior ranks second on the team in home runs (10) and RBIs (27), and first on the team and in the Big Ten with 29 runs.
Pitchers to watch
Logan Reddemann, junior right-handed pitcher, No. 24— Reddemann ranks second in the Big Ten and first on the team with 40 strikeouts. The junior has an ERA of 2.96 and has gone 5-0 on the season.
One notable highlight for the San Diego transfer came when he recorded ten strikeouts on March 6 against Ohio State while allowing three hits and no runs.
Wylan Moss, sophomore right-handed pitcher, No. 18— Moss has recorded 30 strikeouts in his six appearances, with 10 coming during UCLA’s game against TCU. In his second season with the Bruins, Moss holds a 0.48 ERA in the 18.2 innings he has pitched, only allowing one run.
Strength
Bats that don’t quit. UCLA has an overall batting average of .297 with a .956 on-base struggling percentage. The Bruins have nearly logged as many RBIs (170) as hits (199) on the year, with 36 home runs and 42 doubles pacing the attack.
Weakness
Consistency during a weekend series. There isn’t much to pick at here, but during most of the Bruins’ weekend series games, they struggle to stay consistent. Last weekend against Michigan, UCLA swept the Wolverines — but during the first game, the Bruins won by two runs. The Bruins won each of the following two games by five runs.
At Ohio State the previous weekend, UCLA won by 10 runs in the first game and 13 in the second but only by three in the series finale. The Terps could keep one of these games close.
Three things to know
1. Maryland’s offense has been struggling. Prior to the loss against West Virginia on March 10, Maryland averaged about 10 hits per game. After only winning one of their past five games, the Terps have recorded 21 hits in their four losses.
2. Newer Big Ten foe. Before UCLA joined the Big Ten conference last season, the two teams had not played each other since the mid-1950s. Last season, the Bruins won the series, but Maryland avoided the sweep with a 13-3 victory in Game 2. Logan Hastings recorded his first collegiate victory during the game, recording three strikeouts in six innings.
3. Struggles against ranked opponents. This is the second time this season Maryland will face a ranked opponent. The Terps first ranked opponent was West Virginia on March 10, and Maryland lost 10-3. Things could go well worse than that against the top team in the nation.
