On Sunday, the Maryland baseball team finished off its sweep of the Big Ten Conference’s regular-season and tournament titles.
On Monday, the Terps found out their reward: a trip to North Carolina for an NCAA Tournament regional hosted by No. 1 overall seed Wake Forest.
Maryland (41-19), the second seed in the Winston-Salem regional, will face third-seeded Northeastern (44-14) at 1 p.m. Friday. The Terps lost to the Huskies in College Park earlier this month, 9-2. Wake Forest, the No. 1 team in the country and the Atlantic Coast Conference’s regular-season champion, will face fourth-seeded George Mason (34-25), the Colonial Athletic Association’s tournament champion, at 7 p.m. Friday.
Each regional field features four teams playing in a double-elimination format, with winners advancing to eight best-of-three super regionals. Those winners move on to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Maryland is making its third straight tournament appearance and sixth since 2014. Last season, when the Terps were the No. 15 overall seed and hosted a regional in College Park, they eliminated second-seeded Wake Forest with a late comeback. Third-seeded Connecticut, however, went on to win the regional.
After a slow start this season, Maryland regrouped in Big Ten play, where it won every weekend series against league opponents. An elite offense again led the way. The Terps enter the NCAA Tournament with 123 home runs (second-most nationally), 371 walks (second-most) and 555 runs (third-most).
In the Big Ten Tournament, Maryland turned to its inconsistent pitching staff to help secure the first tournament title in program history. The Terps allowed just five runs in four games, including a 4-0 win over third-seeded Iowa in Sunday’s final.
Wake Forest is No. 1 in the country in ERA (2.82) and eighth in scoring (8.9 runs per game), but Maryland has knocked off top seeds before. In 2015, the Terps stunned No. 1 overall seed UCLA in Los Angeles to advance to their second straight super regional.
