PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers baseball will travel to Maryland this weekend for a three-game series starting Friday in College Park, Md. It will be the first conference games between the Scarlet Knights and Terrapins, who both joined the Big Ten last season, and the first meeting overall since 1953.

The Sunday noon finale will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network with Matt Shepard and Scott Pose on the call. The Friday contest will be available through BTN Plus.

SCOUTING RUTGERS
The Scarlet Knights hit the road for their final regular season away series, having already competed in 29 true road games this season to lead the Big Ten. Overall, RU has played the 26th-toughest schedule in the country, which is second in the league behind Iowa.

In recent action, Rutgers traveled to Michigan for the first time last weekend, but dropped all three against the Wolverines. Fifth-year senior John Jennings (Berkeley Heights, N.J.), senior R.J. Devish (Beachwood, N.J.) and freshman Luke Bowerbank (Bernardsville, N.J.) all had four hits in the series to lead the offense.

Devish continues to spark the bats with a .525 on-base percentage, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks No. 9 nationally. The leadoff hitter also is first in the conference with 50 runs, while being second with 23 stolen bases, fourth with 38 walks, fourth with 12 times being hit by pitch and sixth with a .373 batting average. The steals total is first among all catchers nationally. In addition, junior Tom Marcinczyk (Middlesex, N.J.) is fourth in the league with 41 RBIs and second with five triples, as Bowerbank leads the team with a .375 average over the last 10 games.

RU is up to 102 stolen bases this season, becoming the first Big Ten team since 2013 to reach triple digits. The total is fourth in the nation, 29 more than any other conference team and five shy of reaching the school record of 106 set in 1991. Freshman Jawuan Harris (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) paces the league and sits No. 8 nationally with 30 swipes, while Devish's 23 are next in the Big Ten and 27th-most in the country. Marcinczyk is also is in double figures with 16 thefts in 17 tries.

Senior Howie Brey (Middletown, N.J.) will once again make the series-opening start and leads the Big Ten with 84.2 innings pitched this season, ranking sixth with 68 strikeouts and 15th with a 3.19 ERA. The left-hander has thrown three complete games in league play. In addition, Brey is moving up the school record books to No. 5 with 275.2 career innings and No. 4 with 190 strikeouts. Sophomore John O'Reilly (Northvale, N.J.) will follow in the rotation, being second on the team with 62.0 innings. The right-hander is averaging 11.61 groundouts per game. Finishing out the weekend, freshman Serafino Brito (Oakland, N.J.) is slated to make his 10th start and third in Big Ten play. Brito and Brey tie for the team lead at five victories.

Out of the bullpen, redshirt junior Max Herrmann (Rutherford, N.J.) leads the staff with 18 appearances and five saves, owning a 2.92 ERA. Senior Reed Shuttle (Lansdale, Pa.) and junior Ryan Fleming (Churchville, Pa.) have each entered 15 times.

NOTABLE
The Scarlet Knights lead the Big Ten and rank No. 38 nationally with 218 walks drawn … the offense has reached double-digit hits 17 times and scored 10 or more runs on eight occasions … RU has played 20 games decided by two runs or less … the team is 16-1 when out-hitting the opponent and 13-1 when scoring seven or more runs … the most runs have been scored in the third inning with 41 across … RU finished April 13-7 for the most wins in a month since having 14 in April 2012 … Brey has not allowed a stolen base in 171.2 consecutive innings, the longest streak of its kind in the nation … Rutgers has won five of its last six series openers … eight different Scarlet Knights have hit a home run … this will be the second trip to Maryland this season, as the team played at Navy in March … Rutgers previously earned Big Ten series wins over Indiana and Penn State and took one versus Ohio State and Nebraska.

SCOUTING MARYLAND
The Terrapins enter the weekend tied for sixth in the Big Ten standings, but dropped 2-of-3 at home versus Illinois in their last conference series. Overall, the team is 14-8 in home games. Kevin Biondic leads the bats with a .306 average and a .415 on-base percentage, while Marty Costes and Madison Nickens have each popped eight home runs. Mike Shawaryn is the Friday pitcher and threw seven innings with three earned runs permitted against the Fighting Illini, as Taylor Bloom follows in the rotation and tossed all nine frames last week for the win. Maryland is hitting .258 this season with a 3.90 ERA on the mound.

This weekend's series will be contested at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium on Maryland's campus. It has a turf field. The dimensions are 320 to left, 380 to center and 325 to right. The seating capacity is 2,500.

Head coach John Szefc is in his fourth season leading the program. Click here for more information on Maryland baseball.

THE SERIES
Despite having joined the Big Ten together, Rutgers and Maryland will be meeting for the diamond for the first time this weekend as conference opponents. In fact, the two teams have not played since April 1, 1953, a game that was played in College Park, Md. Overall, the Terrapins lead the all-time series, 8-7-1, as the first game was played in 1936.

After this weekend, Rutgers will have played 11 Big Ten opponents, just missing Northwestern. Maryland will make it eight road trips in the league, along with Purdue, Indiana, Penn State, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan.

UP NEXT
The Scarlet Knights will wrap up regular season non-conference play with a Tuesday noon game against Saint Peter's at Bainton Field. The final conference series is also scheduled to be contested at home, as Northwestern will travel to New Jersey for a three-game series slated to begin Thursday.

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