2003 Season Review
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TERPS 2003 SEASON REVIEW hough the Maryland Terrapin baseball team’s final Education, selected as one of only 10 minority athletes from among the conference leaders, rising as high as .368 on record was below the standards set by head coach across the nation. He was also named to the Verizon Dis- April 8 and .322 on May 10. Most promising of all was his T Terry Rupp when the Terps won a team-record 34 trict II All-Academic team. selectivity at the plate, walking more times (20) than he games in 2002, the young team racked up numerous indi- Maxwell’s progress bodes well for the future of the struck out (19). vidual and team accomplishments and continues to make Terps, but the development of Schmoll as a starter with a Costantino hit in the top of the lineup for the major- forward strides. 7.35 earned run average to one of the nation’s top strikeout ity of the year, but did his best from the second spot, hit- With a lineup that featured five sophomores or pitchers and one of the ACC’s most dominant starters ting .387 with a .457 on-base percentage. freshmen and a schedule that featured more top was the story of the season. After watching Schmoll Though he struggled early after making the transi- competition, Maryland was a battled-tested team, toss a pitch underhand in practice, the coaching tion from high school shortstop to collegiate third baseman, which should translate into big success in 2004. staff decided to experiment with his delivery. Costantino made tremendous improvements with his glove Maryland won three ACC series over a span of Soon, he was throwing from three arm angles, and arm by the end of the season that won’t show up in three consecutive weeks, the first time since the each with the same 90-mph velocity, to compliment the stat sheets but were vital to the team’s success. team began playing three-game sets in 1990 a devastating slider. Costantino also began to show more of a power that the team won three consecutive se- Schmoll started slowly - striking out stroke as the season wore on, crushing two home runs in ries in a season in a row, and just the sec- batters at a record-shattering pace but the final four games after hitting one all season, and club- ond time the Terps won three confer- with the home run being his vice, allow- bing a triple against Navy. He also led the team with 15 ence series in a season. For the sea- ing six round-trippers in his first eight doubles, and was third in total bases. son, Maryland captured four week- apperances. But the fifth-year senior, The Maryland offense experienced a drop-off follow- end series (New York Tech, who was cut his freshman year as a ing the loss of Dick Howser Trophy finalist John McCurdy, Clemson, Duke, NC State), also an catcher, got things under control and who was drafted in the first round by the Oakland Athlet- all-time high. did not allow a home run in his next ics. But more important was the power void left by the The Terps scored several big eight appearances, and only two in his absence of Maxey, who suffered lasting effects from off- wins over ranked opponents, including final 10. season hand surgery. two wins over then-No. 5 NC State. Sopho- The highlights were abundant: The catcher/first baseman struggled to regain the more Justin Maxwell (Olney, Md.) made a Schmoll was named one of three Na- stroke that clubbed a whopping 17 home runs as a fresh- tremendous leap forward, establishing tional Players of the Week by Collegiate man, but he seemed to slide back into a rhythm as the sea- himself as the team’s centerpiece for years Baseball after throwing two complete son came to a close, smashing a mammoth home run in the to come, while senior Steve Schmoll (Rockville, game shutouts in one week, striking out season finale against William & Mary and an RBI-triple in the Md.) proved that any player can turn their ca- 25 and allowing just eight hits in 18 innings ACC tournament vs. Duke. A healthy Maxey next year will reer around with hard work and persever- against West Virginia and New York Tech. Two spell big trouble for opposing pitchers. ance. weeks later, Schmoll closed out a 6-3 Terp win in game Maxwell and redshirt senior Ray Gemmill (Silver Spring, After hitting just .239 with three one of a doubleheader with then-No. 15 Clemson, then Md.) answered the call, with Gemmill belting eight home home runs as a freshman, Maxwell lived up started game two 30 minutes later and earned a runs and leading the team in slugging percentage after hit- to the potential that led him to be drafted victory in an 8-4 game. He was twice honored as ting six homers in his career. out of high school by the Baltimore Orioles. ACC pitcher of the week, and last week was named This season, Maryland took a major step forward in The 6’5" centerfielder from Olney, Md., led the first Terp selection to the all-conference team since terms of the quality of their opponents, going from in-state the team in batting average, home runs, Craig Munroe in 2000. foes to regional powerhouses. runs batted in and stolen bases. Schmoll became Maryland’s career and single-season While the collective winning Maxwell flourished after being strikeout leader, passing Brandon Agamennone’s career percentage of the Terps’ op- moved up to the cleanup spot from eighth mark of 254 against Duke and passing major-league pitcher ponents in 2002 was .514, it in the lineup, leading the team with 10 multi- Eric Milton’s single-season record of 118. soared to .557 in 2003, with RBI games, including four four-RBI games. He Steve An all-around threat, Schmoll was also seven teams still playing in the also showed incredible range in the field, glid- Schmoll named Maryland’s Male Student Athlete of the NCAA regional tournament, an ing to the gaps in left and right center field to Year for his accomplishments on and off the experience that should bode effortlessly nab would-be extra base hits. field. A biological resources engineering major, well for the development of He ended the season on a seven-game Schmoll compiled a 3.69 grade point average and was in- the young team in 2004. hit streak, hitting .500 (13-for-26) with four volved with several honor societies. He joined teammate It began to pay divi- extra base hits and seven runs batted in, Maxwell as a Verizon District II All-Academic selection, and dends in 2003, as Maryland and hit four home runs over a stretch of three games from signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers won five games against Kyle George April 1 to April 4. Also of note was his stellar play against last summer and pitched for the Odgen Raptors in Single-A. ranked foes late in the season, conference foes, as Maxwell batted .345 with 15 RBIs, tied Freshman Mike Costantino (Somerset, Mass.) became including four games against teams in the top 15. The Terps for the team lead with second baseman Joe Sargent an immediate contributor to the Terp lineup, following in also came within outs of defeating then-No. 14 Wake For- (Chespeake Beach, Md.). the footsteps of sophomores Jason Maxey (Columbia, Md.) est twice and then-No. 1 Florida State. Maxwell also set an example in the classroom, com- and Will Frazier (Mitchellville, Md.), who were both named Suprisingly, the team did its best at the plate against piling a 3.93 grade point average as an animal sciences major. honorable mention freshman All-Americans last season. such ranked foes. Six batters hit well over .300 in such Maxwell was recognized for his accomplishments by being Costantino started 48 of 53 games and finished the games, led by Gemmill, who hit .408 with a .776 slugging named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Scholar by Black Issues In High season at .309, an average that at points in the season was percentage (six doubles and four home runs). Also putting 2004 MARYLAND BASEBALL • 2003 Season Review 21 2004 up solid numbers were redshirt freshman Brian Jarosinski (.400), Maxwell (.397), senior Kyle George (.378), Costantino (.359) and Frazier (.339). 2003 SEASON RESULTS Overall, the team batting average dropped 40 points from last season when McCurdy led the team with a .443 Date Opposing Team Score r-h-e r-h-e Inns Overall ACC Pitcher of record Time 1 average, but the same number of players as last year (5) hit Feb 14 vs Kentucky 4-6 L 4-9-2 6-12-2 9 0-1-0 0-0-0 Kane (L 0-1) 3:19 Feb 15 at Stetson W 7-3 7-15-0 3-4-1 9 1-1-0 0-0-0 Clem (W 1-0) 2:50 over .300, led by Sherwood high school teammates Max- Feb 16 vs George Washington1 3-11 L 3-7-4 11-14-2 9 1-2-0 0-0-0 Bowen (L 0-1) 3:03 well and Jarosinski. Mar 1 vs Binghamton 2 6-8 L 6-8-2 8-7-1 7 1-3-0 0-0-0 Clem (L 1-1) 2:32 The Terps were able to hit some of their toughest Mar 1 vs Binghamton 2 2-4 L 2-4-2 4-4-1 8 1-4-0 0-0-0 Kane (L 0-2) 2:34 opponents, scoring a combined 5.75 runs per game against Mar 2 vs Binghamton 2 W 8-0 8-8-0 0-3-1 5 2-4-0 0-0-0 Schmoll (W 1-0) 3:12 three of the best pitching teams in the nation: Virginia Mar 4 UMBC W 10-8 10-12-0 8-13-2 9 3-4-0 0-0-0 Hulse (W 1-0) 3:15 Commwealth (2.47), Florida State (2.77) and Marist (3.40).