COLLEGE PARK, Md. — In the 131 years of Maryland baseball, dating back to its first year in 1893, the Terps are in the midst of their best season ever. The 45 wins that Maryland already has, are the most in program history. The Terps will look to add to that win total this weekend when they host the College Park Regional at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium in College Park, Maryland.
“It’s rewarding, and it’s kind of an affirmation that we’re doing things the right way,” said Maryland baseball head coach Rob Vaughn.
Maryland has been doing a lot of things right at the plate this season. The team has a collective 123 home runs which rank second in the nation behind the University of Tennessee. Chris “Bubba” Alleyne leads the Big Ten Conference with 22 home runs. His teammate, Matt Shaw, is a close second, with 21, and you can bet these guys love the competition.
“We definitely push each other. There comes a time when it gets this close and he’s got 22 [home runs] and I’ve got 21 [home runs] and we’re just waiting for the next one from each of us,” said Shaw.
“I think we kind of just feed off each other, and I think the competitiveness between us drives us to be so much better,” said Alleyne.
Shaw and Alleyne also have a fun bet driving them to hit more over the fence.
“We have a little wager between us. I’m not a big cold tub guy. If I win, he has to run sprints, but if he wins I have to get in the cold tub for 10 minutes which I don’t want to do, so I don’t plan on losing the battle,” joked Alleyne.
But winning the home run battle isn’t on the forefront of their minds, winning this weekend is what they are focused on, and it all starts with their first game against Long Island University, Friday night.
“That’s kind of my challenge as a coach, is can we step out tomorrow with every ounce of our focus on taking care of Long Island, and just manage our emotions and play the style and the way we’ve played for the past 50 plus games,” said Vaughn.
“You see the crowd, and you see the environment, and I think we just have fun with it. We’ll go out and play another game together and it’ll be fun,” adds Alleyne.
When asked about what it will be like to play in front of a sold-out stadium, Alleyne answered, “It’s awesome. I think every kid that plays baseball, dreams of that moment when it’s a full crowd and you come up and do something cool. So, I think just enjoying the crowd and interacting with them in a way we haven’t before is going to be fun.”
Alleyne is a first team All-American and the Big Ten Conference player of the year. He says while this weekend’s environment is everything they’ve worked for, adding “we can’t let the moment get too big.”
Coach Vaughn said that when tickets went on sale for this weekend’s games, they sold out in a matter of a few hours. They are expecting a loud and proud crowd to pack Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium, Friday when the Terps take the field at 7 p.m.
This article was written by WUSA9, read more articles like this here.
Photo: @TerpsBaseball/Twitter
