Here’s a one stop shop for you for events of interest to sports fans in the Baltimore – Washington area:
Maryland baseball:
The Maryland baseball squad got a much needed win in the first of a three game series with Ohio State. You can read our recap here. A sweep of this series will go a long way to solidifying an NCAA bid for the Terrapins.
MLB Up and MLB Down
The Washington Nationals won their second straight game 9-2 over Atlanta. The win is Washington’s eighth in the last ten and squeezes them back to .500 on the season. It also puts them a half game in front of Atlanta for second place in the NL East. Bryce Harper continued his power surge smacking a pair of home runs after swatting three on Wednesday. His 10 homers tie him for the league lead.
Unlike the Nats, the Orioles are a team headed in the wrong direction. The O’s dropped their fourth straight dropping a 5-4 decision to the Yankees at Camden Yards. The Orioles rallied from a 5-0 deficit scoring a pair of runs in the fifth and sixth innings but couldn’t complete the comeback. Baltimore is three games below .500 at 12-15, five and a half games out of first and in the cellar of the American League East.
Caps can’t close the deal
The Washington Capitals traveled to New York Friday night with a chance to close out their second round NHL Playoff series with the New York Rangers. They failed to complete their mission falling 2-1 in overtime.
Curtis Glencross road the elevator from hero to zero. After two scoreless periods as Caps goalie Braden Holtby survived a Rangers onslaught, Glencross put the Caps up 1-0 on a breakaway with just over nine minutes to play in the third. The Rangers scored the equalizer with 1:41 to play in regulation and Glencross’ turnover led to the home team scoring the winner in overtime. It was the sixth consecutive home elimination game win for New York.
Wall continues brave talk
Before Wednesday’s 106-90 loss at Atlanta, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall spoke bravely about playing. Doctors later discovered that Wall has five non-displaced fractures in his left hand. Wall didn’t play in the loss and won’t be available for Saturday’s 5:00 pm game at the Verizon Center. Wall has said that he has “no idea when he will play again” and emphasized that he’s taking it day by day. He said, “If the pain goes away and I can dribble…then it’s all up to me.”
Women’s Lacrosse to face UMass in NCAA Tournament
The NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament concluded first round play Friday. In the result of most interest to Maryland fans, the University of Massachusetts Minutemen (Minutewomen?) defeated the Jacksonville Dolphins 13-8 at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex in College Park. They will now face the Maryland Terrapins in a second round match up on Sunday. I attended the game and, frankly, I’m convinced that only the most bloated case of overconfidence will prevent the Terps from moving on to the quarterfinals.
In other games of possible interest to local fans, Penn State defeated Johns Hopkins 14-11 and Notre Dame took down Ohio State 13-11. The Northwestern Wildcats, seeded eighth, registered a 10-7 win over Louisville. The winner of the game between Northwestern and Notre Dame will face the Maryland – UMass winner.
In one other local score of note, Jen Adams’ Loyola Greyhounds raced to a 21-3 win over Bryant. They will face fifth seeded Boston College in the second round.
Rasheed Sulaimon takes an unofficial visit to College Park
Racheed Sulaimon a former McDonalds All-American took an unofficial visit to Maryland Friday confirming the rumors that the Terps are wooing the former Duke guard. Sulaimon is set to graduate later this summer and would be eligible to play immediately under NCAA transfer rules.
I trust Mark Turgeon and his staff and know that they will have done all the appropriate due diligence required in accepting Sulaimon should he decide to transfer to Maryland. Certainly, a team can never have too much talent and Sulaimon brings another potential outside threat that could open up opportunities for what appears to be a potentially dominating Terrapins front court with incoming freshman Diamond Stone and transfer Robert Carter, Jr. joining returning players like Jake Layman, Michael Cekovsky and Damonte Dodd.
Still concerns remain – at least in my mind – and they go beyond the oft focused upon “character” issues. Last season’s graduate transfer Richaud Pack was something of a “glue guy” who didn’t demand the ball, didn’t expect to be a main threat on the team and who added lots of things that don’t necessarily show up in a box score. Can Sulaimon be that kind of player? Jake Layman seemed to have his best stretch of the season when Dez Wells went down with an injury and he seemed to lose much of his assertiveness as Wells became more and more of the team’s focal point. I’m aware of the different positions they play but, with Carter already on board, I can only wonder about the impact of Sulaimon on Layman’s psyche.
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