SEATTLE - Washington welcomes new conference foe Maryland to Husky Ballpark on Friday night, kicking off a three-game series at 7:02 p.m. The series will be the first Big Ten series for the Huskies at home this season.

All the games will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus with live stats available at Huskystats.com.

DAWG BITES

• The Huskies earned their second shutout of the season on Wednesday in a 12-0 victory over Pacific Lutheran. Charlie Denomme and Will Woodward combined to complete the shutout, striking out 10. Seven of the punchouts came from Woodward, who earned his first career win
• Washington recorded its seventh game with two or more home runs in an 11-6 win over Portland last week. The Dawgs are 5-2 when hitting at least two home runs and 2-0 when hitting three
• Easton O'Neal and Matthew Henning recorded their first Washington hits against Gonzaga over the weekend. Henning added a second hit in the game and his first career RBI as well
• 12 Huskies have produced 49 multiple hit games (Kole - 7, DeCarlo - 7, Guerrero - 6, Bower - 5, Taggart - 5, Terry - 4, Knight - 3, Wilson - 3, Whitton - 3, Sanders - 2, Hotchkiss - 2, Henning - 2)
• 12 Huskies have generated 30 multi-RBI games, with Casen Taggart and Trevor Kole leading the way with five (Kole – 5,  Taggart – 5, Guerrero – 4, Knight – 3, Hotchkiss - 2, Terry - 2, Bower - 2, Wilson - 2, Whitton - 2, Blanchard - 1, Sanders - 1, DeCarlo - 1)
• Guerrero's home run against Texas Tech moved him into a tie for fourth in the Husky home run record book with 36 career home runs (T-1. 42, Kyle Conley, 2006-09; T-1. 42, Ed Erickson, 1997-00; 3. 41, Zach Clem, 2003-06; 4. 36, Will Simpson, 2020-23)
• The Huskies have turned 19 double plays this season, ranking 16th in the NCAA
• 45 of Washington's 119 RBIs have come from new transfer players (Trevor Kole – 15, Casen Taggart – 14, Malakhi Knight – 12, Julian Sanders – 8, Carson Crawford- 1)
• Three Huskies are batting .300 or better (Taggart - .354, Guerrero - .311, Terry - .309)
• 19 Huskies have made their program debuts (Banks, Brandenburg, Bronzini, Bujacich, Crawford, Curran, Denomme, Gilbert, Henning, Hotchkiss, Knight, Kole, Nichols, O'Neal, Sanders, Taggart, Thomas, Tims, W. Woodward)

NUMBERS TO KNOW
1 - 2025 is the first season for Eddie Smith at the helm for UW. The Olympia, Wash. native comes to the  Huskies after three  years at Utah Valley.
36 - AJ Guerrero moved into a tie for fourth all-time in career homers at Washington with his three long balls in Las Vegas.
11 - Colton Bower has caught 11 runners stealing this season, the third-most in the NCAA. He trails only Taylor Bronson (UMES - 12) and Ashby Vining (Saint Peter's - 12).
19 - The Huskies have turned 19 double plays this season, adding two against PLU on Wednesday for the 16th-best mark in the NCAA and the most in the Big Ten.

FIRST SEASON UNDER SMITH
On July 9, 2024, Eddie Smith was named the 25th head coach of University of Washington baseball, announced by UW Director of Athletics Pat Chun. Smith, a native of Olympia, Washington, comes to Montlake after three seasons at Utah Valley, quickly turning the Wolverines around from a Western Athletic Conference bottom dweller to one of the nation's most feared mid-major outfits.

UP NEXT
Washington hosts Maryland for the first Big Ten series at Husky Ballpark starting on Friday at 7:02 p.m. Maryland is 11-10 on the season, including 1-2 in Big Ten play. The teams will also play on Saturday at 7:02 p.m. and Sunday at 1:02 p.m.

The Maryland series will conclude Washington's eight-game homestand, its longest of the year.

BANKS BACK
Max Banks is slated to take the bump on Friday, making his first start since February 28 vs. Texas. The senior has been strong in all three of his starts this season with a 4.67 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 17.1 innings of work. In his last start against Texas, Banks logged eight strikeouts.

FIRST CAREER HITS
Freshmen Easton O'Neal and Matthew Henning bagged their first Husky hits against Gonzaga in the series finale on March 16. Henning recorded two hits on the day, scoring one run and collecting his first RBI as well. 

Henning continued his hitting streak on Tuesday, going three-for-three from the plate while adding a walk.

SECOND SHUTOUT
The Huskies bounced back after dropping Tuesday's game against PLU, tying their season-high 12 runs and recording the second shutout of the season on Wednesday against the Lutes. Charlie Denomme made his first Husky start, tossing 3.0 IP with three strikeouts against only one hit. Will Woodward pitched the final four innings of the run-rule victory, fanning seven batters and allowing one hit as well.

GUERRERO POWER
Senior slugger AJ Guerrero moved into a tie for fourth all-time in career home runs after hitting a home run in each game in Las Vegas, including a grand slam against No. 15 Texas. Guerrero has 36 career home runs, tied with Will Simpson (2020-23).

Guerrero has been on a tear to start the season, and has the team's longest hitting streak of 13 games, which was snapped against Gonzaga. His team-leading on base streak closed at 14 as well. 

The Fife, Wash. native leads Washington in doubles (7), total bases (39), walks (14), is second in batting average (.311), slugging percentage (.527), home runs (3), and third in on base percentage (.420), runs scored (14), hits (23), and RBI (13).

SANDERS SLUGGING
Graduate transfer Julian Sanders has gotten hot as of late while filling in for Casen Taggart at first base. The former Claremont McKenna College (DIII) standout's average has risen to .256 with seven runs, 10 hits, two doubles, and one home run. He's tallied eight RBIs as well, along with two walks and three HBP against four strikeouts in his 39 at bats.

Sanders, a native of Mercer Island, Wash., walked on to the baseball team in the fall. He reached out to the Washington coaching staff when he began his graduate program at the University of Washington, looking for a chance to try out for the team. Since then, he's made the active roster and featured in 14 games, making 10 starts.

SLAMMIN' SAMMY
Sam DeCarlo's bat has been hot since moving from the leadoff spot to the middle of the lineup. In 43 leadoff at bats, DeCarlo had an average of .186 with eight hits, one double, one home run, and three RBIs. In 42 at bats from the fifth and sixth spots, DeCarlo is batting .372 with eight runs scored, 16 hits, with one double and one home run.

DeCarlo currently leads the team with 25 hits and 20 runs scored while ranking fifth in batting average (.278).

RISPY BUSINESS
Three Huskies are batting .400 or better with runners in scoring position (Sanders - .500, DeCarlo - .474, Henning - .400) while three Dawgs are batting .300 or better overall (Taggart - .354, Guerrero - .3111, Terry -.309).

DOUBLE PLAY DAWG DEFENSE
Through the first stretch of the season, Washington has been one of the best defensive teams in the nation. The Huskies have turned 19 double plays, the best mark in the Big Ten and the 16th-best in the NCAA. The Huskies are averaging 0.86 double plays per game, fourth in the conference and 40th in the country.

TRANSFER POWER
The Huskies have hit 23 home runs this season, eight of which have come from transfer players. Casen Taggart is second on the team with three long balls. Malakhi Knight also knocked his third homer of the season against Nebraska, a three run shot to put Washington in front in the second game of the doubleheader. And Trevor Kole hit his second homer against Stanford. Washington's other home runs have come from Colton Bower (4), AJ Guerrero (3), Sam DeCarlo (3), Jackson Hotchkiss (1), Julian Sanders (1), Braeden Terry (1), Cooper Whitton (1), and Blake Wilson (1).

THOMAS ON TOP
Jackson Thomas had a dominant first start for Washington, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing three hits, two walks, and fanning seven batters against San Francisco. He backed up his first showing with another stellar performance against Nebraska in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday. He tossed a career-high 7.0 innings while collecting his team-leading second victory of the season. Following his third start of the season against Gonzaga, Thomas has the seventh-best ERA in the Big Ten (2.42) and the eighth-best mark in hits allowed per nine innings (6.85). Thomas will make his fourth start of the weekend against Maryland on Saturday.

BOWER BOOMING
Colton Bower has been a force behind the plate and as a hitter this season. Defensively, he's caught 11 runners stealing, the third-best mark in the nation. He trails only Taylor Bronson (UMES - 12) and Ashby Vining (Saint Peter's - 12). As a batter, Bower's logged four home runs and has 19 hits on the season, including five doubles. 

In the Big Ten rankings, Bower is first in hit by pitch (12) and third in hit by pitch per game (0.57). Bower is also in the top 25 in both hit by pitch statistics nationally, coming in at sixth in total HBP and 23rd in per game.

IMPACT RELIEVER
Josh Emanuels has been strong out of the bullpen for the Dawgs, tallying two saves in 2025. The redshirt senior currently sits fifth in the Big Ten in total saves, 84th nationally. 

WASHINGTON DEBUTS
19 Huskies have made their program debuts through four games (Banks, Brandenburg, Bronzini, Bujacich, Crawford, Curran, Denomme, Gilbert, Henning, Hotchkiss, Knight, Kole, Nichols, O'Neal, Sanders, Taggart, Thomas, Tims, W. Woodward).

INAUGURAL BIG TEN SEASON
Washington will compete in the Big Ten for the first time in 2025. The Huskies join the new-look conference as one of 17 competitors. Washington will face Nebraska, Maryland, Rutgers, Purdue, UCLA, Illinois, Northwestern, Iowa, Oregon, and USC this season.

This year's  conference tournament will feature 12 teams and incorporate pool play with four groups consisting of three teams each. The four pool winners will meet in the single-elimination semifinals on May 24, followed by the championship game on May 25.

BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
Transfer pitcher Max Banks, along with returners Isaac Yeager and AJ Guerrero were each named among the Big Ten's most notable players for the 2025 season.

Banks, a native of San Francisco, pitched three seasons at Chapman before joining the Huskies. He was named to the ABCA All-Region third team his sophomore year, and also earned first team All-SCIAC honors following a season with 12 starts, 76 innings, and 84 strikeouts.

Isaac Yeager was a key pitcher for the Dawgs in 2024, as he made 21 relief appearances and posted a 6.34 ERA in 38.1 innings with 31 strikeouts.

AJ Guerrero figures to be one of the conference's best run producers in 2025. The senior slugger moved into a tie for fifth all-time in career home runs last season with 33, with a career-high 15 of them coming in 2024. He also knocked in a career-high 50 RBIs last season.

D3 DIAMONDS
For the third straight year, Washington has hit the NCAA Division III ranks to add to its pitching staff through the transfer portal. The Huskies added right-hander Max Banks who enjoyed a strong three-year career at Division III Chapman, collectively going 12-4, 3.35 in three seasons with a 185-to-67 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 150 2/3 innings. Last season, Washington signed right-hander Spencer Dessart out of Middlebury College in Vermont, who posted a 4.32 ERA with 63 strikeouts over 50 innings. And in 2023, UW brought in D3 transfer Kiefer Lord out of Minnesota's Carleton College, with Lord going on to be a third round draft choice in the 2023 MLB Draft. 

IT CAN WAIT
For the third year in a row, a Washington commit turned down the opportunity to sign with an MLB team to join the Husky roster. Jackson Hotchkiss was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks, but opted to take his talents to UW first. Last season, Blake Wilson was drafted in the 20th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals but still made his way to Montlake. Former Husky Aiva Arquette was a 18th round draft choice by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2022 before coming to campus.