Lincoln – The No. 18 Nebraska baseball team (23-7, 3-0 Big Ten) will play its first Big Ten road series of the season this weekend three-games against the No. 17 Maryland Terrapins (19-7, 4-2 Big Ten) in College Park, Md. Friday night’s series opener will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.

The series opens at 6:05 p.m. (CT) on Friday night and will be carried nationally on the Big Ten Network. The teams are then scheduled to play at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping on the series on Sunday at 11:05 a.m. Sunday’s finale will also be show on BTN, but will be broadcast on tape delay at 2 p.m. Fans can watch Sunday’s game live on BTN2Go.

The Terrapins were the preseason favorite to win the conference by the league’s coaches, while the Huskers were picked second. The Huskers enter the weekend atop the conference standings with a 3-0 conference record, while Maryland is in a four-way tie for third place with a 4-2 league record.

Nebraska is 9-1 over its last 10 games and has posted a 18-3 record since the start of March. Maryland enters the weekend a perfect 7-0 at Bob Smith Stadium this season, including a series sweep of Minnesota in its first ever Big Ten series two weeks ago. The former ACC member was on the road in Ann Arbor, Mich., last weekend and dropped a series against Michigan, 2-1.

Friday night will see a showdown between two of the league’s top pitchers in Nebraska senior Chance Sinclair and Maryland sophomore Mike Shawaryn. Sinclair is 7-0 all-time in nine Big Ten starts and has won each of his last three starts entering Friday. A freshman All-American by multiple publications last season, Shawaryn is 6-0 this season in seven starts with a 2.11 ERA. The Carneys Point, N.J., product has struck out 54 and walked just seven over 47.0 innings of work.

Saturday’s 1:05 p.m. meeting with be between a pair of lefties, with senior Kyle Kubat scheduled to start for Nebraska against Maryland sophomore Tayler Stiles. Kubat will be in search of his 20th career win and is coming off of consecutive starts where he totaled nine strikeouts. Stiles is a 6-2 native of Bowie, Md., and is 2-2  on the year with a 3.81 ERA. In 26.0 innings he has allowed 26 hits, walked five and struck out 25.

After starting sophomores in the first two games, the Terrapins are scheduled to throw senior right hander Bobby Ruse on Sunday against Nebraska sophomore Derek Burkamper. Burkamper is 4-1 on the season and has won each of his past three starts. The Muscatine, Iowa, native is coming off a career-long 8.1 innings outing against Texas, where he also struck out a career-high six batters. Ruse set a Maryland single-season record last year with 31 appearances, including four starts. This year he has made three starts in eight appearances and has a 4-1 record with a 5.19 ERA. In 26.0 innings he has struck out 25, while walking eight.