This generally isn't the place for college baseball insight. After all, Shipley Field was considered one of the best places on Maryland's campus to study at the turn of the millennium.

But the Terrapins merit a nod for a 30-win season (the second in school history) this spring. And they got their 30th win in magnificent fashion, with sophomore Scott Swinson tossing a no-hitter and striking out 10 this afternoon at Delaware.

Swinson went 5-4 with a 4.96 ERA, 71 strikeouts and 25 walks over 85 1/3 innings. In the land of metal bats, that's not bad at all.

The eternal question facing that program is just how to compete when geography and history conspire against you and your facilities are not top-of-the-line. Virginia, hardly a traditional baseball titan, helped make the first two problems vanish by constructing a gorgeous stadium that opened in 2002. The Cavaliers are now a postseason regular.

Maryland hasn't reached the NCAA tournament since 1971, a problem mitigated by the presence of three of the nation's top four teams in this week's Baseball America rankings (Miami, North Carolina and Florida State) and enough other programs with the propensity to be pretty good more often than not (Clemson, Georgia Tech, N.C. State and Virginia spring to mind).

It should be pointed out that the Terps basically did what they always have to do if they want to have a winning season --- dominate a nonconference schedule filled mostly with area and regional teams interested in defeating an ACC opponent regardless of whether it is Maryland or Miami.

The Terps were 9-21 in conference play, and 21-5 outside the league. Since Feb. 29, that nonconference record rises to 20-2.

Maryland deserves credit both for that and for leaving their friends-and-family fan base (average home attendance: 348) with a fine finale, even if it was on the road.

But given the program's history it's also fair to wonder, as Jack Nicholson once did on the big screen, if maybe this is as good as it gets.

--- Patrick Stevens