Maryland softball freshman catcher Zayda Rocke came in with eight home runs, but hadn’t had a moment quite like she did on Wednesday night.
A game-breaking grand slam in the first inning.
As the ball came flying off Zayda Rocke’s bat, the energy inside Maryland Softball Stadium shifted as the Terps cruised to a 6-0 win over Howard. Fans could feel it in the air, a sense of calm they had been missing more often than not this season.
Entering Wednesday evening, Maryland had just one win in its last twelve games. It was facing a red-hot Howard team that hadn’t lost in nearly a month.
Howard hasn’t played a power conference team since March 1, when they beat Minnesota. Although the Bison might have come into the game knowing they could pull another one off, Maryland reminded them of the power of a Big Ten roster.
In addition to Rocke’s grand slam to get the game started, pitcher Aubrey Wurst held it down on the defensive side. Howard’s defense couldn’t keep up, and the offense couldn’t put anything together.
This performance helped the Terps remember that scoring is a part of the game that they need to do to win, after they scored five runs in their previous three games.
Anna McGowan hit a home run in the third inning, marking her first RBI since March 26. In total, Maryland had three batters contribute RBIs, and five batters contributed eight hits. The team averaged .307, better than their .277 season average.
Rocke’s home run is her second in three games as she continues to impress at the end of her freshman campaign. She was one of the three Terps to contribute an RBI in their most recent series.
“What’s kind of helped with me is, you know, watching film, knowing my swing, and getting in the facility, fixing what I need to fix… being able to make quick adjustments and seeing pitches and going after the ones I want to go after,” said Rocke.
Although Rocke contributed the majority of runs for the Terps, the team batted much better than normal on Wednesday despite missing Sammi Woods, who leads the team in batting average and OPS.
“She was not feeling well enough to play, and we really need her to be as good as possible this weekend,” head coach Lauren Karn said.
Howard, in terms of record, is the best non-conference opponent the Terps have faced since they lost back-to-back games against a ranked Virginia (33-8) squad. Howard’s offense is quite strong as of late, averaging 9.58 runs per game during their win streak.
Howard has won seven games during their win streak by run rule, an issue for Maryland all season. However, the defense mirrored the Terp offense’s statement performance, shutting out the Bison behind pitcher Aubrey Wurst.
After delivering four innings of near-perfect pitching, Wurst began to show signs of fatigue in the fifth inning, where she hit a batter after walking the previous batter and threw a wild pitch. After a quick talk with Karn, Wurst delivered the final out of the inning. She would pitch the rest of the game, earning her fifth career complete game shutout.
“Aubrey has a tendency to get a bit outside of herself and try too hard to find solutions, when all she really needs to do is trust her body to do the work to compete. And I thought she did that tonight, which I was really proud of,” Karn said.
Wurst has not done well this season, allowing a team-high 6.91 ERA (min. 2 starts). However, she looked fantastic against Howard. Specifically, the opposing batters struggled against her velocity, often swinging late and fouling off pitches or missing them entirely.
Wurst finished her complete game, throwing 96 pitches, striking out five batters while only allowing two hits.
As of late, Maryland has made numerous adjustments to its batting order and lineup. Tonight, Maryland trotted out 14 different batters on Friday.
Going into their final two conference series, Maryland can still make the conference tournament. The adjustments might be key to sparking a weak offense as Maryland enters desperation mode to get into the Big Ten tournament.
The extra at-bats could also help players with their development, or potentially get them scouted by other teams instead of the transfer portal era.
“We could put some people in there who haven’t had as many opportunities to get them the game reps that they really need for the longevity of their career,” Karn said.
