Maryland softball outfielder Lauren Caye chose the right time to produce her first RBIs of the season. 

The senior’s two-RBI double to center field on Senior Day brought the Terps one step closer to their first conference series win of the season. 

Although Maryland nearly secured their second win of the weekend on Saturday, a seventh-inning collapse meant Sunday would be a winner-take-all rubber match. 

Caye’s double extended Maryland’s lead to seven, and that lead would remain as the Terps defeated Illinois for the second time of the weekend. Maryland snapped its six-game series losing streak with an 8-1 victory.

The Terps finally clicked as a team in their first truly convincing conference win of the season. 

“We gave them our best game,” head coach Lauren Karn said. “We pitched really well, got out of jams, played really good defense and we were able to string a lot of hits together and put pressure on their defense, which is what we’ve been talking about.” 

The offense put together a solid all-around game. It had payoff innings in the first and sixth, and the pitching, despite some scary moments, did what was needed. 

Starting pitcher Aubrey Wurst kept the Illini in check during Sunday’s rubber match. She walked four batters, hit two others and allowed three hits, looking like her team-worst 8.84 ERA could cost the team again.

But she kept the scoring down, only allowing one run, stranding eight runners on base. 

Elisea Weigand, who earned a save after pitching in Friday’s win, entered for Wurst in the fifth inning and played well, shutting out Illinois in her time in the circle. 

Kiera Bucher made a relief appearance for the final out of her home career, posting a strikeout. 

“They’re way more engaged right now, and when they’re talking about pitching, it’s a little bit more of a higher quality,” Karn said.  We did a really nice job of bouncing back continuously in the series.”

The seniors performed well in their final home game, which hasn’t been the case very often this season.  

Caroline Fox added an RBI single in Maryland’s first-inning surge, Caye hit a single in the third in addition to her two RBIs and Gracelyn Solarz made her first start at catcher this season. 

Although half of their runs came in the first, the Terps’ offense played well all game. They totaled 11 hits in their final home game of the season, adding five runs in the sixth inning to secure Sunday’s win. 

Although they have done better recently against generally worse competition, Maryland’s seniors contributed to some of the team’s biggest issues this season. 

Aside from Sammi Woods, the senior batters have been among the worst on the team. Only Woods has an average above .220, and Caye and Stolarz have combined for zero RBIs all season. Fox is the second-highest contributor of the graduating class, managing 12 RBIs in 37 appearances. 

Woods also secured her first hit since the Penn State series, when she had one hit on April 4. 

“I have been so, so grateful for the past four years,” Woods said. “Maryland has given me so many resources, so many friends.”

Kiera Bucher has done well for the Terps down the stretch, making appearances in some of their closest games. 

Her play in non-conference play was her best, but she struggled in Big Ten play. Her ERA went up by 45.1% when facing Big Ten competition. She still led the Terps in ERA and wins, but it still wasn’t enough to muster more than a few conference wins all season. 

But on Senior Day, the group combined for arguably their best performance all season, ending their last home game on a high note.