Heading into the fifth inning, Maryland softball trailed Syracuse in danger of its sixth loss in seven games. 

The Terps proceeded to plate three runs in the fifth and another in the sixth.

Maryland’s fifth-inning surge would be enough to hold on and secure a comeback victory, taking down Syracuse, 6-3. 

After starter Elisea Wiegand allowed three runs in the second inning, the Terps turned to Keira Bucher in relief, needing a jolt. 

She found it. 

Bucher escaped multiple jams in 5 ⅓ innings — including loaded bases in the fifth inning — but never surrendered a run. 

The senior ended the game with two strikeouts, with just one walk and three hits and secured a save.

Bucher continued her stellar start to the season on Friday. Her 1.91 ERA leads the Terps this season, as does her three wins. Bucher’s 3-3 record is the only non-negative record on the team this season.

“[Bucher] is going into games being as prepared as possible,” head coach Lauren Karn said. “She does a really nice job reading batters and understanding how she’s able to get them out.”

For Wiegand, however, it was more of the same. 

Maryland pulled Wiegand after allowing three runs in the first inning against Liberty last Saturday. She didn’t make it much longer on Friday. 

Wiegand surrendered a solo home run after securing two outs to start the second inning, which began an unfortunate spiral for Maryland’s starting pitcher. After two bunts and a passed ball led to two runners in scoring position, Syracuse’s Harmony Jackson doubled in both runners and ended Wiegand’s day as the Orange held a 3-0 lead. 

But that’s all the Orange would find and Maryland’s offense woke up.

Matti Benson singled in the 2nd inning to put the Terps on the board. Then, Sophomore Anna McGowan added a solo home run in the 4th inning to break her two-game hitting slump. 

The Terps still trailed by one and needed a comeback in the late innings. Then came the fifth. 

The Terps’ offense secured three hits and two runs to take the lead in the fifth, forcing Syracuse to make a pitching change. Maryland then loaded the bases and scored an additional run to extend its lead.

“I think everything was coming together,” Karn said. “From the start, we were trusting our gameplan offensively.”

Maryland reached base three times on a fielder’s choice and scored one run with two outs, capitalizing on high-leverage mistakes from the defense. 

Friday was a homecoming for the Terps. They finally returned home after playing their first 15 games on the road. Friday marked the first four games during this weekend’s Terrapin Invitational.