Everyone in the stadium knew Maryland softball’s final series of the regular season did not change much in the Big Ten standings.
Both teams, Maryland and Michigan State, were at the bottom of the Big Ten, having lost seasons.
But the season wasn’t over yet, and the two softball programs were fighting just as hard as ever to secure a rare series victory.
Although the series started close, as the Spartans took a 4-3, nine-inning grind, Maryland bounced back, outscoring the host team 10-2 in the final two games, taking the series and ending the year.
“[We] did a really nice job at staying composed in our at-bats,” head coach Lauren Karn said.
The win is Maryland’s second series victory in a row, making it two total Big Ten series wins on the season.
Although they played poorly for most of the year, the Terps came together to deliver a fantastic final series, featuring quality pitching in every game, strong moments at the plate, and all-around better play.
In its two victories over the weekend, Maryland struck first — a common theme in the team’s conference victories. It scored the first run in all five of their conference wins this season.
Keira Bucher went 1-1 in the series, and Aubrey Wurst pitched a complete game shutout on Saturday for Maryland’s first victory of the weekend.
Wurst managed five strikeouts and only allowed one hit in seven innings. She continued to add to her extremely high walk total, giving up five in the game. Still, her performance meant Maryland’s worst offensive game of the weekend resulted in a win.
“Wurst, I thought, just had full control of the game the whole time, and did a really nice job spotting her pitches and keeping them off balance.” Karn said.
Bucher’s game remained consistent with her latest performances. In Friday’s loss, she delivered a solid game, allowing only one run, but, with Elisea Wiegand allowing two runs and Caitlin Olensky surrendering another, Maryland could not secure the win.
Bucher delivered three more innings on Sunday, while Wiegand and Olensky evenly split the remaining four. Wiegand gave up one run and Olensky pitched a two-inning shutout.
The offense did well throughout the series. Key players included Anna McGowan, Caroline Fox, and Sammi Woods. McGowan was the Terps’ most valuable batter, knocking in five runs in the three-game span.
The Michigan State series was quite similar to the Illinois series, outside of the order of runs scored.
The Terps’ two victories were similar to the two Illinois wins. The first win came in a dominant pitching affair combined with solid offense. The second victory came off the back of a fantastic offensive performance, where the opponent never had a real chance to win.
Maryland’s lone loss in each series came from runs scored late in the game, as Michigan State scored the game-winner in extras after Maryland rallied in the seventh inning to tie the game.
“Overall, just really proud of both sides of the ball,” Karn said.
