After scoring only seven runs in three straight losses in the Mizuno Classic, Maryland softball split a doubleheader in the Liberty Softball Classic, beating Toledo before losing to Liberty in their back-to-back games.
In the first matchup against Toledo, the Terps’ offense continued its struggles. Although pitchers Caitlin Olensky and Kiera Bucher held the Rockets scoreless through five innings, Maryland could not muster a score either.
That changed in the sixth inning, when hits from Bailey Murphy and Caroline Fox broke the seal, scoring three runners. An additional RBI from Logan Turner led to a comfortable finish as the Terps shut out Toledo, 4-0.
“To be able to adjust their energy, not let somebody beat us on energy, not let somebody beat us in certain areas. Not just from a stats perspective, but the things that we can control,” head coach Lauren Karn said.
Pitching was the highlight, allowing the Terps to stay composed while they found their offense. Olensky went four innings to start the game, allowing three hits, pitching three strikeouts and not giving up any walks.
“Olensky did a really nice job going as far as she could go,” Karn said. “She was mixing up and down using the changeup … she’s done a really nice job making the adjustments she needs to make on the mound.”
Bucher, who pitched the final three innings of the game, delivered an additional strikeout while allowing no runs on three hits.
“[Bucher] coming in and just being able to change speeds a little bit better … it was tougher for [Toledo] to figure out,” Karn said.
In their second game of the doubleheader, Maryland’s offense struggled yet again, while a brutal start to the game for pitcher Elisea Wiegand put the Terps in a hole they could not overcome as they took a 3-2 loss to Liberty.
The early pitching was not nearly as clinical against the Flames, as Liberty scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Not only that, they hit for the team cycle in the first five at-bats, which resulted in a pitching change from the Terps before the inning ended.
The Terps gave up seven hits in the first three innings, more than Toledo’s total in the Terps’ early matchup.
After a brutal start from Wiegand, who gave up three runs through four batters, Maryland subbed in Aubrey Wurst, who stopped the bleeding.
Although Wurst found herself in some trouble in the third inning, allowing two more hits and loading the bases, she did not give up a run all game.
“I thought [Wurst] did a really nice job staying poised and under control and kept them off balance,” Karn said, “but even if she walked somebody or she gave up a hard hit, she was able to bounce back from it, which was really good to see.”
Unfortunately for Wurst, the Terps offense could not help her, as they finished the game with only two runs.
Wurst wasn’t Maryland’s only defensive substitute to shine in the loss. Backup left fielder Lauren Caye came in for an injured Taylor Borovac and made some incredible plays in the outfield.
Caye made two fantastic catches in the fifth inning, including an incredibly athletic diving play.
“She has not surprised me in any of those [catches], we’ve seen them every day at practice, and so that was a very strategic defensive switch there happening once we had to get Taylor [Borovac] out of there,” Karn said.
Maryland’s offense has struggled mightily in its recent contests, scoring no more than four runs in its last five games. Only one of those games was a win.
Maryland started the game with the bases loaded and zero outs, but failed to cash in on the huge opportunity. Although they showed signs of life in the fourth and seventh innings, scoring one run in each, the Terps could not match the Falmes’ three first-inning runs.
“Our first at-bats, we were chasing some pitches that we shouldn’t have been chasing or swinging at pitches early in our at-bats that were getting weak outs,” Karn said. “The first inning was really strong for us as far as having bases loaded and no outs.”
Anna McGowan has had a fantastic season thus far, boasting a .400 batting average and nine RBIs through 12 games this season. That said, she was quiet on Saturday.
She came into the day on a nine-game hit streak, which ended against Toledo. She managed an RBI sac fly in the top of the seventh against Liberty, but the run would end up irrelevant as the next batter was fielded out, ending the game one run short.
Liberty pitcher Camden Anders started her first game for the Flames against Maryland. Anders also finished the match, pitching a complete game against Maryland, handing the struggling Terps their ninth loss of the season.
