By Cam Hasbrouck
The Maryland Terrapins suffered a sweep by the hands of Indiana this weekend, dropping three straight games while scoring only two runs.
The weekend series kicked off with a loss on Friday, despite a solid pitching performance by Madison Martin. She held the Hoosiers two runs (one earned) on five hits in six and two-third innings.
After falling behind in the fifth inning, the Terps loaded the bases in the sixth with just one out. They were unable to bring across any runs and remained scoreless until the final inning when Sarah Calta drove in Kassidy Cross with an RBI double to tie it.
Here's look at Sarah Calta's RBI double to tie the game at 1! #Believe #FearTheTurtle pic.twitter.com/iNNCUV8lYB
— Maryland Softball (@TerpsSoftball) April 21, 2017
However, the Terps were unable to hold down Indiana in the bottom of the seventh, as they walked off with a sacrifice fly to take Game 1.
The second game of the day went over much more poorly for Maryland. Both teams tallied nine hits in the game, but it was the Hoosiers who made the most of the baserunners.
Indiana jumped out to an early lead in the first with a two-run home run by Taylor Uden.
The Terps loaded the bases top half of the second inning, but once again were unable to bring a runner home. Indiana added another run in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-0 lead.
The Terps held Indiana scoreless until the fifth inning when the Hoosiers notched three hits for two runs to go up by five. Maryland was unable to muster a single run and fell 5-0.
After an off-day on Saturday, the two teams took the field on Sunday for the series finale.
Once again, the Hoosiers got going quickly by the hand of Uden, who drove in the game’s opening run with an RBI single.
The Terps responded in the second inning, as Anna Kufta singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
From there, the offenses quieted down and remained scoreless for the rest of regulation.
Maryland’s Martin tossed seven and a third innings, giving up nine hits while allowing just one earned run. Indiana’s Tara Trainer struck out eight Terps in as many innings, allowing just four hits on the day.
Maryland stranded two runners in the eighth inning before allowing a run in the bottom of the frame to lose in extra innings.
With the sweep, Maryland falls to 2-13 in Big Ten play (9-33-1 overall). Indiana improved to 8-9 in the conference (22-25 overall).
The Terrapins return to action on Wednesday, when they head to New Brunswick, New Jersey for a double-header against Rutgers before returning to College Park for a weekend set against Penn State.
