Maryland softball, lead by head coach Mark Montgomery, faced No. 24 ranked Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin this past weekend with two games a series. The Terps had a win and a loss for each team they played.
On Friday, the Terps fell to Minnesota 1-2 for game one. Jennifer Brann, a senior pitcher, had a fairly good game by recording nine strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched. In terms of hitting, Brann helped the team by going 1-2. Sophomore Campbell Kline went 1-1 and stole home to give the Terps their only run. The Terps were feeling speedy with 5 stolen bases in total.
Minnesota had two doubles by juniors Natalie DenHartog and Megan Dray. The Gophers also had two RBIs, two sacrifice hits and two stolen bases. Senior pitcher Amber Fiser earned the “W” for the game with nine strikeouts in eight innings.
For game two, Maryland won 2-1 against Minnesota. Sophomore Trinity Schlotterbeck received the win with five strikeouts in 6.1 innings. Junior Regan Kerr and freshman Jaeda McFarland each went 1-2. McFarland earned both runs in this game with one run coming from a RBI by sophomore Taylor Liguori.
The Gophers came up short. Although junior pitcher Autumn Peace had eight strikeouts in seven innings, she gave up four hits and two runs. Minnesota wasn’t on point in the batter’s box except for senior Makenna Partain’s triple and senior Katelyn Kemmetmueller’s RBI.
Maryland fell 5-7 against Illinois for game one on Saturday. Terps pitching wasn’t the best, with only two strikeouts in the entire game. There were three doubles recorded, one each by freshman Jaeda McFarland, sophomore Taylor Liguori and junior Gracie Voulgaris. In addition, Maryland had five RBIs and three stolen bases.
Together, Illinois freshman pitcher Tori McQueen and junior pitcher Addy Jarvis recorded 5 strikeouts. Junior Kailee Powell was on fire with two doubles and one run. Illinois had a total of six RBIs.
In game two, Maryland beat Illinois 3-2. Again, sophomore Trinity Schlotterbeck earned the “W” with three strikeouts in eight innings. Freshman Jaeda McFarland did well with a triple, a RBI and a stolen base. Maryland had a total of three RBIs and three stolen bases in the game.
Graduate student Kelsie Packard and junior Sydney Sickels had a combined nine strikeouts, but still fell too short. Sophomore Delaney Rummell stood out for the Illinois team by hitting a double and recording a RBI.
Again, Maryland lost its first game of the series, but this time on Sunday against Wisconsin 0-1. Senior pitcher Jennifer Brann recorded five strikeouts in six innings, but the Maryland offense didn’t produce at the plate. Although, freshman Jaeda McFarland hit a double and had one stolen base.
The Badgers were able to come off with the win. Junior pitcher Maddie Schwartz struck out three Terps in seven innings with only one walk. Freshman Skylar Sirdashney went 2-2 with a triple, a double and a run and sophomore Fiona Girardot went 1-2 with a double and a RBI. The Badgers turned a huge triple play against the Terps with runners on first and second base.
Maryland won game two against Wisconsin 2-1. For the third time, sophomore Trinity Schlotterbeck got the win with four strikeouts in eight innings, a stolen base and a run. Freshman Jaeda McFarland and junior Haley Ellefson each had a RBI. Junior Ruby Butler recorded a run.
Badgers junior pitcher Maddie Schwartz recorded five strikeouts in 7.2 innings, but had two errors and two walks. Redshirt freshman Gabi Carra had the Badgers’ lone run.