By Katie Christ

After winning the first two games of the series against Big Ten rival Penn State, the Maryland Terrapins Softball team completed the sweep Sunday morning with a 5-3 victory at home in College Park, Md.

Pitcher Hannah Dewey started for the Terps and her strong pitching helped solidify the win. The first two innings were quiet for both the Terps and the Nittany Lions as both Dewey and Penn State starting pitcher Macy Jones kept the batters at bay.

The Terps found their offensive spark in the third inning. Third baseman Juli Strange started off by advancing to first on an error. With two outs, Dewey drew a walk, bringing second baseman Corey Schwartz to the plate. Schwartz hit an RBI double to right field, scoring Strange and Dewey. Leftfielder Erin Pronobis, who won Saturday’s game with a walk-off home run, followed up with an RBI single, scoring Schwartz and giving Maryland a 3-0 lead.

Dewey continued her dominant pitching in the top of the fourth inning, ending it with a strikeout, her third of four on the day.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Terps’ power returned. Strange hit a double and Kylie Datil followed up with another RBI double, scoring Strange. Datil stole third base and shortstop Lindsey Schmeiser drove her home with an RBI single to right field. With that RBI single, Lindsey Schmeiser’s hitting streak is now at 22 consecutive games.

Dewey gave up three runs in the sixth inning, but the Terps were able to hold on to the lead. With a series sweep over Penn State, Maryland is now 26-19 overall and 8-7 in the Big Ten. They take on Rutgers in a doubleheader Tuesday night in Piscataway, N.J.