By Sununu Bah
Trinity Schlotterbeck set a career-high 10 strikeouts in Maryland Softball’s (21-5) 3-0 win over Bucknell Bison (8-15) Saturday.
Schlotterbeck bested her previous career-high of eight in the fourth inning which she set in the first match against Texas A&M Commerce in the Baylor Tournament.
She didn’t allow a single hit until the fifth inning, denying her her second perfect game of the season. Schlotterbeck finished the game with four hits allowed and added four flyouts and four groundouts.
The Terps headed into Saturday’s matchups after snapping an 11-game winning streak that began against the Commerce in the Baylor Tournament on February 26. The 12-game streak was their longest winning streak since 2011’s 13-game winning streak.
Schlotterbeck bounced back with a hot start, striking out the first eight batters. Schlotterbeck bested her career-high seven home strikeouts at Maryland Softball Stadium against Iowa last year.
Bucknell freshman Savannah Jones kept the Bison in the game for most of the day with two strikeouts, three flyouts, and eight ground outs. Jones only allowed four hits on the day. She played a career-high five innings.
Kamryn Davis had a crucial third base slide in the fifth inning that led to Maryland’s first run of the game after Bucknell first baseman Mackenzie Hilling couldn’t field the catch to get Sydney Lewis out.
Right after, MacFarland hit a triple that got Campbell Kline, who ran for Lewis, on the scoreboard.
Jaeda McFarland scored Maryland’s third in the fifth inning after Bucknell catcher Zoie Smith could not catch the wild pitch thrown by Kaiya Burton. McFarland zoomed to the home plate as Smith attempted to field the ball and made it just in time to mark her safe.
The Bison were coming into the game after defeating Rider University 3-2 in an early 9 a.m. showdown to pick up their 8th victory of the season.
While Schlotterbeck came out with a hot start, the Terps were only able to get two players on base in the first two innings. The first was a result of a ball and the second was a result of a single down center field by Mackenzie Greico.
Maryland attempted to gain momentum in the third inning after Sammi Woods hit a double down left field and Megan Mikami got her second walk. However, the Terps couldn’t capitalize with the two runners on base.
Maryland will play Texas Tech at 7 p.m. today in their second game of the Capital Classic.
