After Maryland softball center fielder JoJo McRae battled off the first 10 pitches of Tuesday’s game, the sophomore finally found the right pitch.
McRae, leading off for the Terps for just the second time this season, crushed the ball down the left-field line. McRae kept sprinting around the bases, turning her liner into an inside-the-park home run and giving Maryland a 1-0 lead over Virginia after just one batter.
But the Terps notched just three other hits — with none coming after the second inning — as the Cavaliers came on strong late to win, 7-1.
“We just weren’t attacking things with intensity and aggressiveness,” coach Julie Wright said. “We just did not play well really on all sides of the ball today. It wasn’t our best effort.”
Coming off a 4-0 weekend in the Maryland Invitational, the Terps stumbled in their final nonconference matchup before Big Ten play begins, struggling to find an answer at the plate without offensive leader Taylor Okada, who missed out through injury.
Wright’s squad employed three different pitchers but couldn’t contain the Cavaliers.
“We’ve got to spot the ball a little better,” Wright said. “The Big Ten hitters are really good, and if we stay in our lanes and hit the edges of the plate, I think we’ll be just fine.”
Virginia tied the game in the top of the second, and held the scoreline at one with solid defense — and Maryland miscues — in the bottom half of the inning. Catcher Gracie Voulgaris led off with a single into center field, but designated player Sammie Stefan popped her bunt attempt up to third, unable to advance Voulgaris.
So, during the next at-bat, Voulgaris attempting to swipe second but was thrown out. First baseman Taylor Wilson followed with a single and left fielder Micaela Abbatine hit a double to left-center field, but Wilson was thrown out at home attempting to score from first to end the frame.
After four hits in two innings against right-hander Aly Rayle, the Cavaliers changed to left-hander Clare Zureich in the bottom of the third inning. The freshman immediately struck out her first batter, shortstop Regan Kerr. Zureich punched out three more batters in five innings without allowing a hit.
“At the end of the day,” right fielder Amanda Brashear said, “we just have to make adjustments faster with any pitcher.”
While second baseman Bailey Boyd and third baseman Anna Kufta reached on errors in the fourth and sixth, Zureich held Maryland’s offense in check the rest of the way.
Right-hander Kiana Carr struck out two batters in the top of the fourth to work around a single. But in the top of the fifth, the Terps found themselves trailing the Cavaliers 3-1 after third baseman Hayley Busby hit a two-run homer to right-center field.
Even after freshman pitcher Victoria Galvan swapped into the circle for Carr after the two-run shot, Virginia tacked on another run with an RBI double.
Wright put right-hander Sami Main into the circle after Galvan walked one Virginia batter and hit a second to open the sixth. Main’s first batter, though, left fielder Tori Gilbert, hammered a three-run homer that put the Cavaliers up 7-1, effectively ending Maryland’s chances at a comeback.
After a promising weekend tournament just days earlier, the Terps struggled against a former ACC foe Tuesday before conference play opens Friday against No. 20 Minnesota.
“I’m most confident in our team chemistry and ability to bounce back,” Wilson said. “We just trust each other enough to put that confidence back in each other after something doesn’t go the way we wanted. I think that will take us a long way.”
