Two home wins Wednesday against George Mason had the Terrapins softball team’s confidence on the rise entering an important ACC weekend series.
Despite a fruitless trip to Atlanta, the Terps insist that confidence hasn’t gone anywhere just yet. After three more losses in more three conference games, though, neither has their win total in ACC play.
“I don’t think we’ve lost any confidence,” coach Laura Watten said yesterday, after a three-game Yellow Jackets sweep ensured the Terps would remain the only winless team in the ACC. “We just didn’t come through with the hits when we needed them.”
The lack of clutch hitting that had plagued the Terps (20-17, 0-6 ACC) before Wednesday resurfaced against Georgia Tech (27-16, 9-3). They crossed the plate only seven times in three games.
Yellow Jackets pitcher Hope Rush shut the Terps down in the series opener, outdueling Kendra Knight in a 6-1 win that saw the Yellow Jackets score three runs by the second inning and never look back.
On Saturday, Terps pitcher Kaitlyn Schmeiser, fresh off a complete-game win against the Patriots, was handed a five-run lead after two innings in the second games.
Only Rush, serving as the Yellow Jackets’ designated player, was there once again to victimize the Terps with her bat. Her three-run double keyed a rally that had the Yellow Jackets on top by the fourth inning of an eventual 9-6 win.
The theme of the final game, a 5-0 shutout, differed little. Against Rush, the Terps totaled just four hits, all by shortstop Kathy McLaughlin.
Knight, continuing a trend that has set her back all season, struggled with her command throughout the weekend. She finished both games she started, but totaled 17 walks in 13 innings.
“She tries way too hard,” Watten said. “It’s just one of those things that happens sometimes.”
For all that went wrong in Atlanta, Watten won’t let the Terps sulk. ACC play, she knows, will only get more difficult as the season moves along.
“We have a long way to go,” Watten said. “There’s still time.”
benscher@umdbk.com
