After offseason turnover, Maryland softball will lean on its nine newcomers to fill holes in its lineup.
Since May, the Terps have seen offensive leader Skylynne Ellazar and ace Ryan Denhart depart — the former through graduation and the latter to transfer. The Terps will rely on a bevy of unproven arms on the mound as they look to improve on last season’s 18-37 record.
Fourth-year coach Julie Wright knows her team is young. Though her roster has impressed her throughout spring training, she expects to start see significant growth when they begin their season in Troy, Alabama on Friday against Murray State in the Trojan Classic.
“I think we’re going to learn a lot more when we’re playing because it’s going to be a faster pace than some people are used to,” infielder Anna Kufta said. “It’s going to be more in-the-moment learning.”
[Read more: Plagued by inexperience, Maryland softball showed improvement in 2018]
Kufta — who’s spent time at shortstop and catcher during her Maryland career — will be at third base this season, the position she was recruited to play. Last season, Kufta led the team with five multiple-RBI games and hit .203 with a team-high 23 walks.
The junior has emerged as a leader for the younger players throughout the offseason, and Wright sees her as one of the players who will help fill the void that Ellazar left.
Ellazar, a second-team All-Big Ten honoree, led the Terps in nearly every offensive category last season, including batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Wright also praised the infielder for being a calming presence during games.
Hannah Eslick and Bridgette Nordberg, two mainstay infielders from last season, also transferred away from the program.
Denhart’s loss may prove difficult to overcome on the mound. The Los Alamitos, California, native featured in 43 games, compiling 93 strikeouts — the most from a Maryland freshman since 2006 — in 145.2 innings with a 4.13 ERA.
[Read more: New Zealand native Mikayla Werahiko is glad she chose Maryland softball]
Without Denhart — who transferred to Grand Canyon University — the Terps will feature five different pitchers: seniors Sydney Golden and Sami Main, transfers Victoria Galvan and Kiana Carr and freshman Amelia Jarecke, each bringing a different style to the mound.
Golden, who Wright said wears hitters down with fastballs, started 23 games last season and had 61 strikeouts. Main comes in with three starts and 19 strikeouts under her belt and a style that contrasts Golden’s and provides plenty of versatility.
Carr is a transfer from Phoenix Community College, where she won the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference title and Pitcher of the Year honor. Galvan spent 2018 at South Carolina in a reserve role.
Last season, the Terps pulled off a five-game win streak in Big Ten play. The 5-1 start was a personal best for Maryland within the conference, but the rest of the season did not follow similar successes.
The Terps were only able to earn two more conference wins for the remainder of the year, finishing at 7-16 in the Big Ten and 18-37 overall. The five-game win streak did, however, allow the Terps to return to the Big Ten tournament for the first time since 2015.
The Terps perhaps struggled the most last season in the field. They finished the season with 92 total errors, the most in the Big Ten, and miscues were a large part of their first-round loss to Illinois in last season’s Big Ten Tournament.
“We always want to be 92 percent,” Kufta said. “I mean, personally, I want to be 100 percent. But that’s a main focus with our defense right now.”
To avoid following last year’s trends, Wright said the team will be focusing on consistency and durability. If they focus on staying healthy in their minds, bodies and spirits, then the rest will follow, she said.
Other main focuses for the team are communication and development, but Kufta believes that their team chemistry will help improve those aspects of the game.
“We’re all learning together. When we’re struggling, it’s not necessarily us looking and picking on one another,” Kufta said. “It’s more so picking each other up and fighting through those struggles together, not just individually.”
