Laura Watten

Terrapins softball coach Laura Watten knew this weekend’s games at N.C. State wer going to challenge her young team.

Playing ACC foes on the road, Watten said, is different from typical away games. From the anticipation before a game to the intensity of the environment, everything is brought to another level.

But those outside factors may not have been the biggest obstacles the Terps faced this series. The team was also missing three key players due to injury and illness.

Infielder Mandy Gardner is out for the season with a shoulder injury suffered nearly two weeks ago, while outfielder Nikki Maier and relief pitcher Brenna Nation are sidelined indefinitely with mononucleosis. Without them, the Terps dropped two of their three games against the Wolfpack this weekend, winning 2-1 in Game 1 before dropping the next two, 4-0 and 7-1.

“We’ve been hit a little bit with injuries and fitness,” Watten said. “It’s just about other people stepping up and filling those roles.”

Maier has a .320 batting average with eight home runs and 32 RBIs this season, while Gardner has four home runs and 18 RBIs. Though the Terps won the first game of the series, Maier and Gardner’s absences stood out. Their two runs came on just two hits in the sixth inning.

Left fielder Amanda McCann led off with a single. After advancing to second base on a passed ball, the junior got to third following a ground out to first base.. Aggressive base running also put shortstop Lindsey Schmeiser in scoring position, as she stole second after earning an intentional walk. Catcher Shannon Bustillos knocked both runners in with adouble.

The Terps (20-20, 5-4 ACC) had three hits in their victory, and while they tallied more each of the next two games, Wolfpack ace Emily Weiman rarely allowed the Terps to build rallies. She pitched three complete games and never allowed more than two hits in an inning.

“We have to be better at aggressing,” Watten said. “We were just really overanxious.”

The struggling offense ultimately proved to be the Terps’ downfall with insufficient run support. Outfielder Liana Newton and infielders Candice Beards and Corey Schwartz — who replaced Gardner and Maier in the lineup — finished the series a combined 1-for-18 at the plate, and the team batted just .184 over the three games. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack (19-17-1, 5-6 ACC) notched timely hits that helped them inch away from the Terps.

The Wolfpack won Game 2 with four RBI hits, including a home run, and Weiman threw a shutout. Infielder Renada Davis led off Game 3 with a solo shot to left field. Terps outfielder Sara Acosta responded with an RBI single in the third, but the team conceded six runs over the next three innings.

“We got to help our pitchers out a little bit better offensively,” Watten said

The team seemed poised to jump ahead with the bases loaded in the seventh,but infielder Juli Strange flied out — leaving three runners stranded — to end the game and the series.

In past away games, the Terps only had to worry about the impacts of traveling and opponents’ home-field advantages. Now, however, their dwindling roster could become an additional concern.

Still, Watten said the team is on track to finish in the top half of the conference. Whether they reach that goal come May, however, relies on the depth of her roster.

“We could position ourselves in a pretty decent place going into the ACC Tournament,” she said. “We [have to] just take care of the little things that we need to take of, that’s all.”

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