The Terrapin softball team may occupy a precarious position in the ACC conference standings, but yesterday was a day of celebration nonetheless at Taylor Stadium.

A script “Terps” insignia covered shallow centerfield, and the numbers of the team’s three seniors dotted the stadium’s diamond. Balloons and streamers decorated the stands, and a pregame ceremony honored the seniors before the Terps took on Virginia Tech yesterday.

The ritzy send-off might have seemed to obscure the Terps’ more pressing matter — winning their first ACC series this season — but it didn’t stop them from winning a final home game for their seniors.

With a 7-3 victory over Virginia Tech (16-26, 3-9 ACC), the Terps (25-16, 3-8) gave infielders Alex Schultz and Nadine Blackie and catcher Lydia Fowler a proper farewell from their home turf to secure a 2-1 series victory, their first in conference play.

“That was our team goal before we came out here,” pitcher Kerry Hickey said. “We were playing for our seniors. We really wanted to come out and shut Virginia Tech down.”

The Terps smashed Virginia Tech’s pitching from the start yesterday. Shortstop Kathy McLaughlin chipped in a two-RBI single and infielder Marisha Branson had a sacrifice fly as the Terps batted around in the first, where they took an early 4-0 lead.

Schultz, the Terps’ greatest offensive weapon all year, wrapped up her last ACC contest in College Park with a 3-for-4 day at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Hickey kept Hokie batters in check all day, yielding only five hits in a seven-strikeout performance. She gave up three runs yesterday, only one of them earned.

As good as she was yesterday, she was even better Saturday.

Hickey tossed a no-hitter in the first game of the series en route to a 7-0 Terps’ victory. A third-inning leadoff walk was all that kept Hickey from perfection. Instead, she had to settle for her ninth career no-no.

“It just reflects on our great defense and our production offensively,” Hickey said. “It was a great game, and that’s what we’re capable of.”

Hickey helped her own cause with a 3-for-3 day at the plate, scoring a run and driving in another. Branson drove in two runs as well, with Schultz contributing an RBI triple as well.

“It’s crucial for us that Kerry really is on, both on the mound and on at the plate,” coach Laura Watten said after the Terps swept a George Washington doubleheader Wednesday. “She’s a key player in our lineup, and she’s one of our key hitters that we really depend on a lot to step in and hit the ball hard somewhere and score runs. It’s good to see her really stay in a groove and coming through some things.”

The no-hitter was the Terps’ second of 2010. Kendra Knight, Hickey’s close friend, threw one against Columbia on March 17.

Knight took the mound in the series’ nightcap, giving up only two hits to Virginia Tech. But the Terps were undone by walks, errors and two unearned runs scored in the third inning.

Outfielder Vangie Galindo’s double in the fifth inning drew the score to 2-1, but the Terps left the bases loaded in the sixth and were silenced in the seventh to end their short-lived two game ACC winning streak.

“This is what we should be doing in every series,” said Watten, whose Terps tripled their ACC win total on the year this weekend. “This is what we’re capable of on a consistent basis. We’ve still got work to do, and we still have a good chunk of our ACC season to go. We really need to take care of business.”

schneider@umdbk.com