When the Terrapin softball team took the field for the second half of its doubleheader against Longwood on Saturday, the Terps looked like a completely different team — not in their attitude or the way they were playing, but in their actual composition.
Through 51 games of the 2010 campaign, coach Laura Watten rarely deviated from the Terps’ typical lineup. But after a feeble offensive showing in the opener of the doubleheader, Watten shook up the lineup card in game No. 52, looking for a spark on offense.
Instead, the offense regressed further, managing only one run off Longwood pitcher Briana Wells, who had already pitched the first game of the doubleheader.
“I wasn’t happy with the result of the first game,” Watten said Saturday. “We had more opportunities, and we just weren’t playing to our level. [The lineup change] really didn’t change much.”
Infielders Alex Schultz and Marisha Branson remained at the heart of the Terps’ batting order, hitting third and fourth respectively, and Nadine Blackie started at first base, as she has done regularly since her return to the field following a hand injury.
Other than that, the lineup differed drastically from anything Watten had rolled out all season.
“I just wanted to get some other bats in the lineup,” Watten said, “so that we could maybe get a little bit of a temperament out there. … I just tried to get something different going.”
The most obvious change was at the top of the order. Outfielder Vangie Galindo, the usual leadoff hitter, dropped all the way to the No. 9 spot, with shortstop Kathy McLaughlin moving up two spots in the lineup to No. 1.
While several hitters struggled Saturday, Galindo went a combined 1-for-6 with three strikeouts in the doubleheader, failing to deliver timely hitting with runners on base.
“We weren’t really getting much production,” Watten said. “I felt like Vangie’s confidence was down a little bit, so I wanted to move her more to the bottom of the lineup. She could possibly get some better pitches and maybe work through some things down there.”
There were plenty more alterations among the starters. Sara Acosta had patrolled center field and batted No. 2 nearly all year for the Terps, but in Saturday’s series finale, Niki Lau took over both jobs.
Infielder Marybeth Herrick earned a rare start in right field, while infielder Lexi Carroll was a surprise stand-in for Kerry Hickey at designated hitter.
Initially, it seemed as if the new strategy might pay dividends. McLaughlin doubled in the Terps’ first plate appearance of the game, and after a Lau pop out, Schultz singled and then stole second base.
But with the Terps in prime position to jump on Wells early — as they did in the opener with their normal lineup — the offense stalled for nearly the rest of the game.
A Branson strikeout and a fly out from Carroll stranded the two runners, and in the next frame, the Terps got two runners on without a hit but again left the inning empty-handed.
The offense showed signs of life in the fourth inning, with Herrick’s RBI single pulling the Terps within one run of the Lancers. But Galindo fouled out and McLaughlin grounded out, leaving two runners stranded in scoring position and the Lancers with considerable momentum.
Longwood eventually tacked on three more runs to make it 5-1, and through the final three innings of the game the Terps managed only one hit as the score held.
The Terps close out the regular season with an ACC series against Boston College this weekend, and Watten said she’s still unsure who will be in the lineup Saturday.
“We just need to focus on the games we gotta play, the pitcher we gotta face, what we gotta do,” Branson said.
schneider@umdbk.com
