Maryland softball coach Julie Wright didn’t mince words after her team’s 26-4 drubbing against Nebraska on April 3, a program worst. She blasted her players for being too passive at the plate and admitted she didn’t know how to get her message through to them.
But in midweek practice before the Terps’ series with Michigan State last weekend, Wright found a solution: She made her players watch film clips from their performance against the Cornhuskers that showed their lack of aggression in clutch situations.
The Terps were upset with themselves as they saw their mistakes on tape.
They responded to that emotion by following Wright’s hitting game plan and using top-to-bottom lineup contributions to score a combined 19 runs in the final two games of their weekend series against Michigan State, marking a turnaround from their perils against Nebraska.
“Coach gave us a plan, and everyone was sticking to it,” catcher Kristina Dillard said. “We kind of attacked each pitch and just were hungry for it.”
Maryland collected 32 hits in its series against the Spartans. The Terps’ .368 team batting average over the weekend surpassed their season average of .290.
Each Terps starter had at least one hit in the three-game series, and five players — Dillard, infielders Lindsey Schmeiser and Skylynne Ellazar, and outfielders Kylie Datil and Destiney Henderson — had at least four hits.
The participation sparked extended rallies. In four different innings during the first game of Sunday’s double-header — a 10-2 Terps victory — Maryland brought at least seven players to the dish. And the Terps amassed 11 plate appearances during their five-run first inning in the second outing of the afternoon.
Dillard, who went 4-for-11 with three RBIs, said it was amazing to see the lineup execute so well.
“It just shows that we can do it,” Dillard said. “We have the potential. We have the skills. We have the tools.”
Outfielder Sarah Calta helped spark the production as the team’s leadoff hitter. Through 38 games this season, the junior is batting .340 with seven stolen bases.
Dillard said Calta is a “crucial” player because she sets the tone for the rest of the order. The outfielder is often the first to arrive at practice, getting in extra batting practice.
“It’s nice to have that person that you can trust to get a bunt down, or run it out and get on and steal for us,” Dillard said of Calta.
The bottom half of the Terps order, including the trio of Dillard, Datil and Henderson, also contributed to the team’s about-face, especially with runners on base.
With the bases loaded in first inning of the series rubber match, Dillard fell behind in the count and had to foul off a string of pitches. She continued her patient approach as Schmeiser scored from third on a wild pitch from Michigan State hurler Kristina Zalewski.
Then, Dillard ripped a two-run single to right-center field to tie the game at three.
The Terps went 14-for-30 (.467) with runners in scoring position in two games on Sunday with nine RBIs from the No. 5 to No. 9 hitters in the lineup.
“A lot of times we get on, and we don’t necessarily score the people that we get on,” Calta said. The bottom half “really produced this weekend, and that’s what made a big difference for us.”
The Terps ended the series with a rush to the field to celebrate the walk-off hit-by-pitch that capped their 9-8 victory. Then they held an autograph session for the young fans in attendance.
While the players engaged with one another and the crowd, they appeared relieved to have rebounded from their trouncing the weekend before with the team’s first back-to-back wins this season.
