The Terps knew losing Wednesday at Towson would likely kill any chance of an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. In just over an hour, those chances were all but dead.
After another disappointing performance against a lesser opponent — a 1-0 loss to the Tigers — it is likely the Terps will have to win the ACC Tournament to go to the postseason.
The Terps went into the instate matchup against the Tigers riding a 2-1 ACC series victory over Virginia Tech and with memories of an earlier loss to the Tigers fresh in their mind.
On March 6, the Terps lost in a 2-0 battle highlighted by an inability to capitalize on pitcher Kendra Knight’s 18-strikeout performance.
This week, infielder Alex Schultz was confident enough the Terps would win to proclaim Towson was “not anything special.”
But one scoreless performance later, it was the Tigers who were again celebrating.
ACC pitcher of the week Kerry Hickey took the rubber for the Terps and continued to shut down opposing batters, holding the Tigers to one run on three hits while racking up six strikeouts.
But in what has become a unsettling trend this year, the Terps’ offense was nowhere to be found.
The Terps were able to eke out only three hits against Towson ace Dominique Ortega, leaving seven runners left on base. Even four Tiger errors weren’t enough to stoke the Terps’ offense.
Perhaps even more frustratingly, the result came with late-game drama. With runners on second and third in the top of the seventh inning, outfielder Vangie Galindo grounded out to first base, smothering the Terps’ chances at revenge — and probably a whole lot more.
schneider@umdbk.com
