Maryland softball drops its first two games of the season to Cal Poly and UCLA

Maryland softball dropped both games of its season opening doubleheader Friday, losing 4-3 to Cal Poly and 5-1 against UCLA.

Against Cal Poly, Maryland jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when infielder Skylynne Ellazar homered to left-center field. The Terps doubled their lead the next frame with a bases loaded RBI single by outfielder JoJo McRae. A fielder’s choice by Kassidy Cross extended the lead to 3-0 after two innings.

But Cal Poly stormed back to tie the game in the bottom of the third, scoring three times with two outs against starting pitcher Ryan Denhart. The Mustangs completed their comeback in the bottom of the fifth inning. With Sydney Golden on in relief of Denhart, Cal Poly first baseman Halley Martin singled in the go-ahead run with two outs.

The Terps left 10 runners on base and went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position in the loss. They also committed two errors which led to a pair of unearned runs.

In game two, UCLA broke the contest open in the second inning. Already up 1-0, Bruins leadoff hitter Briana Perez took Golden, who started the second game, deep to right-center for a three-run homer.

Maryland scored its lone run in the fourth inning on a two-out double by Bailey Boyd.

Down 5-1, the Terps threatened in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and bringing the tying run to the plate with one out. But UCLA reliever Rachel Garcia struck out Brigette Nordberg and Sammie Stefan to escape the jam and end the game.

Maryland left 11 runners on base against the Bruins, going 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position.

The Terps play twice more Saturday, with games against UC Riverside and Middle Tennessee.