After allowing 14 runs in a loss to Nebraska on Saturday, the Terrapins softball team struggled again in the pitching circle Sunday.
Coach Julie Wright said the rubber match would be a “defining moment” for the Terps, but the team was overmatched by Nebraska’s powerful offense in a 26-4 walloping. The 22-run loss marked the largest margin of defeat for the Terps this season.
Pitcher Madison Martin, who entered play with a team-leading 3.07 ERA, had problems with her command. She walked four batters in just 1.2 innings in the pitching circle.
Martin was solid Friday, allowed three runs over five innings to earn the win in the series opener. Sunday, however, she gave up eight runs (six earned) in her short outing.
Utility player Hannah Dewey replaced Martin in the pitching circle in the second inning but failed to record an out. She gave up five runs (three earned), as the Cornhuskers scored 11 times in the second inning.
Later, Dewey returned in the fifth inning and allowed another run on a RBI single.
Before the game got out of reach for the Terps, their offense threatened to score multiple runs in the bottom of the first inning. But after drawing three straight walks with two outs, including an RBI walk from Dewey, outfielder Kylie Datil popped out to end the rally.
Datil came through in the third with a two-run home run, which was her first long ball of the season.
But by that point, the 2-1 deficit the Terps faced after the first inning had already ballooned to 21-4.
The Cornhuskers finished with 26 runs on 21 hits and 10 walks. They had five players with three or more RBIs.
