With a near-perfect pitcher and overpowering offense, the Terrapins softball team extended its winning streak to five games last night after a doubleheader sweep of Howard.
Senior pitcher Kendra Knight started both games in the circle for the Terps (25-17), throwing a no-hitter in the first bout while allowing only one hit in her combined eight shutout innings of work.
“With [Knight], we’ve been keeping it simple and really focusing on one pitch at a time, one batter at a time, and winning every inning,” coach Laura Watten said. “Regardless of who you’re throwing against and who’s up in the box, to have a no-hitter against anybody is good.”home-run blast in the opener, a 9-0 win. Catcher Shannon Bustillos also hit a two-run home run and added four RBI in the doubleheader.
“I just feel like as a team, when we come together and everybody shows, that’s when we shine,” Maier said after the Terps capped the sweep with a 10-0 win.
The Terps left little doubt in either game against Howard (7-26), ending both blowouts after five innings with the eight-run rule. They scored a combined 18 runs in the first three innings of the doubleheader, and their wins marked the fourth time in five games in which they’ve held an opponent to one or no runs.
“We have to take every game and approach every game like we’re playing the best team in the conference and the best team in the country,” Maier said. “These are always challenging games to play and really, [on] every single pitch you have to make sure you stay focused on just being your best.”
Yesterday, they were just that from start to finish, making their quick work of an overmatched foe look all too easy.
“When you jump out and get ahead of teams, it’s tough to stay focused,” Watten said. “But we really maintained our focus and really took care of winning every inning, and that’s been our goal.”
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