The Maryland softball team led for almost six innings against Dartmouth on Sunday. But the Terps logged only one hit after the second frame, so Dartmouth had the chance to knot the game at five in the sixth inning.
Dartmouth did knot the contest but never had a chance to take the lead. An hour before first pitch, the Big Green informed Maryland coach Julie Wright the game had to end by 10:30 a.m. because they needed to leave for the airport. The deadline arrived with the contest tied in the sixth inning. The Big Green had a runner on third with two out it halted.
Wright believes it was the first tie she’s been a part of in her “long career” in softball.
Wright said before the weekend’s Mardi Gras Classic the Terps needed to plate more runners. But Maryland struggled offensively in the tournament’s first four games, scoring five combined runs. Even in their 3-0 win over Bowling Green on Friday, the Terps stranded 13 runners, including two bases loaded chances.
“A hitter can add extra pressure to an at bat when bases are loaded,” Wright said. “But we talk about that a lot and try to coach them through that, that it’s no different than any other at bat, and that’s the way you need to approach and look at it.”
Against Dartmouth, the Terps opened a 5-2 lead in the third inning. Maryland hit .300 with runners in scoring position as the team became more aggressive on the base paths. The Terps stole three bases with two outs.
“That’s something we always want to do every game,” Wright said of the two-out base running. “I don’t feel as if we’ve been in a situation, or maybe with the person that was on base at the time in other games, where we could do that. So, anytime we can add pressure to a defense that’s definitely something we want to do.”
Outfielder Amanda Brashear started the first inning with a single, and after a sacrifice bunt, second baseman Juli Strange hit an RBI double to score Brashear.
In the second inning, the Terps grabbed a 3-0 lead with a two-out rally. Outfielder Brigette Nordberg singled and stole second before designated player Hannah Dewey knocked an RBI double to score the freshman. Brashear then notched an RBI single to score Dewey.
“We just haven’t been getting that done,” Wright said. “We haven’t struggled to hit, but we’ve struggled to score people.”
The Terps scored five runs on six hits. Freshmen Brashear and Nordberg led the offense with two hits each.
Two Dartmouth errors facilitated a pair of runs in the third inning without a hit. Strange reached base on a fielding error. Infielder Anna Kufta’s ensuing grounder likely would’ve eliminated Strange at second, but Dartmouth fumbled the throw, and Kufta and Strange advanced to second and third, respectively. Strange scored on a wild pitch before Kufta came home on infielder Skylynne Ellazar’s sacrifice bunt.
Pitcher Lauren Graves allowed two runs on three hits in two innings before pitcher Madison Martin replaced her. Consecutive doubles in the fourth inning forced pitcher Ari Jarvis to the circle, but Dewey replaced the sophomore after Big Green infielder Maddie Damore’s solo homer cut Maryland’s lead to 5-4.
Before the game was called, catcher Kristina Dillard tried to catch Dartmouth infielder Micah Schroder stealing, but a throwing error drove home the Big Green’s tying run from third.
