Sophomore Lindsey Schmeiser swings at a pitch in the Terps’ 5-4 home loss to Illinois on April 12, 2015.
With the Terrapins softball team down to its final out and the winning run at the plate Sunday afternoon, Shannon Bustillos battled Illinois pitcher Jade Vecvanags into a full count, trying to avoid the Terps’ first sweep in Big Ten play.
Bustillos swung at the 3-2 pitch, but the ball flew past her bat and slammed into catcher Jess Perkins’ glove to clinch the Fighting Illini’s third win in three days at the Maryland Softball Stadium.
The Terps’ 5-4 loss Sunday marked their closest contest of the weekend. They fell in the first game Friday afternoon, 7-3, and suffered a 14-8 loss Saturday.
Coach Courtney Scott Deifel cited defense, a nagging issue for the Terps this season, as their greatest struggle this weekend.
“When balls are hit that are playable, we need to make the plays, and when we don’t, our pitchers need to step up,” Scott Deifel said. “I just didn’t see that in our first two days.”
The Terps committed seven total errors in the first two days of the series but avoided committing any Sunday.
After pitcher Brenna Nation started the game Sunday facing four batters and allowing four runs on four hits, Scott Deifel made a change. Hannah Dewey came in to pitch, while leadoff hitter Lindsey Schmeiser returned to her primary position of shortstop for the first time since March 16 against Princeton.
Schmeiser, who had been dealing with injury, said she was thrilled to be back in the infield after spending the past month in the outfield.
“I wanted to get back out there with my innies,” Schmeiser said. “It was nice to see a familiar face on the infield because I know since I’ve played there the last couple years; it’s a comfort thing. Me and [Juli Strange] and Corey [Schwartz] have played next to each other for the past couple of years.”
Schmeiser also extended her hitting streak to 19 games as she smacked a home run over the center-field fence in the bottom of the third inning.
“As a leadoff hitter, it’s my job to get on,” Schmeiser said. “It seems like, most of the times when I do get my hits, I start off the game with a hit. To me that’s most important because setting the tone early and getting on, it sets a good tone for my teammates.”
But Schmeiser flew out to center field in the first inning Sunday, and the Terps fell behind 5-0 in their final contest of the series.
The team managed to plate four runs through the rest of the contest, but in the end, the Terps offense couldn’t generate enough offense to complete the comeback.
Offensive inefficiencies were the final factor in the Fighting Illini’s sweep after defensive miscues on Friday and Saturday dragged the Terps down.
“We have to play on both sides, and that’s where we struggled all year, is the defensive part,” Schmeiser said. “We just got to string that along, and part of it is, if somebody makes an error, you pick up the next person beside you.”
