In the third inning of the Terrapins softball team’s game with Nebraska on Friday, outfielder Destiney Henderson broke home from third on an infield ground ball and beat the throw to the plate to tie the game, 1-1. An inning later, outfielder Kylie Datil came around from second on a single to the outfield, the first score of a five-run inning.
Coach Julie Wright has preached passion and aggressiveness all season, and that playing style was on display throughout the Terps’ 7-4 victory. The energy from the Terps was also apparent in the dugout, as players stood on the top step all game, chanting and cheering on their teammates.
The Terps had little to cheer about on Saturday and Sunday, though, as they were outscored 40-6 by the Cornhuskers in their two losses. After a 26-4 defeat Sunday, Wright said the team failed to play with the same intensity in the latter two games of the series as it did Friday.
Defensive mistakes cost the Terps (8-25, 1-5 Big Ten) in their 14-2 loss Saturday.
Trailing 6-2 in the sixth, utility player Hannah Dewey appeared to have earned the first out of the inning when she induced a ground ball to infielder Sarah Lang at first base.
But after going down to her knees to field the ball, Lang lost it as she lunged to touch first base with her glove, allowing the runner to reach safely.
“It was a mistake,” Wright said. “It was fine the way she approached it, but she just lost the ball.”
In the next at-bat, infielder Skylynne Ellazar mishandled a ground ball to third base. Infielder Corey Schwartz made the third error of the inning three batters later.
The Cornhuskers (22-12, 3-3) took advantage of the Terps’ sloppy play by scoring eight runs in the frame to pull away.
Wright had hoped the Terps could return to their Friday form in the rubber match Sunday, but she was left disappointed after their monumental defeat.
“The game got away,” Wright said. “Nebraska played a good game; we played a terrible game.”
Pitcher Madison Martin, who allowed just three runs in five innings Friday, struggled in the series finale. In 1.2 innings, she allowed eight runs (six earned).
Wright said Martin’s poor performance was partially related to her ongoing recovery from reconstructive foot surgery, which has kept her from pitching at 100 percent this season.
Still, the overall display from the team upset Wright, who had said the game would be a “defining moment” for the program if it had pulled out the win.
The Terps were outhit 21-5 and allowed 10 walks in Sunday’s contest.
Wright acknowledged that “it sucks” to get blown out, especially in front of a home crowd, but she added that it’s important for the team to regroup heading into its midweek doubleheader against Saint Francis on Tuesday.
“This is not a game you can dwell on,” she said.
