As Maryland softball infielder Skylynne Ellazar lay motionless on the field Sunday in the second game of a doubleheader against Michigan State, the crowd in Maryland Softball Stadium fell silent.

Ellazar had caught a throw to force Spartans runner McKenzie Long out at third base, but Long’s aggressive slide wiped the sophomore off her feet. The stunned fans watched as a trainer ran out to check on her.

Coach Julie Wright, who also sprinted onto the field, approached umpire Dale Reed, shouting, “That’s not OK,” in reference to Long’s forceful base-running maneuver.

The collision knocked Ellazar out of the game in the top of the first inning, which ended with Maryland trailing 3-0. But the Terps stormed back in the bottom of the frame, scoring five runs en route to a 9-8 win.

Infielder Lindsey Schmeiser, who singled in the first inning, said the wipeout slide inspired the offensive burst.

“It definitely lit a fire under people,” she said. “Especially when you’re in the second game and you just need like a little extra … push, that definitely did it.”

Schmeiser often prioritizes her teammates’ accomplishments over her own. Earlier in the season, she didn’t realize she surpassed the program’s all-time home run record, instead focusing on the team’s Feb. 21 loss to then-No. 5 Alabama.

So when she broke Maryland’s runs scored record on Sunday against the Spartans, she said it didn’t matter to her. Instead, she spent the game focused on beating the Spartans to exact revenge for what she called a “dirty play” that took out Ellazar.

“[The record] wasn’t really what was going through my mind, especially the way things were going with the team we were playing,” Schmeiser said.

So Schmeiser focused on hitting. After her first-inning single, she notched two more knocks, an RBI and a walk, finishing the game 3-for-4.

As a team, the Terps recorded 13 hits to power their nine runs. They celebrated wildly when infielder Emily Libero, who had replaced Ellazar, won the game with a walk-off hit by pitch.

Still, the sight of Ellazar sitting alone in the dugout with ice on her knee, clearly distraught, was unsettling for the squad.

Despite being a first-time starter this season, the infielder is perhaps the Terps’ best hitter. She leads the team with a .414 average and has six stolen bases. Plus, she is playing third base for the first time in her career, and Wright said Ellazar has made great strides.

Though Wright said Ellazar will be fine and listed her as day-to-day, the Kahului, Hawaii, native left the stadium on crutches.

While the Terps will be tasked with replacing her production if she misses action this weekend against Penn State, the incident taught the Terps the value of playing with an edge.

Schmeiser said Ellazar’s absence made the Terps want to crush the Spartans, sparking their doubleheader sweep, and she wants her team to build on that mentality.