After Maryland softball’s comeback attempt fell short in Friday’s 9-6 loss to Penn State, it erased a three-run deficit Sunday, tying the game on utility player Hannah Dewey’s RBI groundout in the fifth inning.
In hoping to avoid a series sweep, the Terps had the momentum.
But similarly to the first two losses of the weekend, the Terps failed to capitalize on enough of their scoring chances in their eventual 5-3 defeat.
Coach Julie Wright expressed disappointment at how the team had dropped winnable games in the series. She also pointed to the Terps’ defensive mistakes as a cause of the team’s poor performance.
The Terps squandered a quality chance to take a lead in the sixth inning Sunday after putting two runners on with no outs. Pinch hitter Sarah Lang moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, giving the top of the order multiple chances to notch the go-ahead hit.
But Penn State pitcher Madison Seifert forced consecutive groundouts from two of Maryland’s best hitters — infielder Lindsey Schmeiser and outfielder Sarah Calta — to get out of the inning unscathed.
During Friday’s failed comeback bid, Maryland left players in scoring position in the fifth and sixth frames. And Saturday — a 4-0 loss — the Terps were unable to turn their eight base runners into a single run.
As the Terps try to improve on their offensive showing with runners on base, outfielder Destiney Henderson said the team would look to catcher Kristina Dillard, who had nine hits in the series and drove in four runs.
“We’re really glad to have her this season,” Henderson said of the catcher, who transferred to this university from Louisville in the fall. “She’s doing really well, and I’m proud of her.”
In Sunday’s contest, the Terps immediately paid for wasting their sixth-inning opportunity. The Nittany Lions scored twice to take a decisive 5-3 lead in the bottom of the frame after a defensive miscue.
With no outs and a runner already on, Nittany Lions outfielder Lexi Knief bunted down the third base line. Infielder Emily Libero committed a throwing error, though, allowing Knief to reach base and setting up Shannon Good’s two-run pinch-hit single to put Penn State ahead.
“We hit well enough to win. We pitched well enough to win. Defensively we failed ourselves,” Wright said. “We made some mistakes that cost us on the other side of the ball, and when you’re playing a good team like Penn State, you have to play really solid softball.”
After allowing nine runs Friday, the Terps pitchers improved, allowing just nine runs combined in the final two games of the series. Wright was also satisfied with the team’s offensive approach despite its struggles with runners on base.
Wright said the Terps would focus on cleaning up the sloppiness in the field that cost them Sunday against Penn State before their doubleheader against Rutgers on Wednesday.
