Last Friday, Maryland softball outfielder Sarah Calta, who’s tied for second on the team in batting average, fell down clutching her knee while tracking a fly ball toward the fence against No. 2 Michigan.
Coach Julie Wright said the Terps were concerned as Calta limped off the field with the help of a trainer. At the time, they didn’t know the severity of the injury.
After the series against the Wolverines ended in the third straight Maryland loss, Wright learned of more bad news. Calta would miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.
In addition, infielder Skylynne Ellazar was diagnosed with a concussion and will be out at least three games.
The Terps offense will look to find alternative sources of production this weekend in a series at No. 24 Minnesota, a team that boasts the second-best ERA in the Big Ten.
“We’re pretty hindered,” Wright said. “It’s going to be a bit of a challenge against such a great pitching staff.”
Before she suffered the injury, Calta had been a bright spot in Maryland’s lineup. Though she failed to record a hit in the first six games of the season, she flourished later in the year, raising her average to .331. She also leads the team with eight stolen bases.
Ellazar, meanwhile, paces the Terps in multiple offensive categories, including batting average, runs and on-base percentage.
The duo has been a focal point of Wright’s emphasis on aggressive base-running.
“They’re definitely our speed players,” infielder Lindsey Schmeiser said. “So that makes a difference … because that pressures the defense.”
Without the top-of-the-order pair, Wright plans to lean on utility player Hannah Dewey to provide a threat with her bat.
The Terps are confident Dewey can step up. After all, she leads the squad with 30 RBIs.
“[Dewey’s] very consistent, especially when runners are in scoring position,” Schmeiser said. “She just finds a way to put the ball in play a lot.”
“She brings a lot of different aspects to our lineup,” Wright added. “She can battle. She can hit for power. She can drop a bunt if I need it.”
Still, the Terps offense has struggled in recent weeks, scoring a combined 13 runs during their eight-game skid. They know facing Minnesota’s pitching rotation, which Wright called the “hardest throwing staff we’ve seen all season,” will be a daunting task.
Without contributions from Calta and Ellazar, Schmeiser, the program’s all-time home runs leader, admitted there would be added pressure on the team’s healthy starters to produce.
But Dewey remembered a previous setback the team used as motivation. When Ellazar suffered a knee injury against Michigan State a few weeks ago, her loss fired up the Terps and they clinched this season’s lone series win. Dewey hopes her teammates’ absences against the Golden Gophers spark the same reaction.
“They’ve fueled the team to find something to play for,” Dewey said. “As much as we wish they were there with us, they’ll be there in spirit cheering us on and serving as reminders to be grateful that we are healthy and get to play the game we love every day.”
