The Maryland softball team suffered its most lopsided series sweep of the season against No. 2 Michigan two weekends ago. The Terps were outscored 33-1 over three games, losing each contest via run rule.
Coach Julie Wright had hoped for better results at No. 24 Minnesota this past weekend as her team battled for the final seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Entering Friday, Maryland trailed Michigan State by one game for a bid to the event, which is slated to begin May 12.
But upsetting the Golden Gophers, who entered the series with the second-best team ERA in the Big Ten, proved too big a challenge for Maryland given injuries to starting outfielder Sarah Calta and starting infielder Skylynne Ellazar.
The Terps lost all three contests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in blowout fashion, and suffered a knock to their postseason hopes when Michigan State picked up a win over Rutgers on Sunday to jump three games ahead in the conference standings.
“It’s not a good feeling,” catcher Kristina Dillard said of the weekend sweep. “We know we have the potential … but sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”
Minnesota pitcher Sara Groenewegen, who leads her team with a 1.87 ERA, dismantled Maryland’s offense. Across two outings, she tossed nine scoreless frames and amassed 18 strikeouts. She also earned a pair of victories to give her 25 wins on the season.
Though the Terps had prepared for her fastball during midweek practice, they struggled to handle it during games.
“We fouled a lot of pitches straight back, and when you foul pitches straight back, it means you’re just a little bit late,” Wright said. “That was the hump we couldn’t quite overcome.”
Groenewegen also flashed an array of slower pitches to keep the Terps’ hitters from locking onto her fastball.
Her blend of velocity helped her throw a no-hitter on Friday in a 10-0, run-rule triumph. She also pitched four perfect frames Sunday before pitcher Nikki Anderson replaced her in the circle.
“[Groenewegen] has a really great change up, and she doesn’t tip it,” Wright said. “When you can’t pick it out, it becomes a little bit more difficult to fight off the pitches that she uses.”
Dillard struck out twice against Groenewegen’s change up on Friday and agreed that her ability to mix speeds made it hard to recognize and react to her pitches.
Losing Ellazar and Calta, who rank first and second, respectively, on the team in batting average, made it difficult for Maryland to challenge Groenewegen’s pitch repertoire, too. Infielders Sarah Lang and Emily Libero, starting in place of the injured duo, went 1-for-10 with six strikeouts.
Still, Dillard said “you have to make adjustments” when facing top-tier pitchers and was disappointed the Terps failed to improve against Groenewegen in her second start of the series on Sunday.
In order to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament, the Terps must sweep Indiana in College Park next weekend. They’ve won back-to-back contests one time all season, so Wright knows they’ll have to elevate their performance in what the coach called “a three-game season.”
Even if the Terps reverse their slide, it might not be enough. Maryland also needs Michigan State to lose three games to Ohio State to reach the postseason.
“We’re going to do everything that we can to do our part,” Wright said, “And then we’ll pray to the softball gods that Ohio State does theirs.”
