Senior infielder Lindsey Schmeiser broke Maryland softball’s all-time home run record Feb. 21 with a blast off Alabama pitcher Alexis Osorio, but she wasn’t impressed with the feat.
As her teammates congratulated her for reaching the milestone when she entered the dugout, Schmeiser drew pride from exacting revenge on Osorio, who had gotten the best of her in the seventh inning two days earlier. With the bases loaded and two outs, Osorio forced Schmeiser to pop out, securing a 1-0 win for the then-No. 5 Crimson Tide.
This time, the fly ball Schmeiser hit cleared the left-field wall.
“I was like, ‘she’s not going to beat me there again,'” Schmeiser said. “Being able to battle and beat her on that pitch was like the best feeling ever. That’s the part I’m going to remember. Not what number it was.”
She’s used that competitiveness to push through a slew of injuries and coaching changes to become one of the most decorated players in program history. In her career, Schmeiser has been named ACC Freshman of the Year, first-team All-ACC, first-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Player of the Week despite playing for a program that had one winning season during her tenure. The Terps finished 12-40 this season, marking their worst finish in history.
Nonetheless, Schmeiser has made a lasting impression with the Terps during her four years in College Park. It’s something that her teammates hope they can continue without her moving forward.
“She’s a really strong kid,” outfielder Kylie Datil said. “With all the stuff we’ve gone through, we needed strong leadership. And that’s Lindsey.”
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Schmeiser joined a tee ball team with her older sister, Kaitlyn, and twin brother, Alec, when she was five years old. Even then, her competitive drive was on display.
Kaitlyn, who pitched four seasons for the Terps before graduating last year, remembered Schmeiser looking like she was “about to kill” a kid on the opposing team as she chased him back to a base during a run-down.
When she tagged the boy out, he started crying. She remained unfazed.
“Stop crying,” Schmeiser told him. “It’s baseball. We don’t cry.”
Even her coach thought Schmeiser’s words were too harsh.
“Geez little girl,” Kaitlyn remembers her coach saying to her little sister. “You got to take it easy.”
“We will never forget that moment because that’s [Schmeiser] in a nutshell,” Kaitlyn said. “That’s how she plays. She respects the game and she doesn’t play dirty, but she goes hard.”
During family game nights in the Schmeiser household, the sisters teamed up to prevent fights, as Kaitlyn also demonstrates the competitive spirit their mom Laurie said is “just in our genes.”
For the most part, though, the siblings have fostered a close bond.
Schmeiser played softball with Kaitlyn at every level, and the two played together for three years at Maryland. In turn, they’ve challenged each other to improve. Laurie recalled the tight-knit way they would communicate on the field together. She said Lindsey used to walk to the pitching circle from shortstop to chat with her sister and discuss strategy.
“We fight like sisters and we love each other like sisters,” Kaitlyn added, “but I can truly say she’s been my best friend my whole entire life.”
After giving a short speech to the Maryland crowd Saturday, Kaitlyn threw out the first pitch in honor of her sister’s final weekend in College Park. It was an emotional day for Kaitlyn, who said she cried while getting ready to go to the stadium to watch the Terps’ three-game series with Indiana.
But as Schmeiser’s career came to an end, her persona never wavered.
“I’ll cry at anything,” Kaitlyn said. “And [Lindsey] is like, ‘Dude stop.’ She’s so tough.”
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Schmeiser stood in right field during the Terps’ game against Mississippi State in February of 2015 despite having played the position sparingly since arriving in College Park before the 2013 season.
After Schmeiser underwent back surgery the previous offseason, her back pain persisted to the point where she couldn’t bend down to field ground balls. So entering the weekend, then-coach Courtney Scott Deifel moved Datil to shortstop and threw Schmeiser in the outfield.
“She went to center field, and normally when infielders go out there, they’re like ‘I don’t know how to do this,'” Datil said. “But she was like, ‘all right, let’s go.'”
With the Terps up 2-1 in the fourth inning, former Bulldogs outfielder Ashley Phillips hit a long drive that looked as though it would clear the wall for a grand slam. But Schmeiser, not even at full strength, jumped up to rob the home run and keep her team ahead. It was yet another example of her resiliency dealing with various injuries as a Terp.
“If I convince myself that I’m hurt and it’s OK to play at a lower level … then I’m going to perform at a crappy level,” Schmeiser said. “But if I expect the same of myself or even higher, then I’m going to be fine.”
Schmeiser chose this university over schools like Virginia Tech and James Madison — she hoped to compete for what she called an “up for grabs” shortstop position — but suffered an ankle injury in the fall of her freshman year that put her on crutches for several weeks. To open the season, Schmeiser assumed the role of bullpen catcher.
Soon, however, Schmeiser’s work ethic translated into a starting job, and she thrived during her opening season with the program. She finished the year hitting .347 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs, a performance that earned the former reserve ACC Freshman of the Year.
“You have to have a little bit of cockiness going in,” Schmeiser said, “or else you’re just going to fall.”
While an MCL injury cut her sophomore season short, Schmeiser returned to the lineup to hit .369 and belted 11 long balls during her junior campaign en route to making the All-Big Ten first team.
Yet she underwent another back operation that offseason, one her mother called “more extensive” than the first, and experienced another setback Feb. 26 of this season.
After blasting four home runs in the first 10 games, Schmeiser suffered nerve damage in her back after swinging through a pitch against Boston University.
She missed almost another month, and overall, her senior year numbers dipped below her career statistics. Still, she was glad to get back on the field with her teammates after fearing she would never play for the Terps again.
“To not have been able to play in my fourth year would have been the worst way to go out,” Schmeiser said. “So I’m definitely happy that I got to finish.”
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It was after her sophomore campaign that Schmeiser realized her contributions to the Maryland program needed to extend beyond her on-field play.
The Terps went 11-35 that season, and the Dunkirk native said there was a lack of trust between the players and coaches. She added that her one regret was allowing the staff to make her dislike the game.
“In the end you still have to speak up and say things,” she said. “You can’t just lead by example to be a leader.”
So in her final two seasons at Maryland, she’s become more vocal in guiding the team’s younger players despite instability at the helm of the program. And while she described having three coaches in the past three seasons as “not easy” and like “having three different bosses,” it’s made her a stronger leader.
“It’s about being able to fight through adversity a little bit,” Schmeiser said. “And it’s also learning to be vulnerable and trust people.”
In particular, Schmeiser has looked to mentor sophomore Skylynne Ellazar, a first-year infield starter who doubled as her throwing partner in practice the past two seasons.
Schmeiser said she saw “so much potential” in Ellazar and wanted to help push her to succeed. Ellazar fed off the veteran’s faith in her during her sophomore season, finishing with a team-high .399 batting averaging after getting limited playing time last season.
On Senior Day against Indiana, Ellazar nailed the scoreboard in center field for a grand slam in the fifth inning. Her blast helped the Terps break their 13-game losing streak and end Schmeiser’s career with a victory.
“From last year to this year, [Schmeiser] played a big part in letting me know that I can do it because she saw it in me,” Ellazar said. “So she’s just been a big confidence booster.”
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Schmeiser ended her career with another quality performance, going 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the 10-8 victory over the Hoosiers.
Yet she struggled to describe her feelings after she walked off the Maryland Softball Stadium field for the final time Sunday.
“It means a lot, especially because we’ve struggled this season,” Schmeiser said. “It was a little emotional … but it’s still a little surreal. You kind of don’t believe it’s happening.”
It appeared just as difficult for the Terps to watch a teammate who had bounced back from two coaching changes, two back surgeries, nerve damage and an MCL injury leave for good. In spite of her numerous setbacks, she set all-time Maryland records in home runs and runs scored.
“Lindsey has such big shoes to fill,” Ellazar said. “I just want to follow in her footsteps and be the same leader … that she was for me my freshman year.”
Utility player Hannah Dewey, Schmeiser’s roommate this past year, said it will be weird not having one of her closest friends on the field. Schmeiser knows it will be difficult to leave the game she loves.
But she’s ready to begin the next chapter of her life, as she plans to attend veterinarian school after she graduates. It’s something she hopes fighting through adversities at Maryland has prepared her for.
“Ultimately, softball doesn’t last forever,” she said. “But I’m definitely going to miss it.”
