There are many factors behind the Terrapin softball team’s nine-game winning streak as it heads into its weekend series at No. 11 Georgia Tech. Continued quality pitching, a resurgent offense and sound defense have all been crucial for the team’s recent tear.
But if you ask the Terps to explain what has keyed their on-field success, some players point to something that happened off the field.
The Terps held a team meeting after they suffered a crushing sweep in their March 14 ACC opener against Virginia. While the discussion was hard on the team, it might have saved its season.
“It was one of those ‘Come to Jesus’ meetings,” coach Laura Watten said. “It made them talk about what really was going on, and what was really happening. I think we just really put it out on the table.”
According to Watten, the Terps — who at that point were a middling 10-9 — spent the two-hour session venting about what had been an incredibly disappointing early season and reiterating the expectations for the rest of the year.
“Everybody was kind of down,” outfielder Niki Lau said. “We just kind of talked out what we thought could be the problem and where we needed to go. We just determined that physically, we’re unstoppable. We just had to mentally kick it in gear.”
The season had a different feeling for the Terps directly after that meeting. Lau described the following Monday’s practice as laid-back and said that the team had a good feeling headed down to Florida.
They turned that good feeling into a season-reviving winning streak, sweeping the Florida Rebel Games and the University of South Florida Tournament. The streak stretched to nine games Wednesday when the Terps swept JMU in a doubleheader at Taylor Stadium.
“I think they’ve relaxed. They know what they have to do, and I think they’re keeping it a lot more simple,” Watten said. “They’re executing. Instead of worrying what might happen, they’re stepping in and making things happen.”
The two losses to Virginia put the Terps in an 0-2 ACC hole, but the team has turned them into motivation. Watten says that the team has learned a lot from the defeats, and will use those lessons against a formidable Georgia Tech (26-5, 2-1 ACC) team.
Extending the winning streak will be difficult against the Yellow Jackets, a team currently tied for second in the ACC.
“I think not letting the fact that it’s Georgia Tech get to us is going to be real important,” Lau said. “Not going in there thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s Georgia Tech’ or ‘Oh my gosh, it’s conference,’ just kind of sticking to our game.”
How the Terps play this weekend will determine if they pull above .500 in league play and if the momentum from their streak can carry into conference play. Despite the high stakes, Watten is confident this weekend will be much different than the last time the Terps played an ACC opponent.
“I just think we’re in a better place,” Watten said. “We’re more confident, and have come through a lot and learned a lot from those games.”
schneider@umdbk.com
