For Maryland softball infielder Juli Strange, the season-opening Texas Invitational this weekend could not come quickly enough. In fact, she has been waiting to return to competitive softball since October 2015.
That was when Strange, now a redshirt senior, tore her ACL. It was another setback in a career filled with injuries. The program redshirted her to save her final year of eligibility.
In October 2013, Strange was involved in a scooter accident on Route 1 and had to recover from a concussion and lost teeth.
“Every day that you’re not allowed to play the game, you realize how much you love it,” Strange said. “I’m stoked to get back out because it’s been a year and a half since I’ve played a true, meaningful, softball game.”
For Strange, the concussion was the hardest injury to come back from because she couldn’t control the recovery timeline. The ACL rehab, however, was more active.
Now as a team leader, she helps control what is happening on the field with one-on-one encounters with teammates, which she says are more her style.
“I’ve had a lot of experiences and a lot of things that I can share,” Strange said, “so I don’t take those opportunities lightly.”
Strange’s time at Maryland has come “full circle.” As a freshman, the Valencia, California, native found her spot in the lineup as a second baseman. After stints at shortstop and third base as a sophomore and junior, Strange is back at second.
Strange said her fall training at second base is a particular advantage. In past seasons, she has had to learn a position in the middle of the season.
“Every position has its fun parts, and every position has its challenges,” Strange said. “Second base is definitely different from third. Third, the ball is on you a little bit quicker, second base you get a little bit more time and it’s a different angle off the bat.”
When the Terps travel to Austin, Texas, to play No. 16 Minnesota, Colorado State and Texas this weekend, Strange won’t be alone in her excitement at being back on the competitive playing field.
“Juli’s kind of Steady Eddy,” coach Julie Wright said. “She’s a great calming force on the field for us. Having her back with a relatively new and young team, it’s easy for them to look to her. She just projects that calm.”
Senior outfielder Sarah Calta is returning to the team after missing the final eight games of last season with an ACL tear. It gives her a unique understanding of the rehabilitation Strange went through and a similar excitement to play competitive softball once more.
“It is the appreciation that I get to step back out there and do it one last time,” Calta said. “Nothing’s guaranteed, and I definitely had to learn that the hard way.”
This weekend, Maryland will face two 2016 NCAA tournament teams, Texas and Minnesota. In between those matchups, the Terps play Colorado State, a team that finished 22-24 last season. Regardless of the caliber of the opposition this weekend, Wright plans on keeping the focus on what the Terps can do.
“As soon as you get a little big for your britches, that’s when you have an outcome you do not want,” Wright said. “So, we approach every game the same. We’re just trying to take care of what we do best.”
In Strange’s first competitive softball series back, she admits there is plenty to learn about the team.
“It’s a really good measurement of where we’re at,” Strange said. “It’s great to start off against the best because … it provides us with the opportunity to start off the season with a quality win.”
CORRECTION: Due to a reporting error, the headline stated a scooter accident sidelined Juli Strange in 2016. It was actually a torn ACL that kept her from playing. That’s when the program redshirted her to preserve her final year of eligibility. The story also stated her scooter accident occurred in October 2015. It occurred in October 2013. The story has been updated to reflect these corrections.
