The Maryland softball team was three outs away from its third win of the season, but a seventh inning collapse allowed Stephen F. Austin to earn a 5-4 walk-off win in the first game of the Terps’ Saturday slate. Later against Missouri, the Terps stayed close but the offense couldn’t support pitcher Hannah Dewey in the 2-0 loss.
With a 4-1 lead over Stephen F. Austin (6-13) entering the bottom of the seventh, starting pitcher Madison Martin took the circle. But after allowing two doubles and a walk, coach Julie Wright swapped the redshirt senior for pitcher Ari Jarvis.
Jarvis opened with an error. Jarvis intentionally walked the next batter to set up a force out opportunity at the plate with one out. But a four-pitch walk tied the game at four. Then, Jarvis plunked outfielder Madison Clements with a pitch to bring home the winning run.
The Terps (2-15-1) had jumped to a 2-0 lead, but the Lumberjacks claimed a run in the third inning.
Wright’s squad threatened to add to the lead in the fourth frame with the bases loaded, but the Lumberjacks escaped the one-out situation with a foul out and fielder’s choice. Outfielder Kassidy Cross was thrown out at the plate on infielder Skylynne Ellazar’s ground ball to end the inning.
In the sixth, infielder Juli Strange led off with a single into left field, and with two outs, outfielder Destiney Henderson hit an RBI single to push Maryland’s lead to 4-1, but it didn’t hold.
In the second game, Dewey held Missouri to five hits, but a walk and a hit by pitch in the fourth inning, followed by an errant throw from Ellazar, led to a 1-0 lead for the Tigers.
The Terps managed four hits in the game and never pushed a runner into scoring position. But after Ellazar’s error, the Terps stayed in the game with solid defensive plays. In the fifth inning, Brashear laid out in left field to rob Missouri infielder Amanda Sanchez of a hit. To end the frame, Kufta snagged a hard-hit groundball.
But the Tigers added one more run in the sixth inning.
Maryland’s second through fifth hitters in the lineup each had one hit, but they couldn’t piece together the production. Dewey had two strikeouts in the complete game loss.
The Terps finish the Missouri Tournament against Missouri on Sunday.