The Maryland softball team had 12 hits in its 6-3 win over UC Riverside on Saturday, but the offensive production didn’t translate in its 6-2 defeat to Weber State on Sunday. The Terps finished 1-3 at the Highlander Classic.
Maryland (4-18-1) didn’t record a hit in the first three innings. When infielder Anna Kufta managed Maryland’s first knock to deep center for a one-out triple in the fourth, the Terps couldn’t bring her around. Infielder Skylynne Ellazar hit an infield single to third, keeping Kufta rooted. Then, catcher Kristina Dillard grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Dillard “just didn’t execute the swing the way that she wanted to,” coach Julie Wright said, “and those kind of things happen. It’s kind of the way the game flows sometimes on you.”
The Terps got on the board in the sixth inning thanks to a Weber State error and added another run in the seventh. Still, they couldn’t muster a late comeback.
For Wright, the slow start to the game is “nothing more than mindset.” The Terps need to be aggressive early in the count, Wright said, and need to swing at pitches in the strike zone. The Terps struck out six times against the Wildcats, including two apiece from designated player Sarah Calta and outfielder Kassidy Cross.
Weber State (12-10-1), meanwhile, showed aggression on the base paths with two stolen bases. In the second frame, Wildcats infielder Sydney White hit a two-out single and then swiped second. Outfielder Takesha Saltern plated White with an RBI triple to put Weber State ahead, 1-0.
In the third, infielder KyRae Kogianes, who finished with four RBIs, increased the advantage to 4-0 with a three-run homer. Soon after that, pitcher Madison Martin replaced Hannah Dewey in the circle.
“We talk about playing big in big moments, and a two-out situation is a big moment,” Wright said. Five of the Wildcats’ six runs came with two outs.
“That’s something we need to shore up,” Wright continued, “and make sure we don’t continue to give up those hits or have an error or whatever that allows that runner to score with two outs.”
Martin retired Weber State in order in the fourth inning, but in the fifth, the Wildcats added two more runs on five hits to take a 6-0 lead.
In the sixth inning, outfielder Amanda Brashear led off with a single and later scored Maryland’s first run when Ellazar reached on an error. While infielder Juli Strange led off the seventh inning with a double and pinch-hitter Brigette Nordberg followed with an RBI single, the Terps couldn’t add anything more in the defeat.
“We can have success throughout the game, but we get a little sloppy … mentally,” Wright said of her offense’s tendency to lag in the middle innings. “If they have the ability to do it [in the first or seventh inning,] then they definitely have the ability to do it throughout the game.”
