The Maryland softball team scored three runs off three Northwestern errors Saturday to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning. But pitcher Madison Martin gave up six opening-frame runs in the Terps’ eventual 11-4 loss in the series opener.
On Sunday, Northwestern again committed three errors in an inning, which led to Maryland’s five-run second frame. Pitcher Hannah Dewey allowed the Wildcats back into the game, but Martin rebounded from her shaky outing Saturday as the Terps beat Northwestern, 5-4, for their first Big Ten win of the season.
“Competitors aren’t pleased with themselves when they fail,” coach Julie Wright said. “For [Martin] to be able to come in there and shut them down, even when she got herself into a little bit of trouble, to really work out of it, I was really proud of her efforts.”
Maryland (8-28-1, 1-8 Big Ten) fell behind the Wildcats in the first inning for the third time in as many games. With two outs, infielder Marissa Panko singled and outfielder Anna Petersen drove her in with a double.
But in the second inning, the Terps took advantage of Northwestern’s miscues. Infielder Skylynne Ellazar roped a one-out double, and Dewey singled before catcher Kristina Dillard hit a two-run double. Three Wildcats’ throwing errors resulted in three more runs as Maryland took a 5-1 lead.
After struggling to score all season — the Terps rank second to last in the conference in runs scored — Martin stressed the importance of building an early lead.
In the third inning, Petersen hit her second homer of the series for the Wildcats. Then infielder Morgan Nelson doubled and came home on infielder Brooke Marquez’s RBI single.
Martin came in to pitch in the fourth, and despite hitting a batter and allowing a single to lead off the frame, she held the game at 5-4.
“Luckily for us, that proved to be enough,” Wright said. “Both pitchers did a really good job of being crafty, and making sure when they really needed to get out of something and make a big pitch, they did it.”
Martin struck out the final batter with runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, stranding eight runners in her four scoreless frames in relief. Wright described Martin’s changeup as her best pitch, which she was able to keep down in the strike zone for some crucial strikeouts.
After two walks and a single in the fifth inning, Northwestern (15-20, 3-6) loaded the bases with one out before Martin worked out of the jam. The Wildcats again loaded the bases in the sixth, but Martin escaped the frame with a strikeout.
“There were a few situations that we couldn’t really prevent,” Martin said, “but just really making sure I’m focusing on the batter, not the runners that are on.”
While Northwestern had the tying run on third base in three consecutive innings, they couldn’t produce a similar scoring opportunity in the seventh. Martin retired the Wildcats in order, securing the Terps’ first Big Ten win of the year and avoiding a third straight series sweep.
“For [Martin], she knows what she needs to do,” infielder Anna Kufta said. “She had a game plan, and she followed through with it.”
