After Maryland softball pitcher Hannah Dewey allowed a walk to Penn State with two outs in the third inning, she registered a three-pitch strikeout, causing her to crouch and produce a fist pump.
Dewey pitched all 11 frames of the Terps’ 2-1 extra innings win on Saturday and held the Nittany Lions to just two hits. Coach Julie Wright said it was the best performance she’s seen from the senior during her two-year stint in College Park.
“I just checked with her every inning,” Wright said. “[But Dewey’s response was always] ‘I’m fine. I’m good coach. I’ve got this.'”
Catcher Kristina Dillard put the Terps (10-34-1, 3-14 Big Ten) on the board with a home run in the fifth, and infielder Anna Kufta hit a walk-off opposite field single to score infielder Skylynne Ellazar in the 11th inning.
“It’s actually what Kufta does really well, probably better than anyone on our team,” Wright said of the opposite field knock. “She understands how to use her hands and stay quiet with the front side.”
After pitcher Madison Martin struggled Friday with falling behind early in the count, Dewey managed to work ahead in counts Saturday.
“It was just taking it pitch-by-pitch,” Dewey said, “not trying to look at the game as an entire game but look at it moment-to-moment. That was something coach kind of talked to us, seniors especially, earlier this week. Just kind of enjoying every moment, taking each one as they come and trying to win every moment.”
But in the fourth, Penn State grabbed a 1-0 lead when outfielder Tori Dubois reached third after an error in right. It tipped off outfielder Sarah Calta’s glove as she ranged straight back, but she couldn’t reign it in. Then, infielder Shelby Miller hit a sacrifice fly to center.
Dillard responded by sending Maryland’s second hit of the game over the left field wall to tie the score in the fifth.
A leadoff single from Dewey and a walk from Kufta gave the Terps a chance to win the contest in the bottom of the seventh, but strikeouts from infielder Jordan Aughinbaugh and Dillard stranded the runners to force extra innings.
The Terps left two more on base in the eighth when Ellazar popped up into foul ground. Miller, at third, ranged to the Maryland dugout and reached over the railing to strand Calta and Strange. After Calta walked with two outs in the tenth, she stole second to place the potential winning run in scoring position, but Brashear struck out.
Maryland finally produced the game-winning hit in the 11th. Ellazar singled and advanced to second on Cummings’ wild pitch before Kufta hit a walk-off RBI single.
“Amazing,” Kufta said of the win. “I want to be on this side a lot more often.”
