Maryland softball split its doubleheader Saturday, defeating Delaware 4-1 before falling to No. 13 Auburn, 12-1, in five innings.
Despite the fairly close final score Maryland controlled game one from start to finish against the Blue Hens.
The Terps jumped ahead in the first, as infielder Skylynne Ellazar followed a leadoff single by outfielder Kassidy Cross with her second home run of the season. This is the second weekend in a row that Ellazar has homered in her first at-bat.
Maryland tacked on two more runs in the third inning, when a two-out single by infielder Brigette Nordberg drove in Ellazar and outfielder JoJo McRae.
The real dominance for the Terps came on the mound from starter Ryan Denhart. The freshman threw her first career complete game, allowing three hits, one walk and only one run, which came on a homer by Maria Kondravy in the fourth inning.
Behind Denhart, Maryland, which came in with nine errors through five games, went without an miscue. The Blue Hens made four errors.
In the second game, Maryland again took an early lead. Nordberg led off the second inning with a walk. On a sacrifice bunt by Anna Kufta, Nordberg went first to third, nimbly avoiding a tag to dive in safely. One batter later, a passed ball allowed Nordberg to score.
But Auburn used leadoff walk and a double to centerfield with no one out to rally for five runs in the bottom of the frame. The Tigers tallied four hits in the inning, though only one went for extra bases.
The hosts continued their barrage in the third, when outfielder Alyssa Rivera hit a two-run home run to right field. The blast chased starter Sydney Golden from the game.
The Tigers had another big inning in the fifth, as they scored five runs off three different Maryland pitchers to push them past the NCAA run rule of eight runs. The Terps were unable to score in the top of the fifth, dropping them to 1-1 on the weekend and 2-5 on the season.
Maryland is back in action Sunday against St. Francis (PA) before a rematch with Auburn.
