Heading into Friday’s match up with Illinois, Maryland softball pitchers Ryan Denhart and Sydney Golden were both on hot streaks, helping push the team to its best Big Ten start since joining the conference.
But the Illini immediately pounded the Terps aces, scoring 10 runs in the first two innings in a five-inning 11-0 beatdown.
Denhart allowed eight runs — six earned — on nine hits in four innings. Golden relieved her in the second with the bases loaded but didn’t record an out, allowing all three inherited runners to score along with three more runs — one earned — of her own.
Denhart and Golden had dominated Penn State and Iowa and powered Maryland to a five-game win streak.
Illinois (23-14, 4-4 Big Ten) presented a much tougher challenge than those teams, leading the Big Ten in hitting with an average almost 100 points better than the Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes.
Maryland (15-21, 5-2) also regressed on defense Friday. After committing five errors and one unearned run over their first two conference series, the Terps returned to their early-season form, making five errors that led to four unearned runs.
Those mistakes added onto Illinois’ relentless offensive attack. Illinois registered 10 hits in four innings, three for extra bases. Eight different starters for Illinois had a hit and six had an RBI.
Maryland’s offense, meanwhile, continued to struggle. The Big Ten’s third-worst scoring offense managed only one hit and drew one walk against Illinois starter Taylor Edwards (7-6, 4.20 ERA). She needed only 51 pitches to get through the five innings and induced 11 groundouts by Maryland batters.
The defeat was the Terps’ fourth run-rule loss of the year and the first against an unranked opponent. They had not been run-ruled since Feb. 24 against No. 4 Florida.
