Entering the sixth inning of its first of two Saturday games against Indiana, the Maryland softball team was in high spirits. Pinch hitter Hannah Eslick’s three-run triple had tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Terps momentum for the first time in their series against the Hoosiers.
Later, trailing by one run in the sixth inning of game two, the Terps again seemed to be on the verge of turning the game around, putting runners on second and third with nobody out.
Both times, the Hoosiers quickly broke Maryland’s spirit.
A six-run sixth inning gave Indiana to a 9-3 win in game one, and a clutch relief appearance from Hoosiers pitcher Tara Trainer, followed by a seven-run inning, secured Indiana a 9-1 victory and series sweep in game two.
“We just can’t keep giving up that same scenario,” coach Julie Wright said. “We allow baserunners on and then we struggled with the home run as pitchers. We need to get outs when we can, and we just didn’t do it.”
In game one, Indiana third baseman Katie Lacefield’s three-run homer gave the Hoosiers a 3-0 lead in the third inning.
Maryland starter Ryan Denhart cruised through the fourth, escaped a jam in the fifth and returned to the circle in the sixth with the game tied thanks to Eslick’s bases-loaded triple.
“The pitcher was trying to get me out with the rise ball, so I was looking down,” Eslick said. “She gave me a pitch that I was sitting on, so I just tried to capitalize on her mistake.”
The Hoosiers came alive following Eslick’s hit, though. They scored six runs on five hits in the following half-inning, including a three-run home run by catcher Maddie Westmoreland.
Outside of its fifth-inning rally, Maryland had just two hits, one walk and zero runners in scoring position.
Indiana continued to wreak havoc on the bases Saturday, stealing five bases in game one and two more in game two. That brought their weekend total to 10 steals in 13 attempts.
“That’s just their style,” Wright said. “We knew they were going to get theirs, so we talked about how we have to be comfortable with that. So it’s not surprising to me that they got a few.”
The Hoosiers had a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the sixth inning of game two when third baseman Brigette Nordberg doubled and moved to third on a single from Eslick, giving Maryland runners on second and third with nobody out.
Indiana then turned to right-hander Tara Trainer, who’d pitched all 12 innings of the first two games. She continued her domination, using two strikeouts and a foul out to escape the jam without allowing a run.
“We didn’t lay off the high pitch,” Wright said. “We worked on the screwball all week and we didn’t stay off those up. We didn’t commit to our game plan and that just crushed us. When you lay off, she doesn’t throw very many strikes.”
The Hoosiers put an exclamation point on the series in the seventh inning, scoring seven runs and chasing Maryland starter Sydney Golden from the game. Trainer set the Terps down in order in the seventh.
A week after Illinois outscored the Terps 38-3 in a sweep, the Hoosiers outscored the Terps 28-5 in their sweep, pushing Maryland to 5-9 in Big Ten play after opening the conference slate 5-1.
“We just need to put this weekend behind us,” Eslick said. “We still have a really big opportunity to do well this season. We’re in the mix of things.”
