When the Maryland softball team opened the Amy S. Harrison Classic against Portland State on Feb. 22, some members of the Terps admitted they expected an easy go of things against the then-three win Vikings.
But it was a rocky start for Maryland in the teams’ first matchup of the weekend.
Portland State came out of the gate strong, quickly scoring three runs off pitcher Sami Main. Maryland scored twice in the second inning to climb within one run, but the Vikings fired right back in the third. After a four-run fifth inning from both teams, Portland State still held a 9-6 lead.
The Terps fell 13-8, but it wasn’t a gameplay issue, according to sophomore infielder Sammie Stefan. Maryland’s mentality going into the first game of the tournament wasn’t where it needed to be. So, before a four-game set in North Carolina — including a Saturday matchup against the Tar Heels — the Terps hope to employ a better mindset from the onset.
“I think that we need to just play every game like they are a championship-winning team,” Stefan said. “Making sure that we’re giving each game 100 percent effort 100 percent of the time, so that we come fully confident and not relax too much.”
Hitting coach Vicky Galasso said Sunday that one of the biggest takeaways from the tournament is to not take any team lightly, since every squad has the potential to play its best game on any given day, just as Portland State did.
The Vikings were 3-6 coming into the tournament, and infielder Taylor Wilson believes that the Maryland squad, though young, could have beat them easily if they had treated Portland State like a top-ten opponent.
“We kind of played at their level,” infielder Taylor Wilson said. “We just need to make sure that we don’t take them lightly, but we don’t mess around with teams that we should be beating.”
And the second time around, the Terps avenged the earlier loss, despite Portland State staging a massive comeback in the fifth and sixth innings to close the gap.
Maryland’s hitters, led by freshman Taylor Okada with a .440 batting average, showed significant improvement throughout the weekend that helped the Terps wrap up the 12-9 win against the Vikings to close the tournament.
Along with Okada in the lead-off position, Stefan found her rhythm this weekend with six hits and four RBIs during the tournament. With consistent hitting from Stefan, Okada and senior shortstop Bailey Boyd, who boasts a .342 batting average, the Terps built a big enough lead to seal the win.
Boyd, one of the three seniors on the team, said that the team has been working to improve in-game adjustments, and a lot of that stems from communication on the field.
“We’re always holding each other accountable, being very good learners and good teachers to each other,” Boyd said.
Galasso believes that if the hitters can remain consistent and attack every pitch no matter who the opponent is, they will continue to compete and put their best effort into each game.
“Our girls are getting really good at knowing their own approach when they go to the plate and just having that confidence in their walk-up,” Galasso said. “When you’re confident when you step into the box, I think you have an advantage over the pitcher already.”
So as the Terps take on George Washington, Florida Atlantic, North Carolina and UNC Greensboro this weekend in the Carolina Classic tournament, they’ll look to put that improved mindset into motion.
“We just need to crush the teams that we should crush, and play above them and not play down to their level,” Wilson said. “It’s just winning with an exclamation point and not leaving any question about it.”
