Maryland softball shortstop Bailey Boyd entered the Maryland Invitational with one home run, matching her total from 2018.
Against Bryant on Friday, though, the senior hit her second blast in three games, powering the Terps in their offensive resurgence after struggling in last weekend’s tournament.
Maryland started with a three-run first inning, and the Terps (15-11) held a 4-0 lead over Bryant (1-19) entering the bottom of the third. Boyd stepped up to the plate and crushed a solo home run, her second after hitting a three-run shot Thursday against UMBC, to lead the Terps past the Bulldogs, 9-2.
“Last weekend we got worked quite a bit down, and we worked hard on that this week,” coach Julie Wright said. “I feel like we rebounded great.”
The Terps wore down UMBC in a 9-2 victory to open their home schedule Thursday and overcame Rhode Island’s three homers in the nightcap to win 6-4, putting the Terps at 3-0 on the weekend.
In the bottom of the first Friday, right fielder Amanda Brashear bunted a single to reach base and then stole second. Not long after, catcher Gracie Voulgaris singled her home to give Maryland an early 1-0 lead. The Terps scored two more in the first to build a sizeable lead.
Pitcher Kiana Carr ended the top of the second inning with strikeout and pitched a complete four innings before Wright swapped in freshman Victoria Galvan. Carr earned her first win as a Terp on Thursday against UMBC, and held the Bulldogs to one hit and no runs while allowing just one walk Friday.
“She challenged the zone, attacked the hitters,” Wright said. “I’m really excited that she’s feeling so good going into Big Ten.”
After Carr got the Terps out of the top of the fourth, Maryland scored another four runs in the bottom half despite first baseman Taylor Okada leaving the game with an injury. The freshman, who leads the Terps with a .418 batting average, hit a single over pitcher Jocelyn Bodington’s head, but went down as she touched first base.
“That base is tall sometimes when you hit it at full speed,” Wright said. “It sometimes can be a pest, but she’s fine.”
Infielder Regan Kerr came in for Okada, and eventually scored along with Brashear to put the Terps up 9-0 after a wild pitch from Bodington and an error.
The Bulldogs found their offense in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs on two hits off Galvan. But when it looked as if Bryant was gaining momentum in the sixth inning, the Maryland defense got a crucial tag out at home plate to maintain the seven-run advantage.
Pitcher Amelia Jarecke sealed the Terps third win of the tournament in the circle, allowing no hits or walks. The Terps will close out the Maryland Invitational on Saturday against Villanova at 3 p.m.
