Maryland softball’s offense was explosive in the first leg of its Friday doubleheader. The Terps sent Southeast Missouri home early, scoring a season-high nine runs to win by a run rule.
Their offense failed to show up with the same firepower in the second game of the afternoon against Syracuse, and Maryland’s pitching also faltered as the afternoon continued.
Courtney Wyche opened Game 2 with four dominant innings. Syracuse’s first hit didn’t come until the fifth frame, a Kelly Breen double to left field. That’s where the Terps began to unravel, and the Orange took full advantage.
Wyche allowed five runs across the next two frames, three of them unearned, while Maryland’s offense failed to match its production from its first game of the day. After starting Friday with a win, the Terps lost, 6-3, to Syracuse and split Friday’s doubleheader at the Lion Classic in Hammond, Louisiana.
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Bri Godfrey got the starting nod in Maryland’s season-opening win against San Diego last Friday. After throwing six innings of one-hit ball in that contest, Lauren Karn trusted the sophomore to start again.
The Marshall transfer picked up right where she left off against Southeast Missouri, allowing just one run on two hits over four innings.
Maryland’s offense was equally effective. Delaney Reefe started the action in the second inning with an RBI triple down the right field line. Madison Runyan smacked a single to left field the next at-bat, bringing in another run and handing the Terps an early two-score lead.
After three straight hits loaded the bases, Sydney Lewis walked to give Maryland a three-run advantage. That lead was briefly cut to two after a Redhawks sacrifice fly, but the Terps grew their lead again from there.
Southeast Missouri’s erratic pitching was the catalyst for Maryland in a strong fifth inning. The Redhawks walked four straight batters, Jaeda McFarland the last of the group, to bring home the Terps’ fifth run of the game. Runyan then scored on a wild pitch the next at-bat, granting Maryland a five-run lead with not much time to respond.
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Freshman Julia Shearer relieved Godfrey in the fifth, striking out three in two scoreless frames to keep the Redhawks at bay. Maryland closed out the blowout win in the sixth inning, scoring three additional runs to end the game early via run rule.
Runyan paced the Terps with four runs batted in, while McFarland drew a career-high three walks as the Terps earned a commanding 9-1 win in their first game of the doubleheader.
Syracuse, Maryland’s second-highest ranked opponent so far this season in RPI, season, posed a more formidable challenge in game two.
Despite Wyche’s strong initial four innings, she stumbled later. She allowed her first two hits of the afternoon in the fifth, a double and a single, to tie the game. Three more Syracuse runs touched home in the sixth inning. Karn replaced Wyche with sophomore Keira Bucher after failing to record an out.
The Terps’ offense didn’t help Wyche. They recorded just four extra-base hits all game and left eight runners on base.
McFarland had a chance to put Maryland back in the lead late in the game. She stepped to the plate with the bases loaded, but struck out swinging to strand three runners and essentially end the Terps’ comeback hopes.
Maryland’s offense, which started the afternoon hot, ended it unable to capitalize on prime scoring opportunities to split another Friday doubleheader.
