Delaney Reefe stood at the plate, stuck in extra innings looking to end the game.
With no outs and a runner on first in the ninth inning, Reefe drove the into ball to left-center field gap. Her line drive was hard enough to send Michaela Jones around the bases and walk off Boston College in the second game of Friday night’s doubleheader.
In a pitcher-heavy game, both Maryland and Boston College didn’t see much action at the plate in the second contest on Friday night. But the Terps managed to grab a couple of big hits late in the game and finish with a 3-2 win against the Eagles.
Courtney Wyche started on the mound in Friday’s second game, shutting down the Eagles offensive until the sixth inning, she allowed her only two runs of the night. Her outstanding performance neutralized the fact that the Terps failed to get a hit until the fifth inning. Wyche notched 11 strikeouts and allowed just seven hits in the nine-inning game.
[Courtney Wyche, early offense propel Maryland softball to 4-0 win over No. 19 Oregon]
In such a low scoring game, Wyche managed to keep the Terps competitive with her precise attack. Wyche kept the innings short by stopping any offensive advances by the Eagles. The graduate student has played a significant role for the Terps over the last several years and delivered yet another big performance on Friday.
The Terps had a successful home-opener on Thursday, earning a 13-0 win against Saint Peter’s. Maryland scored all thirteen runs in the fourth inning, ending the game in the fifth inning via mercy rule.
But Maryland struggled to find the hits it needed to beat Boston College in both games of its doubleheader on Friday.
The first game started evenly paced with the Terps getting on the board first in the bottom of the second. An RBI double down the line by Jones brought in Maryland’s only run. Strong hits by the Eagles and errors from the Terps put coach Lauren Karn’s squad at a disadvantage they couldn’t come back from, as they dropped the first contest, 3-1.
The Terps struggled to get a runner on base for the majority of the second game, and didn’t get a base hit until Jones singled in the fifth inning. A Boston College error in the infield gave the Terps the leeway they needed to get on the board first.
[Maryland softball breezes by Green Bay, 9-1, for second win of Stetson Invitational]
Megan Mikami swung at a pitch and the ball grazed off the top of her bat flying high to first base. The ball slipped through the glove of the Eagles infielder and dropped to the ground giving Jones enough time to run home.
Following Maryland’s first hit and run in the fifth, Boston College needed to respond in the sixth — and it did just that, as the Eagles burst of offensive energy in the sixth gave them a lead.
A consistent stream of hits started with a double by lead-off batter Gator Robinson, who tied the match at one run apiece before Boston College eventually took a one-run advantage.
The Terps responded in the seventh when Jaeda McFarland stepped up to bat with a runner on first and two outs. McFarland hit a triple to center field, bringing home the runner and tie the match yet again.
Megan Mikami was unable to bring home McFarland on the third sending the Terps into extra innings.
Wyche continued to be a powerhouse on the mound holding Boston College without a run in the eighth and ninth innings before Reefe walked it off.
