Courtney Wyche stood on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, where she had been most of the weekend. After arguably her career-best game on Friday, she continued to show up for Maryland.
In a standstill scoreless matchup, Wyche threw three strikeouts to put Penn State down in order. Her impressive work got the Terps out of the inning and sent the teams into extra innings for the second time in three days.
The pitchers duel lasted 12 innings before a run crossed home. Penn State’s Back-to-back hits to the outfield were enough to walk off Maryland and spoil Wyche’s outing with a 1-0 defeat on Sunday.
The Maryland dugout failed to muster any offensive production, recording just two hits and leaving Wyche out to dry on the mound. Wyche executed significantly for her team and left Happy Valley with a historic weekend.
Wyche notched her 50th career win and tallied a career-high 19 strikeouts in 2-0 extra-inning win on Friday. She threw another complete game on Sunday and added 17 strikeouts, but it wasn’t enough for the Terps (16-17, 3-3 Big Ten).
It was a competitive weekend series between the teams. The Terps grabbed their first win on Friday night thanks to Wyche’s outing and Jaeda McFarland’s two-RBI double in the ninth.
[Courtney Wyche throws career-high 19 strikeouts as Maryland softball beats Penn State, 2-0]
Maryland fell 9-6 to Penn State on Saturday, setting up Sunday’s rubber match.
The teams remained head-to-head for the entirety of the game on Sunday. Wyche started on the mound again, making her third appearance and second start this weekend. She continued to be a strong defensive asset putting out fires for the Terps.
A two-out rally for the Nittany Lions in the bottom of the third put runners in scoring position for the first time. Kaitlyn Morrison knocked a ball to right field over Madison Runyan’s head, who fell back as she tried to make the catch. The effort failed and a Penn State runner made it safe to third.
Wyche battled with the next batter but got out of the inning to hold the Nittany Lions at bay. The match resembled the game on Friday, with an extended stalemate of no runs scored.
The game moved swiftly as quick defensive plays shut down each lineup. Sammi Woods jumped from her position at shortstop to meet Michela Barbanente’s hit in the air. Woods wasted no time to shoot the ball over to Williams at first to grab the out.
[Maryland softball’s quality at-bats led to an offensive explosion against Minnesota]
Penn State only earned two hits by the fifth inning, partly because of Wyche and also thanks to excellent play in the field.
Haylie Brunson drove a pitch to centerfield and the ball soared to the left side. McFarland made her route swooping in with her glove extended. At the last second, she propelled herself to the ground slamming on her stomach as the ball landed in the glove.
McFarland robbed several Nittany Lions hits throughout the weekend and is up to 35 put-outs on the season and eight in conference games.
Maryland’s offense struggled compared to its shining defense. The only hits of the day came from the freshman catcher Delaney Reefe, who hit a single in the third and slammed a double in the 11th.
Wyche only got hotter throughout the game while her offense remained quiet. She struck out seven batters in extras and tallied 38 strikeouts throughout the weekend.
The lack of offense continued into extras as the teams entered the 12th inning still with no score. Liana Jones’ walk-off RBI double won the series for the Nittany Lions despite Wyche’s defensive efforts and 17 strikeouts.
The Terps resume conference play and return to College Park next week to face Illinois for a weekend series beginning on Friday.
