Freshman Gracie Solarz, holding down the end of the Terps’ lineup, stepped up to the plate. Her hard hit to first allowed Hannah Runk to run home, scoring Maryland’s 10th run of the evening.

Solarz’s RBI helped the Terps notch their second straight five-run inning, deepening their large lead over the Tigers.

Maryland softball’s offense starred at home on Wednesday, mercy-ruling Towson, 11-2. After falling into a two-run hole, the Terps responded with ten runs in just two innings to give them their first victory in four games.

“Our offense came alive tonight,” coach Lauren Karn said. “The best thing to see is that we didn’t wait until the third inning for it to happen.”

Keira Bucher started in the circle Wednesday afternoon. An error in the field and two Towson hits brought in two runs and started an offensive-heavy game. The Terps responded in the bottom of the first.

Jaeda McFarland notched Maryland’s first hit of the night with a triple to right field. Mazie MacFarlane followed with a walk and stole second with aggressive baserunning, putting two runners in scoring position when Sydney Lewis stepped up to the plate.

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Lewis drove the ball through the glove of the second baseman’s glove, bringing home McFarland with MacFarlane close behind her. Lewis’ double notched the first two runs for the Terps and tied the game. The rest of the lineup followed.

“I feel like were just having a lot more fun today,” Jones said. “Being at home always brings a different energy … I think we’re out best when we’re being a little silly.”

Maryland continued to power the balls to the outfield with just one out in the inning, bringing home three more runs in the first before circling back to the top of the lineup. The Terps recorded a five-run first inning to lead by three.

Maryland quickly added to its lead. McFarland led the offensive stint — just like in the opening frame — with a solo home run over the left-field fence. McFarland’s blast began a consistent streak of six hits, bringing home five runs in the second inning.

The Terps’ bats excelled throughout the lineup, as six different players notched two hits. Seven different batters registered an RBI, led by Michaela Jones’ three.

“Out of 12 of our hits ten of them were on the first strike that we saw,” Karn said. “Our ability to go up and trust that we can hit strikes and going for every single one that we saw put us in a much better position.”

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Bucher, with only three strikeouts, kept Towson limited to just two runs with the help of the defense behind her. Hannah Runk had four putouts, corralling four outs for Bucher at second base.

Maryland added another run in the fourth inning. Back-to-back walks from Diamond Williams and Jones put two runners on for freshman Julia Shearer. Shearer reached first on a fielder’s choice to third, advancing to second on a wild throw. Jones scored on the error to notch the Terps’ 11th run of the game in just the fourth frame, their last in the mercy rule win.

“Gaining that momentum and that confidence, I think is really what we need right now,” Jones said. “So hopefully we can take this with us into the weekend.”

Maryland will look for continued success when it faces Purdue this weekend in its final home conference series of the season.