Texas freshman Cambria Salmon looked like a veteran on the mound against the Terps. With Maryland’s best hitters at the plate, Extra Innings Softball’s No. 4 recruit in the nation retired seven straight batters throughout the first three innings, including two strikeouts.
Just hours earlier, Maryland freshman Aubrey Wurst threw her ninth strikeout of the day to put away UMass’ final batter. Wurst’s 0.15 ERA ranked 11th nationally, per MaxPreps, upon her joining the Terps. Both freshman pitchers hindered dominant offensive programs in their respective matchups in the second week of NCAA play.
The Terps couldn’t get a similar performance in the circle in the second game of their doubleheader, splitting their first pair of games at the Bevo Classic. After a 4-0 shutout against UMass earlier in the day, the Terps fell to the hosting team, No. 1 Texas, 13-4.
Wurst started in the circle against UMass and threw her first complete game in just her second collegiate start. The performance is likely a huge confidence boost for the freshman who struggled at the Kajikawa Classic last weekend, letting up 10 runs.
Maryland (4-3) tallied a season-high 13 hits against UMass. Graduate student Mazie MacFarlane had four of them, knocking in two runs and improving her team-leading batting average to .450.
The Terps’ offense got going in the middle innings but they had no runs to show for a three-hit fourth frame. They didn’t make the same mistake in the fifth.
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Maryland registered two more hits before Sydney Lewis, the team’s 2024 RBI leader, sent one more to right field for another run. Graduate student catcher Sam Bean followed that up with a ground ball to second base allowing Caitlyn Cornwell to touch home, putting the Terps up 3-0.
Taylor Borovac returned to the plate with bases loaded in the seventh inning. The freshman grounded out a single to second as Matti Benson ran and touched home, giving the 4-0 lead. Wurst retired three straight batters in the bottom of the inning to give Maryland its first win of the tournament.
The Terps met their offensive challenger in their next matchup, facing Texas for their second game of the day. The Longhorns (7-0) had a .362 batting average coming into the game.
Julia Shearer got the start in the circle against the No. 1 team in the nation. The sophomore pitched the complete game in the Terps’ upset victory over No. 21 Cal, where she allowed just three runs.
Graduate student Joley Mitchell got the Longhorns going early with a two-run double to center field in the first. Home runs from Kayden Henry and Katie Stewart in the second put the Terps an early 7-0 hole.
Salmon’s start on the mound put a dent in the Terps’ offense throughout the game. Salmon added another five strikeouts to her freshman campaign, bringing her total to 18 in 16 innings.
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Maryland junior Bri Godfrey substituted in the circle for the third inning but the switch-up didn’t affect the Longhorns’ bats. Texas added another three hits, including a triple from Kaydee Bennett, and two more runs in Godfrey’s first frame.
Maryland found its bats against Salmon in the fourth thanks to hits from Cornwell and MacFarlane, the Terps’ leaders in batting average. Benson registered a third hit where Cornwell was thrown out, but the Terps ended the inning with two runners stranded. The Terps have already left 45 runners on base this season in just seven games.
A pair of two-run homers from Texas in the fourth brought the total to 13-0.
The Terps’ four runs all came in the top of the fifth inning. Maryland registered four hits while eight players went to the plate. The Terps’ late offensive start was a pattern in the pair of Friday matchups, with 15 of the day’s 20 hits coming in the fourth inning or later.
Maryland will rematch against the top team in the nation Saturday morning and face another ranked opponent, No. 8 Texas Tech that afternoon. The Terps will have to get an early offensive start against the two southern teams, who hold two of the best pitchers in the nation in Teagan Kavan and NiJaree Canady.
