Bri Godfrey threw a season-high nine strikeouts in her 10th appearance for Maryland softball. The Terps’ most reliable pitcher had one of her strongest appearances of the season with just one bad letup in the second inning that was easily recoverable.
But for an offensively struggling Maryland team, one bad inning was enough.
The Terps allowed six hits and five runs, two of which were unearned, in the second inning of a 5-4 loss to Queens. Sunday’s defeat in Chapel Hill, North Carolina was Maryland’s second of the weekend and sixth in its last seven games.
Godfrey started hot in the circle for the Terps (5-8), striking out three batters in a hitless first inning before the Royals’ bats cracked Godfrey in the second.
Queens laid down three straight singles from Taylor Jones, Caroline Johnson, and Emma Frye. A wild pitch from Godfrey sent Jones home plate. A double and two more singles and an error sent four more runners home.
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Infielder Sammi Woods responded, sending her first homer of the season over the left-field fence, which made it a 5-3 game after two innings. The junior had her best game of the season so far, recording two hits.
Godfrey refound her footing after her rough second, retiring six of seven batters faced in the third and fourth innings. Godfrey’s three earned runs against Queens are on par with her season ERA of 5.01.
The Terps were awarded two baserunners in the third from a walk and hit by pitch but couldn’t capitalize. A single from Madison Runyan in the fourth was also not followed up, leaving her stranded.
The trend didn’t end there. Sydney Lewis hit a single in the fifth but was stranded again. The Terps left seven runners on base in the loss, a recurring problem for Maryland who has stranded 71 runners across 13 games this season.
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They finally added a run to the board in the sixth after four quiet innings. A bunt from Woods moved her to first for her second hit of the game. Woods advanced two bases through at-bats from Bailey Murphy and Mariah Penta before reaching home on an error. The unearned run cut the Terps’ deficit to just one.
Two more strikeouts from Godfrey in the seventh put the Terps in a good spot to make a comeback. Groundouts from three straight batters ended that campaign quickly and continued the Terps’ rough patch.
Maryland ended the matchup with seven hits but was unable to capitalize on the movement. While not a bad offensive showing for the Terps, they have the second-fewest hits in the Big Ten, only ahead of Northwestern.
The Terps have three more away games against Belmont before finally ending their travels with their home opener against Saint Joseph’s on March 4th.
