Rutgers’ Ella Harrison has been one of the brightest young pitchers in college softball this season. She leads the Big Ten in strikeouts, innings pitched and shutouts. It would be easy to assume that Maryland, the Big Ten’s worst offense, would struggle against Harrison.
It did so in the first two games of the series, scoring just five runs. But the Terps rallied in the third game and strung together their best performance of the season.
Maryland’s offense pounced on Rutgers and its freshman sensation with a season-high 15 hits, defeating the Scarlet Knights 11-7 on Sunday in Piscataway to win its first Big Ten series.
After two pitching battles in the opening games of the series, each offense shined in the rubber match. Maryland (12-12, 2-1 Big Ten) and Rutgers (14-17, 1-2 Big Ten) amassed 13 runs and hits all together by the end of the second inning.
It was an abnormal showing, as the Terps entered Sunday with the worst run-scoring offense in the Big Ten. The Scarlet Knights were the second-worst offense with just 95 runs.
But Maryland’s offense led the way on Sunday. The Terps amassed three different two-run blasts over the fence in the first two innings. Sydney Lewis – Maryland’s home run leader – started the scoring with a two-run blast in the first inning.
[Maryland softball drops conference opener to Rutgers, 5-1]
Mazie Macfarlane slammed the ball over center field to score two in the second, continuing her strong series. The graduate student homered in two games against Rutgers– and one blast counted as a four-run error when the ball slipped off Rutgers outfielder Stephanie Kraska’s glove over the fence.
But the Terps didn’t solely rely on their go-to cleanup hitter or hottest batter. Seven Terps recorded hits and six players finished with two or more.
Freshman Matti Benson hit the Terps’ third home run in the second inning. Her second homer of the season ended freshman pitcher Kelsey Hoekstra’s day in the circle early. Rutgers’ hot offense kept the game tied at seven in the third inning, though.
The Scarlet Knights attempted to kill the Terps’ hitting momentum, turning to their ace in the third. Harrison pitched complete games both Friday and Saturday and is second in the NCAA in strikeouts.
[Sydney Lewis’ powerful bat is driving Maryland softball’s offense forward]
The plan failed quickly. Maryland recorded nine hits on Harrison in four innings after tallying just seven across Friday and Saturday’s matchups. Its best performance against the Big Ten innings leader came in the sixth when Lewis hit her second two-run homer.
Harrison was pulled for Dezaria Johnson – the Scarlet Knights’ fourth pitcher of the day – to start the seventh inning.
Maryland’s eleven runs against Rutgers is a season high. The Terps went .441 as a team at the plate, a positive sign for an offense that had struggled coming into Big Ten play.
The hot offense was aided by a strong pitching performance after the early innings. The Terps turned Rutgers’ strategy on them and put in their own No. 1 pitcher, Bri Godfrey in the third. The junior rewarded the bold move – not allowing a run over five innings.
