Coach Lauren Karn had no positives from Maryland softball’s performances in its Saturday doubleheader against Iowa. The Terps only put up four hits across the pair of games and were mercy-ruled in the second one.
With the series lost and a losing streak on the verge of reaching double digits, Sunday was a mentality test for the Terps. Maryland bested its hit and run totals from the day prior, but still endured offensive struggles in a 7-2 loss at home.
The defeat was the Terps’ 10th straight and their third straight series sweep.
“I thought early on we were more competitive than we were yesterday, but we’re starting to lose it quicker as we get tired as the season goes on,” Karn said.
Sydney Lewis rocketed her team-leading ninth homer of the season over the right field fence for the Terps’ first run over their last 15 innings. The junior tallied a hit in every game of the series and has been Maryland’s (15-25, 3-13 Big Ten) only consistent threat at the plate.
[Maryland softball’s offense stalls in doubleheader losses to Iowa, 6-1 and 9-0]
Karn continued to shift the Terps’ lineup to work around Lewis’ strength. Freshman Matti Benson returned as the designated hitter and Taylor Borovac was back in the lineup on both sides for the second straight game.
Borovac, who entered the series with just 37 at bats, was tested as a hitter in all of Maryland’s best scoring chances.
The freshman appeared to score graduate student Sam Bean on a check-swing bunt in the second inning, but the call was revoked for dead ball. Borovac struck out swinging to thwart a chance that would’ve given the Terps the lead.
Borovac’s second plate appearance came with two runners in scoring position. She flew out to left field.
The left-handed hitter finally broke through in the sixth inning, singling to left field to score sophomore Julia Shearer. The knock was Borovac’s fourth career RBI and first in Big Ten play.
“I thought she did a nice job in some pressure situations,” Karn said.” She needs to live in those moments and learn from those moments as a young player for us, who hopefully has a long career here.”
[Maryland softball’s pitching difficulties have triggered single-inning collapses]
While Maryland’s hitting slightly improved, the lineup showed the Terps don’t possess the same power as the majority of the conference. They rank second-to-last in slugging percentage across the Big Ten and only totaled two extra-base hits in the series. The Hawkeyes (25-15, 7-6 Big Ten) — who are two spots ahead of Maryland — had six such knocks on Sunday alone.
Most of Iowa’s hits came against Keira Bucher in her first start of the series. The junior, who allowed two runs in 5 ⅔ relief innings in game one, matched the innings total on Sunday. She gave up eight hits, two walks and five runs.
Shearer allowed the biggest blow in relief, a two-run home run to sophomore Soo-Jin Berry in the top of the seventh. The blast capped a stretch of scoring in five straight innings for the Hawkeyes.
Despite the loss, the performance displayed some positivity for a Maryland offense that’s floundered after scoring 10 runs against Indiana on April 6 and a team that hasn’t won in over two weeks. The Terps hold the second-longest losing streak in the Big Ten.
“Mentally we’re not fully locked in,” Karn said.
