Terps Head to ACC Tournament as Top Seed
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Softball
May 10, 1999
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- No. 21 Maryland (47-19, 6-2 ACC) begins play in the seventh annual Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Friday night in Tallahassee, Fla. The Terps are the No. 1 seed in the tournament for the first time in school history. The Terps finished as the regular season league co-champions with a 6-2 record. Maryland finished tied with Florida State, who had an identical 6-2 league mark, but claimed the tournament's top seed after a blind draw was done by conference officials. The Terps are no strangers to ACC softball championships having claimed the league's co-championship during the 1997 season. Maryland had a 1-2 record in last year's tournament and has won three of its last five ACC Tournament games in the last two years. Sunday's championship game will be shown live on Home Team Sports at 3:30 p.m.
THE WHEN AND WHERE OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Maryland has earned its first automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the champion of the South Atlantic Softball Alliance. The 48-team tournament will be announced on Sunday May 16. The SASA is made up of the five ACC teams (Maryland, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia) plus South Florida and UNC Charlotte to form an alliance whose champion receives an automatic bid to the 48-team NCAA softball tournament. The NCAA press conference to announce to bracket is Sunday, May 16 at 6:45 p.m. Media interested in listening to or watching the selection show can contact the media relations office at (301) 314-7065 for the telephone number or satellite coordinates.
MARYLAND CONTINUES UPWARD CLIMB IN NATIONAL POLLS
The University of Maryland women's softball team is ranked 21st in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25. The ranking is the highest in the history of the program and represents a move up from the Terps' ranking of 23rd last week. Maryland has been ranked in the top 25 during each of the last three weeks.
SHIPMAN SURPASSES 1,000 CAREER STRIKEOUT PLATEAU
Senior Kelly Shipman became the eighth player in NCAA history and the first player in school history to reach the 1,000 career strikeout plateau. Shipman struck out nine batters against Princeton on May 8 to bring her career total to 1,002. Her 1,000th career strikeout (seventh of the game) came on a called third strike in the top of the fifth of Maryland's 3-2 victory over the Tigers. Shipman has now struck out 255 batters this season which ranks as the second-best single-season total in school history. She struck out a school-record 285 batters during the 1996 season and averages 250.5 strikeouts per season.
TAKE THESE NUMBERS INTO CONSIDERATION...
...Maryland has nearly as many wins this season (47) as it did during the 1995 and 1996 seasons (48) combined;
...Maryland has more hits this season (475) than the 1996 and 1997 teams combined for (467);
...Maryland has hit nearly as many home runs this season (36) as were hit during the first four years of the program (40);
...Maryland has lost fewer games this season (19) than it did during the months of February, March and April (21) combined during the 1998 season;
...Maryland has won more games this season (47) than only five teams in ACC softball history.
Game Facts and Coverage
at ACC Championship
Date: May 14-16
Terps First Game: Friday, May 14
Time: 7 p.m.
Opponent: Virginia/Ga. Tech
Site: Tallahassee, Fla.
ACC Tournament Schedule
Date: May 14
#4 Virginia vs. # 5 Ga Tech, 3 p.m.
#2 Fla. State vs. # 3 UNC, 5 p.m.
#1 Terps vs. Virginia/G. Tech 7 p.m.
Date: May 15
G1 Loser vs. G2 Loser, 3 p.m.
G2 Winner vs. G3 Winner, 5 p.m.
G4 Winner vs. G3 Loser, 7 p.m.
Date: May 16
G5 Loser vs. G6 Winner, Noon
G5 Winner vs. G7 Winner, 3:30 p.m.
G8 Winner vs. G8 Loser, 6 p.m.*
*if necessary
at NCAA Tournament
Date: May 21-23
Time: TBA
Site: TBA
ACC SOFTBALL STANDINGS
ACC Overall
Team W L W L T
Maryland 6 2 47 19 0
Florida St. 6 2 37 25 1
Virginia 4 4 32 24 0
N. Carolina 4 4 40 20 0
Ga. Tech 0 8 21 36 0
SASA SOFTBALL STANDINGS
SASA Overall
Team W L W L T
Maryland 10 2 47 19 0
Florida St. 10 2 37 25 1
N. Carolina 8 4 40 20 0
Virginia 6 6 32 24 0
S. Florida 6 6 44 26 0
Ga. Tech 1 11 21 36 0
UNC Char. 1 11 21 36 0
SHIPMAN NAMED ACC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Senior Kelly Shipman was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week for the week ending May 2. It marked the fifth time this season that Shipman had earned the honor. Shipman had a 3-0 record as she defeated George Mason, 5-0 (April 29) and No. 22 South Florida, 3-1, and 5-3 (May 2). She hurled three complete games including two against South Florida in a doubleheader. Her earned run average for the week was 0.52. Shipman's victory in game one against South Florida came in a titanic 13-inning battle. She struck out eight while facing 46 batters. She gained the final two outs of the game on infield pop-ups with the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the 13th inning.
TERPS LEAD ACC IN PITCHING
Maryland's pitching trio of Kelly Shipman, Amanda Bettker (St. Petersburg, Fla.) and Danielle Carpenter (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) is the top pitching staff in the ACC. The Terps lead the ACC in pitching victories (47), ERA (1.55), fewest earned runs allowed (100), fewest hits allowed (330), most strikeouts (396), lowest opponent batting average (.206), complete games (56) and innings pitched (450.2) and are tied for first in saves (three). Shipman was the ace of Maryland's staff which led the nation in ERA (0.82) during the 1996 season.
IN THE "W" COLUMN...
...Maryland has won a school record 47 games this season;
...Maryland has won six consecutive games entering the ACC Tournament;
...Maryland has won 18 of its last 20 games for a winning percentage of 90 percent since April 3;
...Maryland won a school-record 13 games during the month of February, a school-record 19 games during the month of April and has won a school-record four games during the month of May.
RADFORD WITH RECORD 36 RBI
Freshman Beth Radford (Dunkirk, Md.) leads the Terps with a school-record 36 RBI this season. She drove home what proved to be the game-winning run in Maryland's 4-3 victory over Princeton in game one of the Terps' doubleheader sweep of the Tigers on May 8. She is looking to become only the second freshman in school history to lead the Terps in RBI. Allyson Hamlin led the Terps in RBI with 21 during the 1995 season.
Single Season RBI Leaders Rnk No. Player Year 1. 36 Beth Radford 1999 2. 35 Jennifer Potzman 1999 3. 35 Michelle Burrell 1999 4. 33 Cortney Madea 1998 5. 32 Jennifer Potzman 1998
POTZMAN WITH RECORD 47 RUNS SCORED
Sophomore Jennifer Potzman (Trexlertown, Pa.) has scored a school-record 47 runs this season. The previous record was 42 by Amy Sandler (Miami, Fla.) during the 1996 season. A team-record total of three players have scored 40 or more runs this season.
Single Season Runs Scored Leaders Rnk No. Player Year 1. 47 Jennifer Potzman 1999 2. 44 Michelle Burrell 1999 3. 42 Amy Sandler 1996 4. 41 Kelly Shipman 1999 5. 34 Kelly Shipman 1998
PICKERAL, SHIPMAN IN DUAL FOR HITS LEAD
Freshman Kiesha Pickeral (Hughesville, Md.) and senior Kelly Shipman are locked in a battle to see who will be the team leader in hits this season. Pickeral had three hits during the Terps' doubleheader sweep of Princeton to bring her team-leading and single-season record total to 66. Shipman had two hits against the Tigers to bring her total to a single-season career-high 63. A school-record six different players have at least 50 hits this season.
Single Season Hits Leaders
Rnk No. Player Year
1. 66 Kiesha Pickeral 1999
2. 63 Kelly Shipman 1999
3. 58 Jennifer Potzman 1999
T4. 54 Kelly Shipman 1998
54 Tricia Hunt 1996
SHIPMAN ESTABLISHES HOME RUN RECORD
Senior Kelly Shipman hit one home run in both games of Maryland's doubleheader sweep of Princeton on May 8. She has now hit a single-season school-record nine home runs this season. Shipman's home run in game two against Princeton came in the bottom of the seventh inning and allowed the Terps to tie the game at two. Shipman is also the Terps' career home run leader with 19.
Single Home Run Leaders
Rnk No. Player Year
1. 9 Kelly Shipman 1999
2. 8 Kelly Shipman 1998
T3. 6 Beth Radford 1999
6 Michelle Burrell 1999
6 Jennifer Potzman 1998
LACKOVIC WITH GAME-WINNING RBI
Senior Fawna Lackovic (Centreville, Va.) was credited with the game-winning RBI against Princeton in game two on May 8. Lackovic smacked a line drive into centerfield to score Holly Baldwin (Olney, Md.) with the game-winning run. The run allowed the Terps to register a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Tigers. Lackovic has a career-high 25 RBI this season and ranks third all-time in school history with 86 RBI.
PUTNAM ENJOYING BREAKOUT YEAR
Junior catcher Sarah Putnam (Chesapeake, Va.) has recorded a career-high 21 hits, a career-high tying seven runs scored and a career-high 10 RBI. In addition, she has caught each of Kelly Shipman's last 15 starts and two of Shipman's three no-hitters this season.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
0.96
Senior Kelly Shipman is the only pitcher in the ACC with a sub-1.00 ERA. She leads the league with a 0.96 mark.
3
Freshman Kiesha Pickeral is batting .340 this season. Her average currently ranks as the third highest for a single-season in school history.
6
Maryland brings a six-game winning streak into the ACC Tournament. The streak is tied for the third longest in school history.
8
Sophomore center fielder Michelle Burrell (Owego, N.Y.) stole her career-high and team-leading eighth base of the season against Princeton on May 8. She has stolen eight of 10 bases (.800) this season.
8
Freshman Amanda Bettker struck out eight and retired 15 of the final 17 batters she faced in winning game two of Maryland's doubleheader sweep of Princeton on May 8.
9
Freshman Holly Baldwin has scored nine runs as a pinch-runner this season. She scored runs in both of the Terps' victories over Princeton on May 8 and scored the game-winning run in game two.
9
Maryland established its school-record nine- game winning streak from April 9 through April 24 of this season.
23
Sophomore Annmarie Browne (Lansdale, Pa.) has 23 hits and 15 RBI this season. She had four hits and two RBI as a freshman during the 1998 season. She played in 19 games as a reserve outfielder last season and has played in 54 games this season.
50
As a team, Maryland has been credited with 50 sacrifice hits this season. That total ranks as the second-highest single-season total in school history. Sophomore Annmarie Browne leads the team with 11 sacrifice hits which ranks as the second-highest single-season total by an individual in school history.
66
Maryland's 66 games played this season is a school-record. The previous school-record was 58 by the 1996 team.
