Maryland
Alabama
Terps Finish 1-4 at Speedline Invitational
6/21/1999 8:00:00 AM | Softball
March 6, 1999
TAMPA, Fla. - Maryland's participation in the Speedline Invitational college softball tournament drew a close on Saturday afternoon as Alabama handed the Terps a 7-3 defeat, and sent them home with a 1-4 tournament record.
The Tide got a solo homer in the first off freshman hurler Amanda Bettker, and tacked on three more runs in the third before Maryland got on the board. The Terps manufactured a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning when Jen Potzman walked and Kiesha Pickeral and Michelle Burrell both were hit by pitch to load the bases. Fawna Lackovic and Annmarie Brown both received walks to force a pair of runs to the plate.
But Alabama matched those two runs in its half of the fourth, and though Maryland got a single run in the fifth on back-to-back-to-back singles by Amy Sandler, Potzman and Pickeral, the Tide got a final run of its own in the fifth to maintain its four-run lead.
Bettker, starting her second game of the tournament, struckout seven Alabama batters, but five Maryland errors contributed heavily in the loss.
In late games on Friday, the Terps split consecutive games with No. 13 South Carolina and Florida A & M.
Maryland struck first against South Carolina when Sandler hit a one-out double and scored a batter later on a Potzman single. The Gamecocks knotted the score with a solo home run in the third, and won the game with two runs in the fifth as Maryland fell 3-1.
Against A & M, it was all Terrapins as Maryland scored a 9-1 victory in just five innings, called by an 8-run mercy rule. The Terps got two runs in each of the first and second innings, and added another in the third for a 5-0 lead before the Rattlers scored their only run in the top of the fourth. Maryland countered with three in the bottom of the inning, and added the game-ending run in the bottom of the fifth. Freshman pitcher Danielle Carpenter raised her record to 3-1 as she was backed by 11 hits by her teammates.
Hitting stars for Maryland against Florida A & M included Potzman who batted 4-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Sandler and catcher Beth Radford each had two hits.
The Terps, 14-12 overall, visit Florida State next weekend to take part in the Lady Seminole Invitational. It is Maryland's sixth consecutive weekend tournament prior to hosting its first home games on March 20 and 21, against Long Island and Temple, respectively.
Game 3 Linescore (Friday) R H E Maryland 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 7 2 South Carolina 0 0 1 0 2 0 x - 3 4 0Shipman and Putnam.
Game 4 Linescore (Friday) R H E Florida A & M 0 0 0 1 0 - 1 2 2 Maryland 2 2 1 3 1 - 9 11 3
Carpenter and Radford.
Game 5 Linescore (Saturday) R H E Maryland 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 - 3 5 5 Alabama 1 0 3 2 1 0 x - 7 9 0
Bettker and Radford.
