Feb. 20, 2000

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Maryland softball squad (6-5, 0-0 ACC) finished out their weekend at the Triangle Classic with a 3-3 record, falling to No. 22 Illinois-Chicago on the second day of championship bracket play. The Terps met the Flames on Sunday in the Silver Bracket semifinal after posting a 2-2 record in pool play and defeating Ohio University in the first round on Saturday.

The Terrapins were first on the scoreboard, putting one run across in their opening at-bat. Junior Jennifer Potzman (Trexlertown, Pa.) drew a leadoff walk and scored when Illinois-Chicago's Stef Christofferson made a throwing error on junior Michelle Burrell's (Owego, N.Y.) sacrifice bunt attempt. The Flames came back in the third, taking a 3-1 lead on three walks and a pair of RBI doubles. Maryland looked to rally in the fifth when rightfielder Holly Baldwin (Olney, Md.) singled and scored on a Burrell sacrifice fly, but Illinois-Chicago held on to win by a 3-2 count.

The Terps' Amanda Bettker (St. Petersburg, Fla.) threw four innings, suffering her first loss of the season. Junior Jen Shellhammer (Slatington, Pa.) came on in relief in the fifth, holding the Flames scoreless for the remainder of the game.

The Maryland squad now looks forward to almost two full weeks of rest, recovery and practice before hosting the second-ever Terrapin Invitational on Mar. 4-5. That event marks the first Terp home games of the season, and will feature Princeton, Connecticut and LaSalle.

Championship Bracket Play: Game 2 Linescore
Illinois-Chicago	003 000	0 - 3 6	1
Maryland	        100 010	0 - 2 3	0
Samantha Iuli and Stef Christofferson.
Amanda Bettker, Jen Shellhammer (5) and Beth Radford.
Winning Pitcher Iuli.  Losing Pitcher - Bettker (4-1).
Doubles: Tiffany (I), Iuli (I), Casey (I).
Triples: None.  Home Runs: None.

Contact: Mark Fratto
301-314-7064 (phone)
301-314-9094 (fax)
301-314-TERP (Fan Phone)
fratto@wam.umd.edu