Feb. 25, 2001

Box Score 1, Box Score 2

BOCA RATON, Fla. - The Maryland softball team (4-5) posted a 1-1 record in championship bracket play at the Florida Atlantic-Worth Invitational, sinking Florida A&M 4-3 before suffering a 4-1 loss at the hands of the eventual runner-up Florida Atlantic Owls. FAU went on to fall to Florida State, 1-0, in the championship game.

Crafty southpaw Danielle Carpenter (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) scattered four hits and struck out four in the complete game championship quarterfinal victory vs. the Rattlerettes, improving her record to 3-0 on the season. In a back-and-forth game of ups and downs, it was FAMU who got on the scoreboard first, as right fielder Natalie Matthews scored on a Maryland error. The Terps knotted the contest in their half of the first, as freshman Casey Leiter (Lake Stevens, Wash.) was hit by a pitch, stole second and came around to score on junior Kiesha Pickeral's (Hughesville, Md.) RBI drive to left. The Terrapins answered a second-inning Rattlerette run with two of their own in the third on base knocks by juniors Beth Radford (Dunkirk, Md.) and Carpenter. Maryland extended its lead with two outs in the sixth, as freshman Jen Peel (St. Leonard, Md.) reached on an error and crossed on a Jennifer Potzman (Trexlertown, Pa.) single up the middle. The insurance run proved to make the difference, as the Rattlerettes managed a run in the seventh to cut the final to 4-3.

Senior Jenn Shellhammer (Slatington, Pa.) tamed the hot Florida Atlantic bats through three perfect innings in the semifinal game, but the Owls turned things up with a three-run fifth to hand the right hander her third loss of the season. The Terrapins went ahead early, beginning with an Annmarie Browne (Lansdale, Pa.) leadoff single in the third. Browne came around to score when fellow senior Potzman ripped an offering up the middle, giving the Terps a 1-0 lead. FAU tied the contest in the fourth on a Nikki Myers RBI-single that scored right fielder Kim Nicosia and went on to bat around in the fifth, taking the final advantage.

On the day, Browne had two hits for the Terrapins, while Potzman contributed a pair of singles and two RBI.

Maryland looks forward to a week of practice before hosting Towson, LaSalle, Fairfield and Princeton in its first home event of the year March 2-4. The third-ever Terrapin Invitational kicks off when Maryland and Towson meet at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Friday.

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