April 29, 2001

Box Score 1, Box Score 2

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - It was Maryland's senior day at the North Softball Complex, but the Terp juniors decided to get in on the act as well, leading the Terrapin softball squad (37-19, 3-5 ACC/SASA) to 3-2 and 4-3 victories over SASA rival East Carolina (47-21, 2-4 SASA). Third-year fireballer Amanda Bettker (St. Petersburg, Fla.) tied a school record and set a personal best by fanning 15 Pirates in the doubleheader's opener, while the Terps' junior sluggers Kiesha Pickeral (Hughesville, Md.) and Beth Radford (Dunkirk, Md.) went the length of the yard in Game 2 to tie Kelly Shipman's mark for home runs in a single season at nine apiece.

Meanwhile, Michelle Burrell (Owego, N.Y.) and Annmarie Browne (Lansdale, Pa.) had big days for the Class of 2001. Burrell gave the home crowd a fine sendoff with a stellar 4-for-7 (.571), two run, one RBI effort, while her two doubles set a new all-time single-season mark at 17. Browne collected two hits, drove in a pair of runs and made a spectacular leaping catch in Game 1.

The senior duo set the pace for the Terrapins in the first inning of the opener. Burrell led off with a two-bagger and dashed home when Browne scorched a single up the middle. Maryland increased its lead in the second when Burrell doubled home freshman Casey Leiter (Lake Stevens, Wash.), and made it 3-0 when Browne drove home Cyphert in the fourth.

Bettker was in command from the game's onset. She struck out the side in the first and allowed only two baserunners through the first five innings. Her only real mistake was a two-run homer given up to Pirate second baseman Keisha Shepperson in the sixth, but she closed out the contest to improve to 14-5 on the year. The record of 15 K's was originally set by Shipman as a freshman vs. Mercer. The fireballer would end up with 18 strikeouts on the day, coming on in Game 2 to record her third season save. By the time Bettker stepped back into the pitcher's circle, however, the Terrapins were back in command of a see-saw battle.

Pickeral led off the second with a towering shot to left, taking a brief lead in Maryland's intrasquad home run race. The record-tying blast gave the Terps a 1-0 advantage. After back-to-back homers by ECU's Jessica Critcher and Angela Manzo gave the Pirates a 2-1 lead, the second half of the Terps' dynamic duo launched a rocket over the left field fence, scoring Burrell and Pickeral who both singled. Radford equaled the home run total of her teammate and Shipman from 1999 with the stroke that made it 4-2.

Sophomore Monica Cyphert (Warren, Ohio), on in relief, struck out four and allowed only a Eva Herron RBI single in the fifth. Bettker came on and shut down the Pirates, fanning three over the last two innings.

Pickeral closed out the day 3-for-7 (.429) with the homer, two runs and a RBI. Radford finished 3-for-5 (.600).

The Terps end their regular season and conference schedules in Tallahassee on Saturday, May 5. Maryland meets Florida State in a noon doubleheader before the ACC Tournament in Raleigh, N.C., from May 11-13. Senior Day's victories on Sunday also marked the final games played at the North Softball Complex in College Park, as construction on the Terps' new facility is scheduled to begin at the conclusion of the 2001 season.

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