Feb. 13, 2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
The Terrapins will get their season underway this weekend in Athens, Ga. at the University of Georgia Invitational on Friday. Head Coach Gina LaMandre points out that her team is hungry to play, especially since recent snow storms have prevented the Terps from practicing outdoors. The team has been playing indoors on AstroTurf for the past three weeks.
The Terps will face off against Boston College to open the tournament on Friday at noon. They will then take on Drexel at 2 p.m. On Saturday, tournament host No. 17 Georgia will match up against Maryland at 2 p.m. The Terps will also play a game late Saturday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. The game times and opponents will be announced after the opening rounds of the tournament.
Follow the Terps' progress all weekend long with GameTracker live stats. Click the GameTracker link on the REPLACE_ME homepage or visit
georgiadogs.OCSN.com/softball and click on the "Live Stats" link right before game time.
University of Georgia Invitational
Tournament Schedule
Friday, Feb. 14
12 p.m. Maryland vs. Boston College
2 p.m. Drexel vs. Maryland
4 p.m. Boston College vs. Georgia
6 p.m. Georgia vs. Drexel
Saturday, Feb. 15
12 p.m. Boston College vs. Drexel
2 p.m. Maryland vs. Georgia
4 p.m. #4 seed vs. #1 seed
6 p.m. #3 seed vs. #2 seed
Sunday, Feb. 16
12 p.m. Loser 4/1 vs. Loser 3/2
2 p.m. Winner 3/2 vs. Winner 4/1
*Home teams listed second.
*Home teams occupy third-base dugout.
*Home teams wear light jerseys.
*Tournament seeding tiebreakers:
1) Weekend record
2) Head-to-Head record
3) Runs scored
4) Runs allowed
5) Coin Toss
TERPS AT A GLANCE
The 2003 Terrapin infield has three players returning from last year's 31-21 team. Senior Jillian Callaway (Brandywine, Md.), who started the majority of last year's games at third base, will replace graduated first baseman Kiesha Pickeral. Sophomore Malissa Moczulski (Burlington, N.J.) and Junior Jen Peel (St. Leonard, Md.) are once again starting at the middle infield positions. Moczulski started in 46 games at shortstop last season and led freshmen in on-base percentage (.369). Sophomore transfer Crystal Rizzuto (San Leandro, Calif.) will start at the hot corner. LaMandre expects her to be an offensive sparkplug this season.
All-ACC pick Samantha Sweeney (Marlton, N.J.) will anchor the Terrapin outfield. Sweeney led the Terps in several offensive categories last season and posted the second-best season batting average in program history (.350). She will be joined in the outfield by speedy sophomore Crystal Tweedy (Dumfries, Va.) and the top rookie hitter from the 2002 team, Lauren Pollock (Severna Park, Md.).
A well-rounded and experienced staff will return to the pitching circle this spring. Junior fireballer Monica Cyphert (Warren, Ohio) will be the ace of the staff. Last year she went 10-6 with a 1.79 ERA. The Terps will also rely on the arm of sophomore Jessica Aditays (Shrewsbury, Mass.), who posted a 2.00 ERA in 2002 and collected seven wins for the Terps. Junior Liz Gall (Bothell, Wa.) will return to the pitcher's circle this season. Her last appearance was in 2001, where she provided spot pitching for the team.
Junior Casey Leiter (Lake Stevens, Wa.) will take over behind the plate this year. Leiter started most of Maryland's games in the outfield last season, but filled in behind the backstop during both her freshman and sophomore campaigns. Freshman Rachel Greyson (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) is expected to share catching duties with the veteran Leiter.
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
The Eagles, who are ranked sixth in the BIG EAST preseason poll, opened the 2003 campaign with a 1-3 record after competing in the Gamecock Invitational on Feb. 8-9. The team took two losses from 2002 ACC Tournament champion No. 19 Georgia Tech and one loss from UNC-Greensboro. The Eagles powered themselves to a 3-2 win against tournament host No. 20 South Carolina thanks to home runs from third baseman Lisa Fischer and shortstop Cara Blumfield.
This Friday's contest against head coach Jen Finley's squad marks the first time that Maryland has matched up with Boston College.
Fischer and right fielder Jacqui Goodchild have been the offensive sparkplugs for BC in the early going. In addition to her two-run blast against No. 20 South Carolina, Fischer homered off No. 19 Georgia Tech hurler Erin Voeltz and drove in five runs during the four-game weekend tournament. Lead-off hitter Goodchild has collected five hits for the Eagles and is batting .333 on the season.
The Eagles' pitching falls on the arms of Tekae Malandris and Michelle Daly. Malandris opened the season 1-1 and held her opponents to three earned runs in seventeen innings of work. The hurler also struck out 25 batters in her decisions against South Carolina and UNC-Greensboro. Daly was the losing pitcher in both of BC's games against No. 19 Georgia Tech. The sophomore allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out seven in BC's 2-1 extra-inning loss.
SCOUTING DREXEL
Drexel opens its season against Maryland on Feb. 14. Five starters will be returning from last year's 10-38 squad.
Terry DeTuro moves in as Drexel's head coach this season after spending last year as an assistant for Monmouth. DeTuro has 11 years of head coaching experience behind her, including a successful stint at Virginia where she led the Cavaliers to a Top 25 ranking.
Junior shortstop Debbie Botke is the Dragons' top returning hitter. Last season she batted .308 with 12 RBI and started all 48 games for the Dragons.
Krista Van Wert and Elizabeth Fuller will provide veteran leadership in Drexel's pitcher's circle this season. The duo struck out 49 and had a combined ERA of 4.84. Freshmen Amanda Heyser and Kristy Pron are also expected to contribute to the staff.
SCOUTING No. 17 GEORGIA
The Bulldogs already have collected an 8-1 record this season in appearances at the Florida International Fun 'N Sun Tournament and Seminole Classic Tournament. Georgia captured the tournament championship at FIU and posted a 3-1 weekend mark at the Seminole Classic. The Seminole Classic tournament was highlighted by a 5-4 extra-inning win against tournament host No. 9 Florida State.
Junior catcher Shannon McKeon is coming off a strong outing at the Seminole Classic, where she batted .571 with five RBI, a home run, and a run scored. Her performance landed her SEC Player of the Week honors for Feb. 10.
Sophomore pitching ace Michelle Green has been the leading force behind the Bulldogs' early success. She opens the season with a 0.49 ERA in six appearances and 46 strikeouts in 43 innings pitched. After striking out 33 batters and tossing shutouts against Kentucky and Illinois State at the Fun 'N Sun Tournament, Green received SEC Pitcher of the Week honors for Feb. 4.
Maryland has gone head-to-head with Georgia four times since 1998, with the all-time series tied at 2 games apiece. Third year head coach Lu Harris-Champer's squad beat the Terrapins 4-2 in last year's Seminole Classic.
Follow The Terrapins In 2003
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