March 30, 2005
MARYLAND (12-10, 2-1 ACC) at VILLANOVA (19-9, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Wednesday, March 30, 2005 | 2:30 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Villanova Softball Field (1,000) | Villanova, Pa.
MARYLAND vs. UMES (3-11, 2-4 MEAC)
Thursday, March 31, 2005 | 2 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Terrapin Softball Complex (1,200) | College Park, Md.
Game Notes
After winning its first ACC series of the season with two victories over Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland softball team steps out of conference play for doubleheaders with Villanova and Maryland-Eastern Shore this week. The Terrapins will face the Wildcats at Villanova Softball Field on Wednesday for a 2:30 p.m. doubleheader before returning to the Terrapin Softball Complex for two games against UMES on Thursday.
NOTING THE TERRAPINS
Maryland (12-10, 2-1 ACC) won two out of three games at Virginia Tech last weekend, sweeping the Hokies on the second day of the series with 10-0 and 6-3 victories. The Terps are off to a 2-1 start in Atlantic Coast Conference action, their best since the 2000 season.
Lindsay Klein and Crystal Tweedy continue to pace the Terps offensively, as both are hitting above .320 and are ranked among the top hitters in the Atlantic Coast Conference. After opening the year on a nine-game hit streak, Klein has continued to be solid at the plate, notching a team-high 14 RBI and 27 hits, while Tweedy continues to find ways to get on base and is hitting .322.
Jessica Aditays turned in two strong pitching performances over the weekend, earning two victories and striking out 10 batters while maintaining a 0.84 ERA.
Virginia Tech had received votes in the March 14 ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll, making it Maryland's sixth opponent that was either ranked or receiving votes. Of Maryland's 10 losses, seven have come at the hands of teams that have appeared or received votes in one of the polls, while the Terps have earned three victories over such teams.
RECAPPING THE VIRGINIA TECH SERIES
The Terps entered conference play with a 10-9 record after posting three victories and winning the championship game of the Maryland Invitational.
After being no-hit by freshman Hokie pitcher Angela Tincher in the single game of the series, Maryland bounced back in a big way with 10-0 and 6-3 victories on the doubleheader day of the series.
Offensively, Maryland was led by sophomore sensation Lindsay Klein, who hit .455 for the weekend with a double, a triple and five RBIs. Klein's .727 slugging percentage was tops on the team, and her four-RBI performance in the second game of the series was the best single-game total by a Terrapin this year.
Also standing out in Blacksburg were Keri Lounge (one home run, four RBI), Nikki Smith (.333 BA, one double) and Jenny Belak (three RBI, one stolen base).
HOME RUN CLUB
Seven different Terrapins have hit home runs in 2005, already eclipsing last year's total of different players. Seniors Nneka Cardoza, Lauren Pollock and Crystal Rizzuto, juniors Natalie Grossman and Nikki Smith and sophomores Lindsay Klein and Keri Lounge have all homered so far this season.
TERPS IN THE ACC RANKINGS
Several Terrapins are at or near the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference top 10 lists. Lindsay Klein ranks third in the conference with a .365 batting average. Klein also appears in the top 10 for hits (second, 1.23 per game), RBIs (tied for sixth, .64 per game), total bases (fifth, 1.64 per game), and doubles (seventh).
Keri Lounge is fifth in the league for doubles, Jenny Belak ranks sixth for stolen bases and Nneka Cardoza is seventh for walks per game.
Terp pitcher Jessica Aditays has the ninth-best ERA in the ACC (1.95) and ranks ninth for strikeouts (6.15 per game). Elyse Lucas is ranked in strikeouts (eighth, 6.35 per game) and opponents' batting average (10th, .217).
NOTHING GETS BY
The Terrapins, as a team, have made solid defense their trademark in 2005. Maryland is ranked second in the conference in team fielding with a .968 fielding percentage, a conference-low 21 errors and three double plays turned.
FRESH FACES
Head coach Gina LaMandre's squad welcomes seven new faces in 2005. Freshmen Jenny Belak, Meghan Booth, Medley McGuire and Whitney Reigel are the Terps' class of 2008, while sophomore Abbey Welch joins the program from Longwood University and juniors Nikki Smith and Crystal Crews come to College Park from Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, Fla.
Welch (5-4) has made an immediate impact, as the versatile sophomore has seen time at pitcher and in the outfield. The La Plata, Md., native gave the Terrapins their first victory of the year with an outstanding pitching performance against Missouri (Feb. 19). She notched two more victories at the Red and Black Challenge against UNC Greensboro (March 4) and then-No. 13/17 Georgia (March 5). Welch's most impressive performance to date came at the Florida State Invitational, where she one-hit St. Joseph's (March 13) and picked up two victories. In 2005, Welch has a team-high five victories, 39 strikeouts and two saves.
Smith has started 19 of the Terps' first 22 games behind the plate and hit her first career home run on Feb. 19 vs. Penn State. In her last three games, Smith hit .333 with a double and an RBI.
Belak has seen extensive action in the outfield and had her first career RBI in the Terps' 3-2 win over Missouri on Feb. 19. The rookie has scored eight runs and has stolen a team-high six bases. She hit the game-winning single against Georgia on March 4 and posted her first-career multiple-hit game against Mount St. Mary's on March 19. In her ACC debut, Belak tallied three RBI and a stolen base in the three-game series at Virginia Tech.
TURTLES IN NAME ONLY
Speedy freshman Jenny Belak has stolen six bases for the Terrapins this year, which ranks first on the team and sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Terps had 25 stolen bases in 2004 and have already tallied 13 this season.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
6
The Terps have faced six opponents in 2005 that have either been ranked or receiving votes in the top 25 polls
3
Against those opponents, Maryland has earned three victories
14
Lindsay Klein has batted in a team-high 14 runs
7
Seven different Terrapins have hit home runs in 2005
322
Career coaching victories by Terps' head coach Gina LaMandre
SCOUTING VILLANOVA
Villanova enters Wednesday's doubleheader with a 19-9 record and a four-game win streak after most recently winning home games against UMass (3-1) and Brown (5-1).
Leading the Wildcats offensively is Sheri Donley, Sarah Wall and Allie Wisniewski. Donley is batting a team-high .337 with seven doubles and 15 RBI, Wall has a .321 batting average and 15 RBI, while Wisniewski has knocked in 15 runs. Villanova pitchers Kristen Haynes and Shannon Williams anchor the rotation, as Haynes (10-4) maintains a 1.11 ERA and Williams (9-5) has struck out a team-high 107 batters.
At the helm of the Wildcats is Maria DiBernardi.
Maryland leads the all-time series, 2-0, as the Terrapins were victorious in last year's doubleheader at the Terrapin Softball Complex. Maryland won those March 9 games, 1-0 (11 innings) and 3-2.
SCOUTING MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE
The Hawks are 3-11 on the season and 2-4 in the MEAC after dropping two contests to Norfolk State on March 25.
LaToya Bailey is hitting .273 with a double and two RBI, while Jennifer Wilson has tallied two doubles and three RBI. Hawk pitcher Kristen Greenwood (2-5) has struck out 22 batters, while Christina Mason (1-3) has a team-best 4.52 ERA and 23 strikeouts.
Head coach Kirkland J. Hall is in his first season.
Maryland leads the all-time series with UMES, 10-1, including a 9-0 victory in College Park last season.
LAST TIME OUT: MARYLAND 6, VIRGINIA TECH 3
The Maryland softball team took an early 2-0 lead in the second game of the doubleheader with ACC newcomer Virginia Tech after an impressive first inning by the heart of the Terrapin batting order. Lindsay Klein got things started with a two-out triple to the gap in left-center field, which was followed by Keri Lounge's RBI single to right field. The next batter, Terp catcher Nikki Smith, scored Lounge with an RBI double to left field that gave the Terps a two-run lead.
Virginia Tech scored its first run of the day on an Alisia Narodowski RBI single to center field in the bottom of the third inning, but stranded two runners on base and settled for making it a 2-1 game.
With one out in the fourth inning, Hokie pitcher Angela Tincher hit consecutive batters with pitches, putting runners at first and second base for the Terrapins. Shortstop Nneka Cardoza reached first base on a fielder's choice and advanced pinch runner Whitney Reigel to third base. The Terps' leadoff batter, Jenny Belak, stepped up to the plate and singled to score Reigel and extend the Terps' lead to 3-1.
Virginia Tech threatened in its half of the fourth inning, as Kelly Brown drove in a run with a double to right-center field to pull the Hokies within one run. Maryland head coach Gina LaMandre opted for a pitching change, Jessica Aditays for starter Crystal Crews, and Aditays got the third out of the inning to keep Maryland ahead by a score of 3-2.
The Terps added three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 6-2 lead. Lindsay Klein notched her fifth RBI of the series with a single through the left side that scored Nneka Cardoza, who had reached base on a single to right field. Keri Lounge stepped up next and blasted her first home run of the season (seventh of her career) over the center field fence to score two more runs.
Virginia Tech scored a run in its half of the seventh inning, but Aditays (4-2) closed strong and picked up her fourth win of the year. Maryland handed Tech pitcher Angela Tincher (14-3) her third loss of the year and exacted revenge a day after being no-hit by the freshman.
ACC CHAMPIONSHIPS: OUR HOUSE
The Terrapins' 2005 schedule is highlighted by being selected to host the ACC Softball Tournament from May 12-15. The Terrapin Softball Complex, now in its third full season as the home of the Terps, will provide an outstanding facility for the conference tournament. The Terps are 3-1 on their home field so far this season.
TERPS PICKED SIXTH IN PRESEASON POLL
As determined by a preseason vote of the league's head coaches, the Terrapins were picked to finish sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Florida State was tabbed the preseason favorite, followed by Georgia Tech and North Carolina.
CALLAWAY RETURNS TO MARYLAND AS ASSISTANT COACH
Former Terrapin infielder Jillian Callaway, a 2003 University of Maryland graduate, joined the staff of her former team as an assistant coach in August 2004. A standout for the Terrapin softball team from 1999-2003, Callaway finished her career on Maryland's all-time top 10 list for games played (195) and started (189), hits (128) and RBI (63).
Callaway joins former teammate Michelle Burrell on head coach Gina LaMandre's staff. Burrell, a 2001 Maryland graduate, was an outstanding outfielder for the Terps from 1998-2001 and is in her fourth season as an assistant coach.
EMAIL STRAIGHT TO YOU
If you would like the latest Maryland softball news sent directly to you as soon as it breaks, email softball contact Amy Mulligan at mulligan@umd.edu with "Softball Email" as the subject and you will automatically receive every update on the team.