March 5, 2005

Box Score

ATHENS, Ga. - The Maryland softball team dropped a close game to Radford, 3-1, Saturday at the Red and Black Challenge on the campus of the University of Georgia. The Terps dropped to 3-5 on the year, while Radford evened its record at 12-12. Nneka Cardoza had an RBI single and Jessica Aditays pitched well in relief to lead the Terrapins.

Lindsay Klein extended her hit streak to eight games with a two-out single through the left side in the top of the first inning, but classmate Keri Lounge flew out to left field to end the inning and maintain a scoreless tie early in the game.

The Terps got on the board in the top of the third inning after Nneka Cardoza drove in her third run of the tournament. Crystal Tweedy earned a one-out walk and the next batter, Jenny Belak, laid down a sacrifice bunt and Tweedy advanced to third on a throwing error by Radford catcher Amanda Walling. With Tweedy on third base, Cardoza's single scored Tweedy and gave the Terrapins a 1-0 lead.

Ashley Smith's single in the bottom of the third inning with the bases loaded drove in two runs and gave the Highlanders a 2-1 lead, and Radford went on to take a 3-1 lead before the inning was over.

That 3-1 lead held up, as both teams were scoreless through the final four innings. Terp pitcher Elyse Lucas was credited with the loss and goes to 1-2 on the year, while Jessica Aditays pitched three and two-thirds innings, gave up one hit and struck out four. Jenny Belak and Crystal Tweedy also had hits for the Terps.

Maryland continues action at the Red and Black Challenge Saturday 1 p.m., when it faces No. 13/17 Georgia. Gametracker is available through www.umterps.com and live audio and video can be accessed (with a subscription) on www.georgiadogs.com.