April 15, 2005
MARYLAND (19-12, 3-3 ACC) at FLORIDA STATE (25-17, 6-5 ACC)
Saturday, April 16, 2005 | 2 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Sunday, April 17, 2005 | 1 p.m.
Seminole Softball Complex | Tallahassee, Fla.
Game Notes | Live Audio
The Maryland softball team travels to Tallahassee, Fla., this weekend for a three-game series with ACC foe Florida State. After winning one of three games at Virginia last week, the Terps have an even 3-3 mark in conference play (19-12 overall) and have won nine of their last 11 games. Gametracker is available at www.umterps.com and an internet radio broadcast of all three games can be accessed at www.seminoles.com.
NOTING THE TERRAPINS
Maryland (19-12, 3-3 ACC) picked up its third conference victory of the year at Virginia last weekend, shutting out the Cavaliers with a 1-0 win in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. Junior pitcher Crystal Crews (4-2) earned her first ACC win with the complete-game, four-hit performance and Crystal Rizzuto led Maryland offensively with a multiple-hit game.
Maryland dropped the other two games of the series at Virginia by a combined three runs, falling 2-1 and 2-0.
Lindsay Klein continues to lead the Terps offensively, hitting at a .333 clip. Her batting average is the seventh-best in the conference and she also appears in the ACC's top 10 lists for hits (33), home runs (4), doubles (6), runs batted in (22), total bases (53) and slugging percentage (.535).
Keri Lounge has also been a steady offensive presence, as she is the only other Terrapin with multiple home runs and is second on the team with 21 RBI.
Lauren Pollock has come on strong for the Terps as of late, as she has tallied seven RBI in her last eight games. The senior has started consistently at designated player and her batting average has climbed to .254. Although she has the second-fewest number of at-bats among Terrapin starters (67), Pollock is third on the team with 14 runs batted in.
The depth of the Terrapin pitching staff continues to show, as all four hurlers have at least four victories. Elyse Lucas has a team-best ERA of 1.35, while Aditays leads the team with 58 strikeouts. Abbey Welch, meanwhile, has earned six victories - the most of any Terp starter - including wins over ranked teams Missouri and Georgia.
Following the Florida State series, Maryland will play the remainder of its conference games at the Terrapin Softball Complex, where it has a 7-1 record in 2005.
RECAPPING THE VIRGINIA SERIES
Entering the weekend in Charlottesville on an eight-game win streak, Maryland won one out of three games at The Park against ACC rival Virginia.
In the first game, Maryland took a one-run lead into the bottom of the seventh inning after a Lauren Pollock RBI single in the second inning put the Terps up 1-0. Virginia rallied on the strength of Whitney Holstun's game-winning double to score two runs and win the game, 2-1.
The Terps evened the series at one game apiece behind a strong pitching performance from Crystal Crews. The junior registered her fourth win of the year (first in conference play) and allowed just four hits to shut out the Cavaliers. Maryland scored a run in the fifth inning when freshman pinch runner Whitney Reigel scored on a Virginia error and the 1-0 margin held up for the Terp victory.
In the rubber match of the series, Jenn Wynn's two-run home run was the difference in the game as Virginia won 2-0. Elyse Lucas pitched well in defeat, allowing four hits and striking out four.
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. Klein leads the team with four homers, while Lounge has hit three.
TERPS IN THE ACC RANKINGS
Several Terrapins are at or near the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference top 10 lists. Lindsay Klein ranks seventh in the conference for batting average and also appears in the top 10 for home runs, hits, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, triples and doubles.
Keri Lounge is ranked for runs batted in, Jenny Belak ranks among the top 10 for stolen bases and Nneka Cardoza is listed for walks per game.
Pitcher Elyse Lucas has the fifth-best ERA in the ACC (1.35) and averages over seven strikeouts per game - good for seventh place in the league. Jessica Aditays is averaging 6.48 K's per game, which ranks eighth in the ACC.
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 .970 fielding percentage, a conference-low 27 errors and four double plays turned.
Individual defense has stood out as well, as shortstop Nneka Cardoza has put together a stellar senior season and has not committed an error in her last 11 games.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
Three seems to be the decisive digit for the Terrapin offense. So far in 2005, the Terps have compiled a 17-0 record when they score at least three runs. In games that Maryland scores zero, one or two runs, its record is 2-12.
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 (6-4) 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. Most recently, Welch held Villanova (March 30) scoreless in her three innings of relief work to pick up the win. In 2005, Welch has a team-high six victories, 43 strikeouts and two saves.
Smith has started 23 of the Terps' first 28 games behind the plate and hit her first career home run on Feb. 19 vs. Penn State. The junior is hitting .250 on the year with five doubles and five 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 13 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. She notched a career-high three RBI in the Terps' 5-0 win over Villanova and hit her first career triple on April 6 vs. Delaware State. Most recently, the right fielder went a career-best 3-for-3 at the plate in the first game of the series at Virginia.
TURTLES IN NAME ONLY
Speedy freshman Jenny Belak has stolen six bases for the Terrapins this year, which ranks first on the team and 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Terps had 25 stolen bases in 2004 and have already tallied 15 this season.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
329
Career coaching victories by Terps' head coach Gina LaMandre
22
Lindsay Klein has batted in a team-high 22 runs
9
The Terrapins have won nine of their last 11 games
7
Seven different Terrapins have hit home runs in 2005
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
SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE
Florida State enters the weekend with a 25-17 (6-5 ACC) record after most recently splitting a mid-week doubleheader against UCF.
Leading the Seminoles offensively is Natasha Jacob, Melissa Wood and Lesley Palmer. Jacob is batting a team-high .302 with 13 RBI and has stolen 11 bases, while Wood has hit five home runs and batted in a team-high 19 runs. Palmer, meanwhile, hits at a .292 clip and has hit a team-high 11 doubles. Casey Hunter and Tiffany McDonald lead FSU in the pitcher's circle, as Hunter has won 13 games and maintains a 1.34 ERA and McDonald has a team-best record of 12-4 and a 1.35 ERA.
Florida State head coach JoAnne Graf is in her 26th season leading her alma mater.
Maryland trails the all-time series with Florida State, 25-3, in games dating back to the 1996 season. The Seminoles own a 14-game win streak against the Terps, and the last time Maryland prevailed was March 24, 1999. In that game, the Terps won a 5-3 decision.
LAST TIME OUT: MARYLAND 0, VIRGINIA 2
The University of Maryland softball team dropped the final game of its three-game series at Virginia, 2-0, at The Park. Lindsay Klein and Nikki Smith had the two Terrapin hits on the day, and Elyse Lucas struck out four batters in defeat.
Klein got her first hit of the series in the top of the first inning, a single up the middle, but the Terps did not bring her around to score. Maryland got another opportunity in the second inning when Nikki Smith hit a double off the left-center field wall. It was Smith's fifth two-base hit of the year, and she advanced to third base after walk by Lauren Pollock and a groundout by Natalie Grossman, but the Terps stranded both runners on base and the score remained 0-0.
Virginia took a two-run lead in the bottom of the third inning after Elea Crockett hit an infield single and Jenn Wynn hit her fifth home run of the year to center field.
That 2-0 lead would hold up as Virginia pitcher Coty Tolar retired the last 17 Terrapin batters she faced. Tolar improved to 7-9 on the year, while Terp starter Elyse Lucas dropped to 4-3. Lucas gave up just four hits in the six-inning performance.
After splitting games with Virginia Saturday, Maryland dropped to 19-12 (3-3 ACC). Virginia's record went to 16-22 (5-3 ACC).
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 7-1 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.
UP NEXT
Maryland begins a 12-game homestand when North Carolina visits the Terrapin Softball Complex for a three-game ACC series on April 23-24.
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.