April 22, 2005
MARYLAND (20-14, 4-5 ACC) hosts NORTH CAROLINA (32-23, 5-7 ACC)
Saturday, April 23, 2005 | 1 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Sunday, April 24, 2005 | 1 p.m.
Terrapin Softball Complex | College Park, Md.
Game Notes
The Maryland softball team opens a 12-game homestand at the Terrapin Softball Complex this weekend with a three-game series against ACC foe North Carolina. With two conference series left on each of their schedules, the Terrapins and Tar Heels are separated by one place in the conference standings and are jockeying for seeding in this year's ACC Tournament. Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's game both begin at 1 p.m.; livestats are available at www.umterps.com.
NOTING THE TERRAPINS
Maryland (20-14, 4-5 ACC) picked up its first win over Florida State since the 1999 season in Tallahassee last weekend, dominating the Seminoles with a 7-2 win in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. The teams went to extra innings in game one, with Florida State edging out a 1-0 victory in the bottom of the ninth. In the series finale, Maryland and pitcher Crystal Crews limited the Seminoles to just three hits, but the Terps could not find a rhythm offensively and fell by a score of 2-0.
Crews (4-4) was charged with the two losses, but pitched arguably the best games of her young career as a Terrapin. The junior transfer, a week after earning her first ACC win with a complete-game, four-hit performance at Virginia, pitched 14 and two-thirds innings in two starts against FSU and maintained a 0.48 ERA while striking out 11 and allowing just one earned run. Crews' season ERA has now dipped to 1.90, second-best on the team.
With four conference victories, Maryland has improved on or matched its ACC win totals from each of the last five years. The best conference mark in school history came in 1999, when Maryland compiled a 10-2 ACC record en route to a school-record 51 victories and appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Lindsay Klein continues to lead the Terps offensively, hitting at a .333 clip. Her batting average is tied for sixth-best in the conference and she also appears in the ACC's top 10 lists for hits (36), home runs (4), doubles (6), runs batted in (23), total bases (56) and slugging percentage (.519).
Keri Lounge has also been a steady offensive presence, as she is the only other Terrapin with multiple home runs (3) and leads the team with 25 RBI.
As a duo, Klein and Lounge have accounted for 48 of the team's 108 RBIs (44 percent) and seven of Maryland's 12 home runs. Batting in the heart of the Terrapin lineup, the pair has been clutch during scoring opportunities, as Klein is hitting .386 and Lounge is batting .360 with runners on base.
Lauren Pollock has also come on strong for the Terps, as she has tallied seven RBI in her last nine games. The senior has started consistently at designated player and although she has the second-fewest number of at-bats among Terrapin starters (71), Pollock is third on the team with 14 runs batted in. Pollock also ranks first among Terrapin starters with a .429 batting average with runners in scoring position.
The other Terp in double digits for RBI is outfielder Jenny Belak, who has totaled 10 on the year.
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 Jessica Aditays leads the team with 64 strikeouts. Abbey Welch, meanwhile, has earned six victories - including wins over ranked teams Missouri and Georgia.
Maryland will play the remainder of its regular season games at the Terrapin Softball Complex, where it has a 7-1 record in 2005. The 2005 ACC Softball Championship will also be held in College Park from May 12-15.
RECAPPING THE FLORIDA STATE SERIES
The Terrapins took game two of the series for their first win over the Seminoles since the 1999 season. The 7-2 victory was highlighted by a four-RBI performance by Keri Lounge and a complete-game victory by pitcher Jessica Aditays. Nneka Cardoza also stood out, as she crossed the plate twice and notched an RBI.
In the first game, the teams played to a scoreless tie for eight and two-thirds innings before a Lesley Palmer RBI single gave Florida State a 1-0 victory.
In the rubber match of the series, Crystal Crews allowed just three hits but Maryland could not find its offensive rhythm to help her cause and fell by a score of 2-0.
For the weekend, the Terps were led by Florida native Nikki Smith, who performed well in front of a hometown crowd and batted .400 with an RBI, and Keri Lounge, who hit .375 with a double, a triple and four RBI.
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 sixth in the conference for batting average and also appears in the top 10 for home runs, hits, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage and doubles.
Keri Lounge leads the league for runs batted in and Nneka Cardoza is listed for runs scored and walks per game.
Pitcher Elyse Lucas has the fifth-best ERA in the ACC (1.35) and averages nearly seven strikeouts per game - good for seventh place in the league. Jessica Aditays is averaging 6.43 K's per game, which ranks eighth in the ACC. Crystal Crews, meanwhile, has the ninth-best ERA (1.90) in the conference.
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 .967 fielding percentage, a conference-low 33 errors and five double plays turned.
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER
Three seems to be the decisive digit for the Terrapin offense. So far in 2005, the Terps have compiled an 18-0 record when they score at least three runs. All 14 of Maryland's losses have come in games that it has scored two runs or less.
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 tying six victories, 43 strikeouts and two saves.
Also excelling in the pitcher's circle is Crews (4-4). The junior fireballer returned from an autumn knee injury and has pitched extremely well in her eight starts.
Smith has started 29 of the Terps' first 34 games behind the plate and hit her first career home run on Feb. 19 vs. Penn State. The junior is hitting .267 on the year with five doubles and six 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 14 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.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
330
Career coaching victories by Terps' head coach Gina LaMandre
25
Keri Lounge has batted in a team-high 25 runs
10
The Terrapins have won nine of their last 14 games
7
Seven different Terrapins have hit home runs in 2005
7
The Terps have faced seven opponents in 2005 that have either been ranked or receiving votes in the top 25 polls
4
Against those opponents, Maryland has earned four victories
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina enters the weekend with a 32-23 record (5-7 ACC) after most recently sweeping a mid-week doubleheader against UNC Wilmington.
Leading the Tar Heels offensively is Anna Evans, Jessica Young and Jaclyn Holden. Evans is batting a team-high .338 with 20 RBI and has six home runs, while Young has hit four home runs and batted in a team-high 31 runs. Holden, meanwhile, hits at a .302 clip and has hit seven doubles. Crystal Cox is the Tar Heels' ace, as she has compiled a 16-14 record and maintains a 1.62 ERA.
North Carolina head coach Donna Papa is in her 20th season leading the Tar Heels.
Maryland trails the all-time series with North Carolina, 20-10, in games dating back to the Terps' inaugural softball season in 1995. The Tar Heels own a four-game win streak against the Terps, and the last time Maryland prevailed was May 10, 2003. In that ACC Tournament game, Maryland won 9-8 in eight innings. The teams met most recently at last year's ACC Tournament in Tallahassee, Fla., and UNC prevailed, 7-2.
LAST TIME OUT: MARYLAND 0, FLORIDA STATE 2
In the series finale at JoAnne Graf Field, the University of Maryland softball team dropped a 2-0 game to host Florida State. The Terps, a day after notching their first win over the Seminoles since the 1999 season, got hits from Lindsay Klein and Crystal Crews and went to 20-14, 4-5 in the ACC.
Florida State (27-18, 8-6 ACC) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Melissa Wood RBI sacrifice fly and added another run in the third inning on a Kim Hoffer double. Crews got the first Terrapin hit of the day and her second of the series, a single up the middle in the third inning. Klein singled in the fourth inning but the Terrapins stranded both runners.
Crews, who started in the circle for Maryland, struck out six batters and allowed just three hits and one earned run. She went to 4-4 on the season, while Seminole pitcher Casey Hunter improved to 15-12 and struck out eight in the shutout.
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 will play a midweek doubleheader against in-state rival Towson on Wednesday, April 27 at the Terrapin Softball Complex.
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.
