April 8, 2005
MARYLAND (18-10, 2-1 ACC) at VIRGINIA (14-21, 3-2 ACC)
Saturday, April 9, 2005 | Noon (Doubleheader)
Sunday, April 10, 2005 | Noon
The Park | Charlottesville, Va.
Game Notes
The Maryland softball team travels to Charlottesville, Va., this weekend for a three-game series with ACC foe Virginia. The Terps are winners of eight-straight games and are looking to improve on their 2-1 conference mark. Saturday's doubleheader and Sunday's single game at The Park both begin at noon and Gametracker is available for all games at www.umterps.com.
NOTING THE TERRAPINS
Maryland (18-10, 2-1 ACC) picked up two mid-week victories over Delaware State at the Terrapin Softball Complex Wednesday, 10-1 and 5-1. With the wins, Maryland extended its win streak to eight games and improved to 7-1 at home this season. Maryland has not faced an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent since March 25 and 26, when it won two out of three games against league newcomer Virginia Tech. Maryland's three-game home set with NC State was cancelled due to inclement weather and will not be rescheduled, making this weekend's matchup with Virginia the Terps' second conference series of the year.
Offensively, Lindsay Klein, Crystal Tweedy and Keri Lounge are pacing the Terrapins. Klein leads the team in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.352), doubles (6), home runs (4) and RBI (22), while Lounge has been stellar at the plate in her last eight games. In the team's last eight victories, Lounge has led the team with a .417 batting average, three home runs and 13 RBIs. Tweedy, meanwhile, has continued to find ways to get on base and is hitting .325 with five runs batted in.
Lauren Pollock has also come on strong for the Terps as of late, as she is on a five-game hit streak and has tallied six RBIs in her last six games. The senior has started consistently at designated player and her batting average has climbed to .262. Although she has the second-fewest number of at-bats among Terrapin starters (61), Pollock is second on the team with 13 RBIs.
The depth of the Terrapin pitching staff continues to show, as all four hurlers have at least three victories. Jessica Aditays and Crystal Crews both performed well in the team's last outings vs. Delaware State, as Aditays got her fourth win of the year and Crews pitched a one-hit complete game. Elyse Lucas has a team-best ERA of 1.20, while Aditays leads the team with 52 strikeouts. Abbey Welch, meanwhile, has earned six victories - the most of any Terp starter - including wins over ranked teams Missouri and Georgia.
Prior to the Terps playing their first ACC series at Virginia Tech, the Hokies had received votes in the March 14 ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll, making them 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.
Maryland has won every doubleheader it has played this year with sweeps of Virginia Tech, Villanova, UMES and Delaware State.
RECAPPING THE DELAWARE STATE SWEEP
After its home series with NC State was cancelled due to inclement weather, Maryland returned to the diamond on Wednesday afternoon at the Terrapin Softball Complex. With another solid offensive performance, the Terps earned impressive 10-1 and 5-1 victories over the Hornets.
Jessica Aditays earned the complete game victory in game one, limiting Delaware State to five hits. Keri Lounge and Lindsay Klein led Maryland offensively, as the sophomores combined for six RBI and each had a home run.
In game two, Crystal Crews was working a no-hitter through five and two-thirds innings before Delaware State second baseman Ashley Schaaf doubled to center field to end the bid. The Terps eventually earned a 5-1 victory, highlighted by Klein's fourth homer of the year and multiple-hit performances by shortstop Nneka Cardoza and designated player Lauren Pollock.
In two games against the Hornets, the Terps out-hit their opponents by a 20-6 margin and hit .377 as a team.
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 fourth in the conference for batting average and also appears in the top 10 for hits, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, triples and doubles.
Keri Lounge is ranked for doubles and 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 fourth-best ERA in the ACC (1.20) and averages over seven strikeouts per game - good for seventh place in the league.
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 .971 fielding percentage, a conference-low 24 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 during the Terps' current win streak.
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 1-10.
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 four 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.
TURTLES IN NAME ONLY
Speedy freshman Jenny Belak has stolen six bases for the Terrapins this year, which ranks first on the team and eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Terps had 25 stolen bases in 2004 and have already tallied 15 this season.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
328
Career coaching victories by Terps' head coach Gina LaMandre
22
Lindsay Klein has batted in a team-high 22 runs
8
The Terrapins have won eight-straight 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 VIRGINIA
Virginia enters the weekend with a 14-21 (2-3 ACC) record after most recently dropping two one-run games to Towson on April 5. The Cavaliers earned ACC victories over Georgia Tech and NC State.
Leading the Cavaliers offensively is Sara Larquier and Jenn Wynn. Larquier, this week's ACC Player of the Week, is batting a team-high .339 with four home runs and 26 RBI, while Wynn has knocked in 19 runs and is hitting .378 with a team-high 10 doubles. Coty Tolar and Erin Horn lead Virginia in the pitcher's circle, as both have notched five victories. Horn has tallied a team-high 100 strikeouts, while Tolar maintains a team-low 2.61 ERA.
Virginia head coach Cheryl Sprangel is in her eighth season.
Maryland trails the all-time series with Virginia, 21-7, in games dating back to the Terps' inaugural softball season in 1995. The Terps snapped a nine-game Cavalier win streak with a 5-3 victory in the first round of last year's ACC Tournament on May 14, 2004. In that game, the Terps rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the seventh inning and then-freshman Lindsay Klein had two RBI.
LAST TIME OUT: MARYLAND 5, DELAWARE STATE 1
The Maryland softball team extended its win streak to eight games with two non-conference victories over Delaware State at the Terrapin Softball Complex. Lindsay Klein hit two home runs and Keri Lounge added another to lead the Terps to 10-1 and 5-1 wins, and the team improved to 7-1 on its home field in 2005.
Crystal Rizzuto gave Maryland an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second inning, and the Terps extended their lead on an RBI triple by Nneka Cardoza in the fifth inning. That same inning, Lindsay Klein hit a towering home run to center field. The two-run shot, Klein's fourth of the year and 10th of her career, put Maryland (18-10, 2-1 ACC) up 4-0.
Terp starter Crystal Crews was working a no-hitter through five and two-thirds innings, but her bid for a no-hitter was ended in the sixth inning on a double by Hornet second baseman Ashley Schaaf. Maryland would end up tacking on an insurance run in the sixth inning to take a final 5-1 lead.
Crews improved to 3-2 and allowed one hit while striking out four.
Cardoza finished game two 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run, while Lauren Pollock also added two hits and a run.
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 continues the ACC portion of its schedule April 16-17 with a three-game series at Florida State.
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.