May 3, 2005
MARYLAND (23-18, 5-9 ACC) hosts DELAWARE (26-22, 5-9 CAA)
Wednesday, May 4, 2005 | 2 p.m. (Doubleheader)
Terrapin Softball Complex | College Park, Md.
Game Notes
** Fans planning to attend the Wednesday, May 4 Maryland Softball doubleheader with Delaware can park free in lot 4B beginning at 1 p.m. No permit is required. Parking in lot 4B prior to 1 p.m. without a valid permit or parking in lots other than 4B without a valid permit could result in a parking ticket.**
The University of Maryland softball team will step out of conference play Wednesday as it hosts Delaware at 2 p.m. in a doubleheader at the Terrapin Softball Complex. The Terps have two regular-season series left on their schedule before the 2005 ACC Softball Tournament, which is being held May 12-15 in College Park.
NOTING THE TERRAPINS
Maryland (23-18, 5-9 ACC) finished regular-season ACC play by splitting a doubleheader with No. 17/18 Georgia Tech last weekend. The Terrapins fell 3-2 in 11 innings in game one, while Crystal Rizzuto's double in game two led to the game-winning run and Maryland prevailed 2-1. For Maryland, the win clinched the No. 6 seed at the conference tournament, where it will face No. 3 seed Virginia in the first round.
Maryland was led by Lindsay Klein, Jenny Belak and Nneka Cardoza against the Yellow Jackets, as all three hit .333 and Klein knocked in three runs.
Pitchers Jessica Aditays (8-3) and Abbey Welch had stellar games in the circle for Maryland. In game two, Aditays pitched the first five innings and allowed just one hit, while Welch relieved her in the sixth inning and picked up her third save of the year.
With five conference victories, Maryland has improved on 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 .321 clip. The sophomore appears in the ACC's top 10 lists for hits (44), doubles (9), runs batted in (26) and total bases (67). Klein's four home runs this season is tied for the team lead. In her last four games, Klein hit .412 with two doubles and three RBI.
Keri Lounge has also been a standout on offense, as she is the only other Terrapin with multiple home runs (4) and leads the team with 27 RBI.
As a duo, Klein and Lounge have accounted for 53 of the team's 120 RBIs (44 percent) and eight of Maryland's 13 home runs. Batting in the heart of the Terrapin lineup, the pair has been clutch during scoring opportunities, as Klein is hitting .389 and Lounge is batting .328 with runners on base.
Lauren Pollock continues to make the most out of her plate appearances, as she is third on the team with 14 runs batted in despite having the second-fewest number of at-bats (87) of the Terrapin starters. Pollock ranks second among Terrapin starters with a .321 batting average with runners in scoring position and is 1-for-1 on the year in pinch-hitting situations.
The other Terp in double digits for RBI is outfielder Jenny Belak, who has totaled 11 on the year. Belak, along with Nneka Cardoza, has also been one of the Terps' most effective base stealers, as the freshman is 7-10 for stolen bases in 2005.
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 1.43, while Jessica Aditays leads the team with 84 strikeouts. Abbey Welch, meanwhile, has earned seven victories - including wins over ranked teams Missouri and Georgia - and has a team-leading three saves. Crystal Crews, despite having a 1-5 record in conference starts, is ranked second in ACC appearances with a 1.35 ERA.
Maryland will play the remainder of its regular season games at the Terrapin Softball Complex, where it has a 10-5 record in 2005. The ACC Softball Championship will also be held in College Park from May 12-15.
TLC AT THE TSC
With the ACC Tournament on the horizon, the Terps have reason to like their chances with the event being held at the Terrapin Softball Complex. In games played at home this season, eight Maryland starters (Klein, Cardoza, Belak, Smith, Lounge, Pollock, Rizzuto and Grossman) are all hitting above their season averages. Klein has hit three of her four home runs within the friendly confines of the complex, and the Terps, as a team, are hitting .272 (up from their season average of .229) at home.
RECAPPING THE GEORGIA TECH SERIES
The University of Maryland softball team won the second game of its doubleheader with No. 17/18 Georgia Tech Friday night at the Terrapin Softball Complex, 2-1. Crystal Rizzuto's fifth-inning double led to the game-winning run for Maryland, while Jessica Aditays and Abbey Welch combined to one-hit the Yellow Jackets. Earlier in the day, Maryland dropped the first game, 3-2, in 11 innings.
In game one, Maryland got eight hits off of Tech pitcher Jessica Sallinger, the most the All-America pitcher has given up this season. Crystal Tweedy led off the game with a walk, and crossed home plate after Lindsay Klein's eighth double of the year to right field.
Georgia Tech fought back in the third inning, scoring runs on an Aileen Morales RBI single and Christine Sheridan sacrifice fly. Maryland tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth inning, again on the strength of Klein's bat. Tweedy led off the inning with an infield single and advanced to second base on a passed ball. The next batter, Klein, notched her second RBI of the game with a single through the left side and tied the game.
The score remained knotted until the 11th inning, when Georgia Tech had runners on second and third base with two outs. Abbey Welch entered the circle to relieve Terp starter Crystal Crews, and was charged with an illegal pitch while facing Aileen Morales. Each runner was awarded a base and Kacey Ivey crossed home plate and put Georgia Tech up, 3-2.
Although Nneka Cardoza reached first base on a throwing error by Yellow Jacket shortstop Christine Sheridan and Jenny Belak singled, the Terps could not put any more runs on the board in their half of the 11th inning and lost by a final score of 3-2. With the win, Georgia Tech clinched the regular-season ACC title and No. 1 seed at the conference tournament.
Jenny Belak led off the bottom of the first inning in game two with her second triple of the year to left-center field. Lindsay Klein followed up with an RBI double and gave Maryland a 1-0 lead. From there, Jessica Aditays allowed one run and one hit in five innings of work and struck out seven.
In the bottom of the fifth inning with the score tied, 1-1, Crystal Rizzuto hit a one-out double to left-center field and crossed home plate after a dropped fly ball off the bat of Nneka Cardoza.
Welch again entered the game in relief, and this time earned her team-high third save of the year while allowing no hits and striking out two. Aditays was credited with the win for Maryland and improved to 8-3 on the season. With the second-game victory, Maryland snapped a 12-game Yellow Jacket win streak in the series and improved its conference record to 5-9 (23-18 overall).
The third and final game of the Maryland-Georgia Tech series was cancelled due to heavy rain in the College Park area. No make-up date is scheduled.
ACC TOURNAMENT SEEDINGS ANNOUNCED
Maryland will be the No. 6 seed at this year's ACC Tournament, being held May 12-15 at the Terrapin Softball Complex. The Terps will face No. 3 seed Virginia at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 12.
Georgia Tech captured the No. 1 seed, followed by No. 2 Florida State. The Seminoles will face No. 7 seed Virginia Tech at 1:30 p.m., while No. 4 NC State and No. 5 North Carolina will play at 11 a.m.
HOME RUN CLUB
Seven different Terrapins have hit home runs in 2005, 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 and Lounge are tied for the team lead with four home runs apiece.
TERPS IN THE ACC RANKINGS
Several Terrapins are at or near the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference top 10 lists. Lindsay Klein appears in the top 10 for hits, RBIs, total bases, doubles and slugging percentage.
Keri Lounge is fourth in the league for runs batted in and Nneka Cardoza is listed for walks per game.
Pitcher Elyse Lucas has the fifth-best ERA in the ACC and averages nearly seven strikeouts per game - good for eighth place in the league. Jessica Aditays is averaging 6.97 K's per game, which ranks seventh in the ACC. Crystal Crews, meanwhile, has the ninth-best ERA in the conference and second-best in conference games only.
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 19-0 record when they score at least three runs. All 18 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 (7-4) 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 shut out Towson (April 27) and struck out eight batters to pick up the win. In 2005, Welch has seven victories, 54 strikeouts and three saves.
Also excelling in the pitcher's circle is Crews (4-6). The junior fireballer returned from an autumn knee injury and has pitched extremely well in her 14 starts.
Smith has started 36 of the Terps' 41 games behind the plate and hit her first career home run on Feb. 19 vs. Penn State. The junior is hitting .246 on the year with six doubles and eight 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 17 runs and has stolen seven 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. Recently, the right fielder tied a career-best with a 3-for-4 game against Towson (April 27), stealing her team-high tying seventh base and notching an RBI.
Booth and Reigel, meanwhile, have been the Terps' most effective pinch runners and have combined to score 15 runs.
Familiar Faces
The Terrapin seniors, Jessica Aditays, Nneka Cardoza, Lauren Pollock, Crystal Rizzuto and Crystal Tweedy, are approaching the end of their illustrious careers. As a class, the quintet has won more than 130 games and been a part of many memorable Maryland victories.
The seniors will no doubt leave their mark in the Maryland record books. Aditays currently ranks in the all-time top five for victories, innings pitched, strikeouts, shutouts, complete games and appearances, while Pollock and Rizzuto are both approaching their 100th-career hits.
Cardoza's 81 runs scored ranks tied for seventh all-time, while her 26 stolen bases is fifth. The shortstop recently notched her 100th-career hit and has put together arguably her best defensive season during her senior campaign.
Tweedy, meanwhile, ranks second all-time for sacrifice hits and 10th with 72 runs scored. The speedy left-handed batter is also poised to crack Maryland's top 10 for career hits.
TERPS BY THE NUMBERS
333
Career coaching victories by Terps' head coach Gina LaMandre
27
Keri Lounge has batted in a team-high 27 runs
12
Maryland plays its last 12 regular-season games at the Terrapin Softball Complex
7
Seven different Terrapins have hit home runs in 2005
8
The Terps have faced eight opponents in 2005 that have either been ranked or receiving votes in the top 25 polls
5
Against those opponents, Maryland has earned five victories
SCOUTING DELAWARE
Delaware enters Wednesday's matchup with a 26-22 overall record, 5-9 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Most recently, the Blue Hens dropped a doubleheader to Towson, 5-4 and 1-0.
Leading Delaware offensively is Allison Borchers, Barbara Traynor and Katie Lee. Borchers leads the team with a .336 batting average and has knocked in 30 runs, while Traynor hits .273 with 23 RBI. Lee, meanwhile, has hit six doubles and stolen 11 bases. Carolynn Sloat and Jenn Joseph split the majority of the time in the pitcher's circle, as Sloat has a 15-11 record with a 2.42 ERA and Joseph is 9-10 on the year with 92 strikeouts.
Delaware head coach B.J. Ferguson is in his 25th season leading the Blue Hens.
Maryland leads the all-time series with Delaware, 8-2, including two victories on May 6, 2004. In last year's doubleheader, the Terps prevailed, 3-2 and 3-0.
LAST TIME OUT: MARYLAND 2, GEORGIA TECH 1
The University of Maryland softball team won the second game of its doubleheader with No. 17/18 Georgia Tech Friday night at the Terrapin Softball Complex, 2-1. Crystal Rizzuto's fifth-inning double led to the game-winning run for Maryland, while Jessica Aditays and Abbey Welch combined to one-hit the Yellow Jackets.
Jenny Belak led off the bottom of the first inning in game two with her second triple of the year to left-center field. Lindsay Klein followed up with an RBI double and gave Maryland a 1-0 lead. From there, Aditays allowed one run and one hit in five innings of work and struck out seven.
In the bottom of the fifth inning with the score tied, 1-1, Crystal Rizzuto hit a one-out double to left-center field and crossed home plate after a dropped fly ball off the bat of Nneka Cardoza.
Welch entered the game in relief, and earned her team-high third save of the year while allowing no hits and striking out two. Aditays was credited with the win for Maryland and improved to 8-3 on the season.
With the second-game victory, Maryland snapped a 12-game Yellow Jacket win streak in the series and improved its conference record to 5-9 (23-18 overall).
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 10-5 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 wraps up its regular season schedule with a Saturday doubleheader against George Mason. The five Terp seniors, Jessica Aditays, Nneka Cardoza, Lauren Pollock, Crystal Rizzuto and Crystal Tweedy, will be honored before the games.
Maryland's ACC tournament title quest begins Thursday, May 12 at 5 p.m. when it takes on No. 3 seed Virginia.
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.