Feb. 24, 2007
Final Stats
The Maryland Terrapins suffered two tough losses on their second day at the Palm Springs Classic, falling 6-0 to 12th ranked UCLA, and 9-6 to Loyola Marymount in nine innings.
The Terrapin pitchers struggled to find their consistency throughout the day, and the Terps' five errors on the day marred what was otherwise an excellent defensive effort.
Shortstop Amber Jackson, who last weekend wowed crowds with her offensive prowess, made her mark Saturday from the field. Jackson turned an incredible five unassisted double plays on the day, with two against the Bruins and three against the Lions. The previous team record for double plays in a game was two.
The Terps were unable to muster enough offense to match the 12th ranked UCLA Bruins in the early game, however, as they failed to defeat their second top-20 opponent in as many games. Maryland lost 6-0, as UCLA pitcher Anjelica Selden notched 11 strikeouts and allowed only one hit.
In the nightcap versus Loyola Marymount, the Terps held leads of 3-0 and 6-3, but the Lions fought back each time, finally tying the game in the top of the seventh inning.
Against UCLA, Maryland's Stacey Jennings matched Selden pitch for pitch until the fourth inning, when senior second baseman Lisa Dodd hit a home run well beyond the left field fence.
The situation worsened for the Terps in the fifth inning, when with the bases loaded, shortstop Jodie Legaspi bombed a ball past the center field fence for the grand slam, blowing the game wide open in favor of the Bruins.
Meredith Nelles replaced Jennings on the mound, but promptly gave up a homer of her own to the first batter she faced, Megan Langenfeld.
The two double plays that Jackson turned against the Bruins were mirror images of each other. Both times, she picked up a ground ball and tagged second before rocketing the ball to first for the double play. She recorded five assists in the game, one shy of the Maryland record.
Sarde Stewart had Maryland's only hit, a line drive single to left field in the top of the fourth inning.
The Terps seemed to put their struggles against UCLA behind them with an offensive explosion to start their second game against Loyola Marymount. Jennings once again got the start for Maryland.
Jackson doubled in the first inning, and was driven home by her sister, Sarde Stewart, who was batting clean up. The second inning featured runs by Whitney Reigel and Abbey Welch, but the Terps left three runners on base.
Momentum quickly shifted to the Lions to start the third inning, as they exploded for six hits, including a home run for catcher Chelsie Tysdal to start things off.
Jennings remained in the game, and recovered nicely as Maryland built a 6-3 lead. Freshman Alex Schultz recorded her first career home run in the bottom of the fourth to drive home Jenny Belak from first base.
With the Lions down to their last out in the top of the seventh inning and trailing 6-4, the game seemed to be in Maryland's pocket. Jackson mishandled a ground ball up the middle, however, which put runners on first and second. Kylie Conroy then hit a deep triple down into left center field, to drive in the two game tying runs.
LMU then blew the game open in the ninth inning when, with runners on first and third, Margo Pineda nailed a triple down the right field line just past Belak. The 9-6 lead was the Lions' first of the game.
Maryland failed to record a hit or a run over the final five innings. Jennings fell to 3-2 wth two losses on the day.
The Terps take on California and UNLV tomorrow in their final day in Palm Springs.
