March 13, 2007
Baltimore, Md. -
Maryland swept the UMBC Retrievers 12-3 and 4-1, in two games in Baltimore on Tuesday afternoon. The Terps have now won four consecutive games, three of them by at least eight runs, to improve to 12-10 overall.
In the opener, Meredith Nelles pitched her second complete game in the last four days, fanning seven batters to improve to 7-3 on the year.
Maryland quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Lindsay Klein singled through the right side of the defense to bring home Amber Jackson and Jenny Belak.
The Terps would add another run in the second inning after Brittany Bessho doubled, and Alex Schultz drove her home with a hit into right center field.
The Retrievers bounced back in the bottom of the second, however, with three runs of their own, behind the powerful bat of freshman Emily Thompson. The native of Niagara Falls, N.Y. hit a three run homer over the left field fence to tie the game at the end of the second.
The Terps responded quickly in their next at bat. Lindsay Klein walked, and a singled by Jennifer Wellborn moved her to third. Keri Lounge reached on an errant throw towards third base, which allowed Klein to score.
Bessho hit a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home Wellborn, and Schultz nailed a grounder between first and second to score Lounge and give the Terps a 6-3 advantage.
Leading 7-3 in the top of the seventh, the Terps scored five more runs to put the game well out of reach. Stacey Jennings recorded a three run homer, her first as a Terp. She had four in 2005, her last season as a Tennessee Volunteer.
The scoreboard may have reset to a scoreless tie to start game two, but it certainly didn't stay that way for long.
Jackson stepped up to the plate first for the Terps, and rocketed the first pitch out of the park for her team-leading eight home run of the season. Keri Lounge hit a home run of her own in the second inning to give the Terps a 2-0 advantage. The duo combined for eight RBIs on the day.
With Schultz on second and Sarde Stewart on third, Jackson hit the ball down the right field line. The ball went right through the first baseman's legs, and both Schultz and Stewart scored on the error.
Abbey Welch, who earned a win in her first game as a starter on Sunday, got the nod again in game two against the Retrievers, and delivered a 4-1 victory. Jennings entered the game in the fourth inning as relief and pitched four innings to earn her first save of the year.
UMBC fell to 4-4 on the year after winning four of six over the weekend at the Dawg Pound Tournament in Baltimore.
The doubleheader marked the first meeting between the two schools since the Terps swept a two game series in 2003, 8-0 and 2-0.
The Terps also own a 13-3 edge in the all-time series, and have not lost to the Retrievers since a 1-0 decision in 1997.
