April 28, 2007

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Playing in front of their biggest home crowd in two seasons, the Maryland Terrapins earned a split with defending ACC Champion NC State on Saturday. The 25th ranked Wolfpack took game one 4-2, but the Terrapins rallied from a three run deficit to win game two 7-4, behind Lindsay Klein's two home runs.

The Wolfpack jumped on the Terps early in both games, scoring five first inning runs. The Terps never recovered in the opener, but found their bats late in game two to avoid the sweep in front of a crowd of 518 fans. Maryland's victory ended a 16 game winning streak for the Wolfpack, the longest in school history.

"We were getting in the box ready to hit," Maryland Coach Laura Watten said of the Terps offense in game two. "We adjusted mentally and had some clutch hitting at the right times."

With two outs on the board, State's Allison Presnell doubled to score two runs in the opening inning of game two, and the Pack took a comfortable 4-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning.

Maryland clawed its way back into the game in the bottom of the fifth behind deep home runs by seniors Lindsay Klein and Amber Jackson. Both balls sailed well beyond the wall and into the road behind the field.

After a scoreless NC State sixth, the Terps surged ahead with four runs in the bottom of the inning. Sarde Stewart doubled to left center field to score Keri Lounge and Alex Schultz to put the Terps ahead. Klein's second home run, a two run shot over the center field fence, extended the Maryland lead to 7-4.

"I was just relaxing, focusing, and trying to have fun," said Klein, who added three more RBIs to her Maryland career record of 140.

NC State twice had a chance to put the game out of reach, loading the bases in the top of the third and sixth innings, but Watten effectively juggled her pitching staff to keep the Wolfpack off balance. Terrapin reliever Abbey Welch entered the game in the third inning for starter Meredith Nelles, and got her team out of a bind as Jennifer Patterson lined out into a double play to end the inning.

In the sixth, the Maryland pitchers reversed roles, with Nelles relieving Welch with the bases loaded. Nelles started both games for the Terps, and improved to 17-9 with the game two victory. Four time ACC Player of the Week, Abbie Sims improved to 25-5 with the win in game one, while Megan Daltrop (2-2) took the loss for the Pack in the second contest.

Although Maryland ended Sims' streak of shutouts at four in game one, the Terps could not overcome a pair of Wolfpack home runs which gave NC State a 4-2 win in the opener.

With two runners on and two outs in the first inning of that game, Presnell homered to right field to put NC State up 3-0.

NC State came into the series having shutout its last six opponents, with Sims earning four of those wins. Sims struck out six batters and hit a home run in the third inning of game one to give her team a lead it would not relinquish.