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April 6, 2007
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
A third of the way through their conference season, the Maryland Terrapins find themselves with a golden opportunity to make a statement. Maryland welcomes North Carolina to College Park for an ACC showdown which will be broadcast on national television Saturday at 1 p.m. on CSTV. Sunday's game can be seen online courtesy of ACC Select.
Carolina started the season 7-8, but enters the weekend on a roll. The Tar Heels have won 29 of their past 30 games, and have used that streak to earn a 19th place ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Today poll. For Maryland, winning this weekend's series would go a long way towards gaining national recognition and earning an NCAA bid.
North Carolina's only blemish during the last few months was a 5-4 loss to Georgia Tech last weekend, and Carolina has swept both Virginia and Boston College so far this season.
The Tar Heels represent the Terps' toughest challenge since their six-game trip at the Palm Springs Classic in late February, but Maryland has shown it can hang with the nation's best. The Terps lost two close games to eighth ranked Michigan at the beginning of the season, and defeated No. 13 Texas 2-1 in Palm Springs.
After battling with premier competition in their preseason tournaments, the Terps found their swings, and rode their powerful hitting to an 11 game winning streak. Maryland's success culminated in a three game sweep of Virginia in which the Terrapins outscored the Cavaliers 34-5 and recorded five grand slams.
Last weekend Maryland finally suffered a setback, losing three games to Florida State, but the Terps rebounded with a sweep of Delaware State on Wednesday. Star shortstop Amber Jackson set a new team single-season home run record in that game with her 12th of the season, and Lindsay Klein moved atop the Terrapin career list for RBIs with 132.
The Terps now hope they can keep up their strong hitting in a crucial showdown with the league-leading Tar Heels. "They're going to come out tough," said Jackson after the Delaware State game. "We have to come out with the mentality we can beat anybody."
Breanna Brown, who leads the Heels with a .368 average and 50 hits on the season, was named first-team All-ACC as a freshman last year. Three Tar Heels have recorded double-digit stolen bases, including Brown who leads the team with 15 and Cassie Palmer with 14.
Junior Jennifer Jacobs leads the team with 35 RBIs, nine doubles, and six home runs on the year. The Tampa, Fla., native had 10 homers and 46 RBIs last season to lead her team. Lisa Norris has earned 22 of Carolina's 36 wins from the pitcher's circle, and owns an ERA of 1.66, fourth highest in the ACC, with 171 strikeouts for the year.
Last season the Terps lost two of three to the Heels on a road trip to Chapel Hill as part of a 1-5 start in the ACC, but the Terps are a different team this season.
Maryland is fourth in the ACC with a 3-3 record, and can gain some ground on the Heels in the standings this weekend. The Tar Heels own a 26-11 record all-time against the Terrapins.
