ACC Softball Championship page

Maryland - ACC Championship Notes

May 9, 2007

TALLAHASSEE, FLA. - Fresh off a their second ACC series win of the year, Maryland heads to Tallahassee, Fla., and the ACC Tournament with thoughts of a conference championship in their minds. The Terps enter the tournament as the sixth seed, and will open post-season play with a match against third seeded Georgia Tech on Thursday at 10 a.m.

The Terrapins dropped two games to the Yellow Jackets earlier this season, but have shown the ability to beat the conference's best this season. Maryland has won games against North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and NC State, all of whom are seeded ahead of the Terps in the conference tournament. Maryland also took five of six games from Virginia and Boston College.

Maryland and Florida State were co-champions in the 1997 tournament, and the Terps have had moderate success since then, winning two tournament games on four occasions. The Terrapins lost to host North Carolina 5-3 in their opener a year ago, and then fell to Virginia Tech 1-0 to end their season. Maryland finished 2-2 in both 2004 and 2005.

Fans can catch all the action online on ACC Select. Exclusive live coverage of the first three days of theACCSoftball Championship will be available Thurs., May 10 through Saturday, May 12. All games will also be available for fans to watch on an on-demand replay basis; the full schedule of games is listed below. Viewers can watch the tournament games live and on-demand with an All Event Pass ($9.99 per month) or on a per-event basis ($3.99 per event/game).

Winning the opening game will be key for Maryland, as the Terps have lost their ACC Tournament opener in four out of the past five seasons.

A quartet of seniors leads the charge into the postseason for the Terrapins. Keri Lounge, Amber Jackson, Lindsay Klein, and Jennifer Wellborn all performed admirably in the Terps two wins versus Boston College, and they bring depth and versatility to the Maryland line-up.

After the Terps dropped the series opener to the Eagles 6-5 on Saturday, the Maryland seniors responded with a pair of huge games to ensure that their senior day would not be spoiled. Jackson hit a pair of home runs in game two, and Keri Lounge capped it off with a walk-off home run to win the game for Maryland 7-4. Lindsay Klein's two RBIs helped the come from behind on Sunday to take the series finale 3-2.

Jackson enters her final games as a Terps with an eye towards the record books. The shortstop had three home runs this past week, and needs only one more to tie the single-season ACC record set by Georgia Tech's Whitney Haller last season. Jackson has an incredible 38 stolen bases this season, and needs only seven more for the Maryland career record in that category after only one season in College Park.

She has already had a remarkable year, setting new Maryland single-season records with 23 home runs, 55 RBIs, and 53 walks. Earlier this season, she became only the 12th player in NCAA history to record over 300 hits, 200 runs, and 100 stolen bases. She currently has 347 hits, 261 runs, and 112 stolen bases.

Maryland will need all the offense that their seniors can muster to combat the powerful Yellow Jacket bats. Tech has been an offensive machine this season. Six Georgia Tech players own averages of .330 or better, led by Caitlin Lever's .465 average. Four of the five rank in the top 10 in the ACC.

Lever also has ten home runs this season, which is only good enough to tie for fourth on her own team. Kristina Hull also has ten, and Whitney Haller, last year's ACC home run champion has 14. Brittany Barnes has totaled 19 homers this season, and Savannah Brown leads the way with 20.

Given the Yellow Jacket's penchant for hitting the deep ball, it comes as no surprise that four Tech players total more than 50 RBIs on the year. Brown has recorded 73 this season to lead the team, and Barnes is second with 71.

The Terps will most likely turn to sophomore sensation Meredith Nelles to quiet the Georgia Tech bats. Nelles' 18 wins this season is the third highest mark in Maryland history. Her 42 appearances this year is tied for second. Nelles has 136 strikeouts this season.

The Jackets boast a trio of strong arms to work with from the pitcher's circle. Tiffany Johnson owns the best ERA on the team at 2.42. Whitney Humphreys has won 22 games this season to lead the team, and Sarah Wood has chipped in with a 10-1 record.