Terps Head to ESPN Citrus Classic
2/23/2012 7:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 23, 2012
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland softball team (6-1) will head to ESPN's Citrus Classic this weekend at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Fla. The Terps will play five games Friday-Sunday.
On Saturday, the Terrapins' game vs. Wisconsin at 2:30 p.m. will be shown live on ESPN3.com. Live stats will be available for all games.
Maryland is coming off of two wins in its home opener Wednesday. The Terps beat Oakland in both games of a doubleheader - 7-3 in the first game and 10-2 in five innings in the second. They outscored the Golden Grizzlies, 17-5.
Senior Kendra Knight was named ACC Pitcher of the Week Tuesday for her performance last weekend. She helped lead the Terps to two wins over ranked teams, No. 11 Michigan and No. 22 Kentucky, at Florida Atlantic's Kick-Off Classic.
ESPN Citrus Classic Info
| Maryland's ESPN Citrus Classic Schedule | |||
| Feb. 24 | 12:15 p.m. | vs. Southern Illinois | GameTracker |
| Feb. 24 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. Marshall | GameTracker |
| Feb. 25 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. Wisconsin | GameTracker | Watch Live! |
| Feb. 25 | 4:45 p.m. | vs. St. John's | GameTracker |
| Feb. 26 | 10 a.m. | vs. Marshall | GameTracker |
Scouting The Terps
• Maryland enters the ESPN Citrus Classic with a record of 6-1. The Terps beat two ranked teams, No. 11 Michigan and No. 22 Kentucky, last weekend at FAU's Kick-Off Classic in Boca Raton, Fla.
• Most recently, the Terps took two from Oakland Wednesday afternoon in College Park. They won game one, 7-3, and game two, 10-2 in five innings.
| 2012 Maryland Terrapins: 6-1, 0-0 ACC | |||
| Roster | Schedule | 2011 Statistics | |
• The Terrapins have five seniors in this year's roster in Vangie Galindo, Kendra Knight, Bree Hanafin, Kathy McLaughlin and Sloane Van Meter.
• Head Coach Laura Watten returns seven starters and 12 letterwinners from last year's NCAA Regionals squad.
• Senior Vangie Galindo returns after one of the greatest seasons at the plate in Terrapin softball history. Her season average of .422 and 78 hits last year were both school records. Her current career batting average of .333 is the best in school history.
Scouting Southern Illinois
• Southern Illinois is 4-2 so far this season. Haley Gorman is leading the Salukis at the plate with her .526 average off 10 hits.
• Maryland is 0-1 all-time vs. Southern Illinois. They fell 3-1 in 2005.
| 2012 Southern Illinois Salukis (4-2, 0-0 MAC) | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
Scouting Marshall
• Marshall is 6-3 on the season so far this year. Rebecca Gamby is leading the heard at the plate with her .423 average off 11 hits and five RBI.
• Maryland is 1-1 all-time vs. Marshall. They split their two meetings in 1996.
| 2012 Marshall Herd (6-3, 0-0 CUSA) | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
Scouting Wisconsin
• Wisconsin is 2-2 so far this season. Marissa Merch is hitting .333 at the plate with four hits.
• Maryland and Wisconsin have never played.
| 2012 Wisconsin Badgers (2-2, 0-0 Big Ten) | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
Scouting St. John's
• St. John's is 1-6 this year. The Red Storm is led by Kristi Cady at the plate. She is batting .436 and has 12 hits.
• Maryland is 3-0 all-time vs. St. John's. Maryland beat the Red Storm, 4-3, last season.
| 2012 St. John's Red Storm (1-6, 0-0 Big East) | ||
| Roster | Schedule | Statistics |
Play the Best
The Terrapins will play a strong schedule against a number of the nation's top teams.
• The Terps will play seven games against teams in this week's USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Top 25, including two at No. 2 Alabama in March.
• The Terps will battle six teams that competed in last year's NCAA championships. They will play 11 games against those teams.
Head Coach
Laura Watten
Laura Watten returns for her seventh season at the helm of the up-and-coming Terrapin softballa program. Her current career record is 532-353 (.601) and her record at Maryland is 210-146 (.590). Below is a breakdown of just a few of her career highlights:
- Collegiate Record (15 years): 532-353 (.601)
- Record at Maryland (7 years): 210-146 (.590)
- Led the Terrapins to back-to-back NCAA Regionals appearances for the first time in school history
- Earned first postseason appearance since 1999
- 11 NFCA All-Region honorees
- Coach of 2007 Easton and NFCA All-American
- 11 All-ACC selections, including five first team
- Three All-ACC Tournament Team selections
- Coached 2011 ACC Pitcher of the Year Kerry Hickey
- Three ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District team members
- 17 All-ACC Academic Team members
- Four-time MEAC Coach of the Year (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005)
- 2005 NCAA South Regional Champion (led at-large team Bethune-Cookman to Super Regionals)
- 2005 Super Regional Appearance
- 2005 NFCA Southeast Region Coach of the Year
New Leaders
Watten hired three new assistants prior to the 2012 season - Amber Jackson, Charlotte Morgan, and Kelly Kretschman.
• Jackson was one of the greatest hitters in Maryland softball history. Jackson transferred to Maryland for her senior year (2007) after playing her first three years at Bethune-Cookman College under Watten. In her one year as a Terrapin, she broke school records with 24 home runs, 56 RBI, and 55 walks. Her home run record led the NCAA that year. She was Maryland's second NFCA All-American and was named to the All-ACC First Team. After her career at Maryland, she played three years in the National Pro Fastpitch league for the Washington Glory and USSSA Pride. She 2007 MVP of the NPF and I received All-NPF honors in 2009.
• Morgan, an All-American pitcher at Alabama, plays for the USSSA Pride of the National Pro Fastpitch league. She played for the Crimson Tide from 2007-2010, winning SEC Player of the Year twice (2009, 2010). Morgan was named a first-team ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American and NFCA second-team All-American. She won the Lowes Senior Class award and was a top 10 finalist for USA Softball's Player of the Year honor. She helped lead the Tide to the Women's College World Series in 2008 and 2009. She was the NPF's No. 1 draft pick in 2010.
• She won a gold medal in the 2004 Olympics in Athens and a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She served as an alternate for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Kretschman was a four-time NFCA All-American at Alabama from 1998-2001. As a freshman, she led the NCAA in home runs (25) and slugging percentage. She was named First Team All-SEC three times (1999, 2000, 2001). Kretschman helped lead the Tide to the 2000 Women's College World Series and was named to the All-WCWS Team. She is currently in her seventh season with the NPF.
Terps Picked to Finish No. 5 in ACC
Maryland was picked to finish fifth in the ACC, as voted by the league's head coaches.
• The Terrapins were one vote behind Virginia for fourth-place.
• In 2011, Maryland went 12-7 in ACC play for the most conference wins in a season in school history. The Terps finished third in the league after being picked to finish fifth. They advanced to the ACC Semifinals before falling to North Carolina.
Follow Maryland Athletics on Twitter
Support the Terps
• Follow Maryland softball on Twitter! Check out https://twitter.com/#!/TerpsSoftball!
Media Information
• Email Straight To You: If you would like the latest Maryland field hockey news emailed directly to you as soon as it breaks, email field hockey contact Rose DiPaula with "Softball E-Mail" as the subject and you will receive every update.
• Terps on the Web: For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please log-on to www.umterps.com on the Internet.
• GameTracker: Follow Terps games live in 2011 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.
