April 24, 2012

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April 25, 2012

Delaware State

Scouting The Terps
• Maryland enters its midweek doubleheader with Delaware State with an overall record of 27-18. The Terps have won seven of their last eight games.

• Most recently, the Terrapins took two of three at NC State over the weekend. They dropped the second game Saturday in 10 innings.

• 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.

• In 2011, senior Vangie Galindo had 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. Galindo is batting .336 in her career, which is the best career average in school history. Bree Hanafin's career average of .323 is second-best and Kathy McLaughlin's career average of .291 is ranked No. 13 in school history.

• Over the weekend, Galindo tied Jenny Belak's record of 60 career stolen bases.

• Senior Kendra Knight is currently No. 2 in Terp history in career strikeouts with 709. She is just the second Terrapin to break the 700-K mark.

After this weekend's performance, she has 228 strikeouts this season, which put her at No. 15 in the country in K's.

• Knight threw her second career no-hitter last Wednesday night vs. Howard. She held the Lady Bison hitless through the five innings of game one and allowed one hit in the third inning of game two, while racking up 19 strikeouts in 8.0 innings pitched.

Scouting The Hornets
• Delaware State is 19-14-1 overall and 9-3 in the MEAC this season. Jordan Reid is leading the Hornets at the plate with her .379 batting average and 36 hits.
• After going on on an 11-game win streak last month, the Hornets have dropped three of their last four games. Most recently they lost two of three at Norfolk State over the weekend.
• Maryland is 15-0 all-time vs. Delaware State. They've played two games every year since 2004.

Who's Hot?
• Sophomore Candice Beards has hit .538 over the last five games with seven hits, four doubles, seven RBI and six walks.
• Senior Vangie Galindo hit .368 in the Terps' five games last week with seven hits, two doubles, four runs scored, two RBI and four stolen bases.
• Senior pitcher Kendra Knight pitched 31.0 innings in five games last week to collect a 4-0 record on the week. She finished with 35 strikeouts and opponents hit just .164 against her.

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 year's USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Preseason Top 25.
• 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 softball program. Her current career record is 553-370 (.599) and her record at Maryland is 231-163 (.586). Below is a breakdown of just a few of her career highlights:

• Collegiate Record (15 years): 553-370 (.599)
• Record at Maryland (7 years): 231-163 (.586)
• 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.

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Media Information
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