COLLEGE PARK, Md.-- Carrying over its offensive prowess from the Iowa series, the Maryland softball team split a midweek double header against Dartmouth on Wednesday. The Terps (20-13, 2-1 Big Ten) picked up a run-rule 18-8 victory in six innings in the first game, while dropping the nightcap, 8-5.
Over the course of the two games, Maryland racked 23 runs off 21 hits, with nine Terps recording a hit and six players with at least one RBI. The team has scored 61 runs over the past five games.
On the day, Kylie Datil led Maryland from the plate, hitting 4-for-6 with six RBIs and three home runs. Lindsey Schmeiser picked up a hit in both games, extending her hit streak to ten games.
Up next, the Terrapins welcome Ohio State to the Maryland Softball Stadium for a three-game series this upcoming weekend. The series marks Maryland's inaugural Big Ten home set. The teams will face off at 6 p.m. on Friday, 1 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Game One
Every starter tallied at least one hit, as the Terps plated 18 runs of 14 hits. Shannon Bustillos' three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth led to an 18-8 run-rule victory.
Dartmouth jumped out to an early 3-0 off a Karen Chaw home run in the top of the first. Kylie Datil responded in the bottom of the second, blasting a two-run home run of her own, scoring Juli Strange, to cut the Big Green lead to 3-2.
The Big Green added three more runs over the course of the third and fourth, but an eight-run fourth put the Terps ahead for good. Mandy Gardner hit a two-run home run to score Kaitlyn Schmeiser. Strange crossed home after a Dartmouth wild pitch, and the ensuing batter, Corey Schwartz, blasted a three-run homer to left, her team-leading tenth of the season. After batting through the order, Gardner collected her fourth RBI of the inning off a two-run double that scored K. Schmeiser and Shannon Bustillos.
Datil added her second homer of the game along with a Bustillos sacrifice fly in the fifth for two runs. Dartmouth responded in the bottom of the frame with a two-RBI single, cutting the Terps lead to 12-8.
Maryland's offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the sixth, capped by Bustillos' three-run homer to end the game.
K. Schmeiser (14-5) picked up the victory from the circle pitching four innings and striking out three.
Game Two
After two scoreless frames, the Big Green struck first, racking two runs off a Morgan McCalmon single and adding another two on a Kelsey Miller single. Chloe Madill added a fifth run as Dartmouth took a 5-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Terps picked up five runs, all coming with two-outs. A Dartmouth defender lost a Juli Strange single in the lights, scoring Erin Pronobis and sparking the two-out rally. Datil followed with her third home run of the day, a three-run shot that scored Mandy Gardner and Strange. Lindsey Schmeiser went yard, in back-to-back home runs, knotting the game at five.
The Big Green pulled ahead with two in the top of the sixth off a Maryland error and a McCalmon double. Tiffany Dyson added a solo shot to take an 8-5 lead.
Hannah Dewey (4-6) took the loss from the mound. Brenna Nation also saw time from the pitcher's circle.
-Maryland-
