COLLEGE PARK, Md.—The Maryland softball team makes their sole 2016 trip to Florida for a five-game stint at the FAU Invitational at Florida Atlantic. The FAU Invitational will be the third road tournament out of five to start the year. The Terps (3-7) will take on as Boston University, Columbia (twice), host Florida Atlantic, and Stony Brook.

Maryland will begin its tenth annual trip to Boca Raton with a doubleheader against Boston University at 11:00 a.m. and Columbia at 1:15 p.m. On Saturday, Maryland will face a rematch with Columbia at 1:30 p.m. before a primetime bout with host Florida Atlantic at 8:15 p.m.. To wrap the weekend in the Sunshine State, the Terps will take on Stony Brook on Sunday at 11:15 a.m.

This Weekend On The Diamond

Maryland will travel to Florida Atlantic for the tenth consecutive season. Since the 2007 season, Maryland has compiled a 23-20 record in Boca Raton. Last year, Maryland went 3-2 at Florida Atlantic with wins over Drexel and Providence, and two one-run losses to Tulsa and Florida Atlantic. Games will be played at the FAU Softball Stadium. Live stats for each game are available here: Live Stats. Be sure to follow @TerpsSoftball on Twitter all weekend for live in-game updates and behind the scenes content as the Terps take on Atlanta.

Fri, Feb. 26      Boston                        11:15 a.m.        Live Stats

Fri Feb. 26       Columbia                    1:30 p.m.          Live Stats

Sat, Feb. 27     Columbia                    1:30 p.m.          Live Stats

Sat, Feb. 27     Florida Atlantic            8:15 p.m.          Live Stats

Sun, Feb. 28    Stony Brook                11:15 am.         Live Stats

LEADING OFF

ROSTER | SCHEDULE 

• Maryland will continue its 2016 season this weekend at the FAU Invitational. The Terrapins are 3-7 through ten games, after going 1-4 at the Panther Invitational last weekend. This included a 1-0 loss to #5 Alabama.
• The Terps return 15 players from last season and welcome five freshman to the fold.
• Team captains were voted upon this offseason, based on their position. They are- Juli Strange, Corey Schwartz, Sarah Calta, and Kristina Dillard.
• Senior Lindsey Schmeiser returns her bat to the lineup this season. She earned First Team All-Big Ten honors last year, hitting .369 with eleven home runs last season and a school record 21 doubles.
• Maryland is coming off of a 27-27 2015 season with a 9-14 conference record. The Terps look to improve on the .500 mark of a year ago, as they usher in a new coaching staff.
• Head coach Julie Wright enters her first season at the helm of the Maryland softball program. Wright most recently served as the head coach of Idaho State. As the leader of the Bengals, Wright won three straight Big Sky Championships.
• The 2016 season brings a challenging schedule. Maryland will play 11 games against teams in the NFCA Top 25, and another eight against teams receiving votes.The Terps faced No. 6 Oregon during the opening weekend and last weekend played two games against #5 Alabama

• Maryland posted a 1-4 record at the Panther Invitational in Atlanta, Ga. last weekend. The Terrapins battled tough in its two games against No. 5 Alabama, losing 1-0 and 10-5. A come from behind walkoff victory over Mercer was Maryland's sole victory of the weekend.
• Sophomore Surge. Skylynne Ellazar and Destiney Henderson have been on fire through two weekends. Ellazar is posting a team-best .406 batting average. In Atlanta, last weekend Ellazar duplicated her opening weekend performance, batting .375. Her fellow sophomore, Henderson is third on the team in batting average at .367. She robbed No. 5 Alabama of a two-run homerun at a key part of last Friday's game.
• Captain Kristina Dillard has been a force at the plate as well. Dillard has hit safely in the last nine games of the season and is second on the team in batting average, hitting .375.
• Lindsey Schmeiser had quite the week. The senior stud, broke the program record for most homeruns all-time with a sixth inning blast against #5 Alabama. Because of the record breaker, Schmeiser was named Terp of the Week. 

ScOUTING Boston

• Boston enters this weekends FAU Invitational after a 1-3 first weekend, out in Charleston, SC. last weekend. 
• Last year, the Terriers posted a 17-27 record. However, the year before Boston was 36-21 which was good enough to win the Patriot League. The Patriot League program, won a NCAA Tournament game as well, against Louisville. 
• Head coach Ashley Waters is in her inaugral season at the helm of the Boston Softball program. Waters comes Harvard where she was in charge of the Crimson offense and infield.
• The Terriers were picked to finish fourth in the Patriot League in the 2016 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Maryland holds a 3-1 all time record against Boston University. The most recent came three years ago, with the Terrapins winning a 3-2 affair in Clearwater, Fla.

ScOUTING Columbia

• Columbia is opening up their 2016 campaign in Boca Raton this weekend. 
• The Lions are coming off a 16-28 2015 season, where they went 7-13 in the Ivy League.
• Head coach Jennifer Teague enters her second season in charge of the Columbia softball program. Before her time in New York City, Teague was upstate in charge of the Buffalo softball program.
• This weekend's match-up marks the fifth-ever meeting between the Terps and the Lions. Maryland is 4-1 all time against Columbia, with the most recent meeting ending in a 9-1 rout in the Terrapins favor.

ScOUTING Florida Atlantic

• Florida Atlantic is playing in its third consecutive home tournament. The Owls have not lost yet in 2016, posting a 9-0 record through two weekends. FAU is receiving votes in the most recent NFCA Top 25 poll. 
• The Owls are coming off a NCAA Tournament birth in 2015. Florida Atlantic went 39-19-1, for one of their best seasons in program history. They picked up two wins in the Gainsville Regional against Florida A&M and Hofstra.
• Joan Joyce, one of softballs most legendary figures, enters her 22nd season in Boca Raton. Joyce is the only coach FAU has ever known. The Owls have made ten NCAA Tournaments in Joyce's 21 seasons. 
• Florida Atlantic has high expecations in 2016, the Red Hawks have been picked to win Conference USA in the 2016 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• Maryland is 4-8 all time against Florida Atlantic. Last year, the Terrapins lost on a walkoff hit 6-5. 

ScOUTING stony brook

• Stony Brook is entering its second weekend of the 2016 season after going 2-3 at the Charlotte Invitational last weekend. 
• The Seawolves are coming off a 30-17 campaign in 2015 with a 14-2 record in the America East resulting in an America East regular season championship, 
• Megan Bryant is entering her 16th season as head coach of the Seawolves. Bryant is a three-time America East Coach of the Year. In addition, Bryant has the most wins in Stony Brook history (432).
• Stony Brook was picked to finish second in the America East in the 2016 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
• This Terrapins are 2-1 all time against the Seawolves. The two faced off at James Madison last year, Maryland came home with a 2-1 victory,

legendary lindsey

• In her senior season, Lindsey Schmeiser is one of the most decorated hitters in Maryland softball history. 
• Schmeiser has earned numerous accolades during her Terrapin career, including 2013 ACC Freshman of the Year, First-Team All ACC, First-Team Big Ten, and Big Ten Player of the Week (3/16/15).
• This past week might have just topped it all for Schmeiser. On Sunday, Lindsey broke the school home run record. On Monday, she was named a 2016 Senior CLASS Award candidate. To cap it off, on Tuesday she was named the Solomon Eye Terp of the Week. 
• The Dunkirk, Md. native is climbing atop the all-time ranks in numerous categories. Schmeiser is second in Maryland softball batting average ranks (.335), has the most home runs in school history (31), is five runs away from breaking Jennifer Potzman's school run record, and is nine doubles away from breaking the school doubles record, held by Lindsey Klein and Shannon Bustillos.
• Last season, Schmeiser broke the single-season double record (21) and had a 23 game hitting streak. 

road warriors

• The first 24 games of the 2016 season will take place away from College Park The Terps travel to Tempe, Az., Atlanta, Ga., Boca Raton, Fla., Washington DC, and Norman, Okla. before returning home on March 18 for the Maryland Invitational.

looking ahead

• After this weekend's FAU Invitational, the Terrapins will stay local with the District Invite. Maryland will travel to the nations capital to take on Georgetown, Monmouth, George Washington, and a rematch against Columbia. The team's full schedule can be found here. 

event multimedia

•  Live stats for all games can be found here. Also follow @TerpsSoftball all weekend for live updates and behind-the-scenes content of the Terps trip to the Sunshine State.

 -Maryland-