Terps Travel to Oklahoma for OU Invitational

COLLEGE PARK, Md.-The Maryland softball team (6-13) will wrap up their early season road swing this weekend at the Oklahoma Invitational.

Maryland has a tough weekend ahead of them, playing three games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including two games against nationally ranked Oklahoma. On Friday, the Terrapins will face Saint Louis at 12:00 p.m. before facing BYU at 2:15 p.m. Saturday will feature a rematch against Saint Louis at 2:15 p.m. before the night cap against host No. 13 Oklahoma at 6:45 p.m. The Terps will have two tries at the Sooners, the two will play again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. All times are in Eastern Standard time.

This Weekend On The Diamond

The Terrapins will take on the Sooner State for the first time in program history. Never before has Maryland played a game in the state of Oklahoma. All games will take place at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. The address to the Oklahoma Softball Complex is 2500 South Jenkins Avenue, Norman, Oklahoma 73019. Maryland will be making its 2016 national television debut this weekend on Saturday. The bout vs. No. 13 Oklahoma will be aired on Fox Sports Oklahoma and Fox Sports College Sports Central. In addition, both games vs. the Sooners will have live radio courtesy of KEBC 1650. 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 the Sooner State.

Fri, Mar 11 Saint Louis 12:00 p.m. (EST) Live Stats

Fri, Mar 11 BYU 2:15 p.m. (EST) Live Stats

Sat, Mar 12 Saint Louis 2:15 p.m. (EST) Live Stats

Sat, Mar 12 No. 13 Oklahoma 6:45 p.m. (EST) Live Stats Fox Sports Oklahoma Radio

Sun, Mar 13 No. 13 Oklahoma 1:00 p.m. (EST) Live Stats Sooner Sports TV ($) Radio

leading off

ROSTER | SCHEDULE

Maryland will continue its 2016 season this weekend at the Oklahhoma Invitational. The Terrapins are 6-13 through nineteen games, after going 1-3 at the District Invite last weekend. Maryland is riding a one game winning streak after coming back in the seventh inning on Sunday to beat Columbia 5-4.
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 have faced No. 7 Oregon and No. 6 Alabama (twice) and will play No. 13 Oklahoma twice this weekend.

last time out

Maryland posted a 1-3 record at the District Invite last weekend. The Terrapins dropped three straight games to Georgetown, Monmouth, and George Washington before rallying late against Columbia.
The Terps were down to their final out against Columbia on Sunday. Then came the rally. Corey Schwartz singled, Hannah Dewey walked. Kristina Dillard then hit a game tying single with a 0-2 count and got in a rundown to force a Columbia error, scoring Dewey to win the game.
Captain Kristina Dillard has been a force both at the plate and behind it this season. Dillard has hit safely in sixteen of nineteen games this year. The Hanover, Md. native leads the team in batting average, hitting at a .387 clip. In addition, Dillard hit the game tying single to catipult the Terrapin comeback against Columbia on Sunday.. Behind the dish, KD has thrown out nine runners stealing and has picked off an additional six.
Mighty Madison. Redshirt junior Madison Martin has been stellar in the circle thus far in 2016. Martin is fifth in the Big Ten with a 2.08 ERA. The Edmond, Okla. is ranked nationally in strikeouts, getting 34 batters on strikes.
Lindsey Schmeiser has had quite an early season. The senior stud, broke the program record for most homeruns all-time with a sixth inning blast against #5 Alabama two weeks ago. Because of the record breaker, Schmeiser was named Terp of the Week. In addition, Schmeiser is one of 30 seniors nationwide to be named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award.

Surging schwartz

Captain Corey Schwartz had a weekend to remember in the nation's capital last weekend.
Schwartz went 9-14 (.643) with two doubles and a triple, good for a .929 slugging percentage.
The Toms River, NJ. native is now second on the team in batting average (.382), first in on base percentage (.470), and third in hits (21).

Sooner homecoming

This weekend's trip to Oklahoma marks a homecoming of sorts for two current Terps: Redshirt Junior Madison Martin, and Assistant Coach Lisa Carey.
Madison Martin grew up just 32 miles from Norman in the nearby town of Edmond, Oklahoma. Martin starred at Edmond Santa Fe High School, going 34-9 on the mound with a 1.75 ERA and 200 strikeouts. While batting .348 at the plate, Martin was named The Oklahoman's All-Big City Player of the Year in 2012.
Assistant Coach Lisa Carey played at the University of Oklahoma, Carey is one of the most illustrious Sooner softball players ever. Carey was a Three-Time All-American, the 2000 Big 12 Player of the Year, and capped her career off with a 2000 Womens College World Series Title. Carey batted .405 in 2000 and was named to the WCWS All-Tournament Team. The Kansas native played and coached under Oklahoma Head Coach Patty Gasso.

ScOUTING Saint louis

Saint Louis is entering their fourth weekend of play in 2016. The Billikens stand at .500, posting a 7-7 record through fourteen games.
The Billikens are coming off a successful 36-18 season a year ago, with a 18-5 Atlantic Ten Record.
Christy Connoyer is entering her sixth season at the helm of the Billiken softball program. Connoyer has put up a 153-126 record as head coach, with 2015 being the best season yet, shattering school marks for most-victories in a season.
Saint Louis has been picked to finish second in the Atlantic 10 in the 2016 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
Maryland has won the only all-time meeting between the two schools back in 2004. The Terrapins run-ruled the Billikens 8-0 in 5 innings.

ScOUTING BYU

BYU has posted an impressive start, the Cougars are 12-8 through 20 games. Last weekend, the Provo, Utah school went 3-2 at the Wildcat Invitational, including a 4-2 win over No. 15 Arizona.
The Cougars are coming off a tournament berth in 2015. BYU posted a 40-14 record a season ago, winning the WCC with a 13-2 record. The Cougars traveled to the Eugene Regional at the University of Oregon.
Head coach Gordon Eakin is entering his 14th season at the helm in Provo. The former Utah baseball player has a 523-337 record as coach of the Cougars. Eakin has led BYU to nine conference championships, including a streak of six straight conference championships leading up to 2016. BYU has made eleven straight NCAA Tournaments and made a Super Regional in 2010.
Maryland handed BYU one of its 14 losses a year ago with a 2-1 extra inning win out in Palm Springs, Calif. Lindsey Schmeiser hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth and her sister Kaitlyn threw 5.2 innings of scoreless softball, striking out five. BYU won the other meeting between the two back in 2002.

ScOUTING OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma is one of the most prolific programs in college softball. The Sooners have reached the postseason in each of the past 21 seasons. In addition, Oklahoma has won the Womens College World Series in nearby Oklahoma City in 2000 and 2013.
The Sooners are coming off a successful 49-9 season last year. Oklahoma won the Big 12 and advanced to the Super Regionals before falling to Alabama. Thus far this year, the Sooners have posted a 12-4 record.
Patty Gasso is one of the most lengendary coaches in college softball. Gasso is in her 22nd season in Norman, she has a career record of 1028-305-2 in her 21 seasons.
Oklahoma has been picked to finish first in the Big 12 in the 2016 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The two meetings this weekend will be the first ever meetings between the Terps and the Sooners.

TV TERPS

Last week, Maryland announced their 2016 television schedule.
The Terrapins will play their most games on national television in program history, appearing on the Big Ten Network a minmum of four times and on Fox Sports this weekend.
This Saturday's game against No. 13 Oklahoma will be broadcasted on Fox Sports Oklahoma and Fox Sports College Sports Central.
The conference opener against Ohio State (3/25), both games of midweek doubleheader against Rutgers (4/20), and the series opener against No. 2 Michigan (4/22) will be broadcasted live on BTN.
In addition, at least 16 games will be streamed live on your computer, tablet, or phone via BTN Plus.
The entire Big Ten Tournament will air on BTN. Penn State will host the Big Ten Tournament from March 12-14.

road warriors

This weekend brings the end of a 24 game road trip to begin the 2016 season. 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 Oklahoma Invitational, Maryland will open up its home slate next weekend at the Maryland Invitational. The Terps will take on Boston, North Dakota State, UMASS, Ball State, and Binghamton. 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 District.

-Maryland-

Players Mentioned

Sarah Calta

Hannah Dewey

Kristina Dillard

Madison Martin

Lindsey Schmeiser

Corey Schwartz

Juli Strange

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