COLLEGE PARK, Md.- The Maryland softball team will return home this Wednesday for a double-dip against I-95 rival Rutgers. The midweek conference doubleheader will be broadcasted live on the Big Ten Network.

Kristina Dillard enters this Wednesday's clash coming off an 8-for-10 weekend up at Penn State. The junior captain had two doubles and four RBIs on the weekend. 

This week on the diamond

Maryland will welcome Rutgers to College Park for the first time since 2004 for a Big Ten twin-bill to be aired live on the Big Ten Network.

Lisa Byington and Jennie Ritter will have the call on BTN, beginning at 3:00 p.m. The second game will have a 5:30 p.m. first pitch. 

Admission to both games of the Wednesday doubleheader is free. In addition, parking will be available in lot 4B beginning at 1:00 p.m. 

The first 75 students to attend tomorrow's games will receive a free Maryland softball T-Shirt. It is also "Greek Night" at the MD Softball Stadium, with special events planned for fraternities and sororities.

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 from the Terps home series.

Wed. April 20     vs. Rutgers   3:00 p.m. ET         BTN     Live Stats

Wed. April 20     vs. Rutgers   5:30 p.m. ET         BTN     Live Stats 

Last time out

• Maryland is coming off a 0-3 weekend up at Penn State. The Terrapins fought in all three games, but dropped the contests by scores of 6-9, 0-4, and 3-5.
• Kristina Dillard had the best individual weekend of any Terp this season, batting .800 at the plate. The junior captain was 8-10 with four RBIs and two doubles. Dillard reached base nine times in eleven at bats. .
• Destiney Henderson also had a strong series, going 4-9 from the dish. Emily Libero also reached base in four of her six at bats, including an opposite field double.
• Before the Penn State series, the Terrapins had their best week of the year, going 3-2 with a series win against Michigan State and a doubleheader split with St. Francis.

quick hits

• On the season, the Terps are hitting .292 with a .367 on base percentage and a .401 slugging percentage. Maryland has cracked 313 hits, scored 162 runs, knocked 51 doubles, and totaled 430 bases.
• Skylynne Ellazar has been a force from the plate all season. Through 41 games, the Hawaii native is batting a team leading .400 by way of 50 hits and 28 runs. Ellazar ranks sixth in the Big Ten in hits and seventh in batting average and doubles, and fifteenth in on base percentage.
• Kristina Dillard and Sarah Calta have also produced in the lineup. The captain duo rank second and third on the team in batting average and hits. Dillard shares the doubles lead (9) with Ellazar, while Calta leads the team and ranks third in the Big ten in triples (4).

ScOUTING Rutgers

• Rutgers enters this Wednesday's crucial doubleheader at 18-26 and 2-10 in conference play, one spot in the standings below Maryland. The Knights are currently on a six game losing streak, after consecutive weekend sweeps by #24 Ohio State and #21 Minnesota.
• The Scarlet Knights are batting .260 as a team on the season and .239 in conference play. They are led by Stephanie Huang who leads the team with a .369 batting average and a .455 on base percentage. Huang leads the team in batting average, hits, runs, triples, total bases, slugging percentage, walks, and on base percentage.
• The pitching staff has been a combined effort for Rutgers, with three pitchers hovering around a 4.90 ERA. In Big Ten play Aubrie Levine has led the way in the circle, with a 6.87 ERA.
• Jay Nelson is in his tenth season at the helm of the Rutgers softball program. The last two seasons have been two of the most successful in program history for Rutgers, putting out a 57-39 record.

Series history

• The Terps and Rutgers have met four times, with the series locked at two. Maryland took both games in a 2004 twin-bill, while Rutgers edged Maryland last year in Piscataway, 7-6 and 11-3.
• Lindsey Schmeiser and Hannah Dewey were both 2-5 against the Scarlet Knights with Schmeiser blasting a solo home run. Both sluggers added two walks, good for a .571 on base percentage.
• Maryland and Rutgers have six mutual opponents this season in #5 Alabama, Mercer, FAU, Massachusetts, Penn State, and Ohio State. The Terps are 2-9 against these foes while Rutgers stands at 2-8.

Sky's the Limit

• Skylynne Ellazar has been nothing short of sensational from the plate this season.
• The Hawaii native leads the Terps in batting average, hits, runs, and doubles, slugging percentage, and on base percentage. Ellazar ranks top fifteen in the Big Ten in four categories.
• Right now, Ellazar also holds the best career batting average in Maryland softball history at .380.
• Over the past 26 games, Ellazar leads the team with a .417 batting average.

Legendary Lindsey

• In her senior season, Lindsey Schmeiser has put together quite the Terrapin career.
• 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).
• The week of February 20th might've been Schmeiser's most successful yet. On Sunday Feb 21, Lindsey broke the school home run record. On Monday Feb 22 she was named a 2016 Senior CLASS Award candidate. To cap it off, on Tuesday Feb 23 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 fourth in Maryland softball batting average ranks (.335), has the most home runs (31), and runs (134) in Maryland softball history and is eight doubles (38) 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. In her freshman year, Schmeiser had the most RBIs (59) in a single season ever.

Dillard Dagger

• Junior Captain, Kristina Dillard has made quite an impact in her first season wearing Maryland colors.
• A transfer from the University of Louisville, the Hanover, Md. native returned home and instantly made her presence known, as she was voted as a team captain.
• Dillard has done damage on the field, the junior ranks second on the team with a .351 batting average. She also ranks second in RBI's (26) and total bases (61). The transfer shares the doubles lead (9) with Ellazar after smashing two this previous weekend.
• Behind the dish, the vocal leader has eleven “Dillard Darts” this season (runners caught stealing), which leads the Big Ten.

looking ahead

• Maryland will head to Ann Arbor, Mich. for the first time in program history this weekend for a three-game swing with the #2 Wolverines. The series opener between the Terps and Michigan will air nationally on the Big Ten Network. 

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 twin-bill with Rutgers.

 -Maryland-