Maryland Plays Host To Michigan State This Weekend
4/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
COLLEGE PARK, Md.- The Maryland softball team is set to face off with Michigan State this weekend for a three-game series to wrap up the teams longest home stand of the season.
Maryland is coming off a 2-3 week at the Maryland Softball Stadium. The Terrapins took one of three against Big Ten foe Nebraska and then split a midweek doubleheader against St. Francis (PA).
Sarah Calta and Skylynne Ellazar have had strong weeks offensively, batting a combined .516 with eight runs and six RBI's. The lefty-duo have been a force at the top of the Maryland lineup all season.
This weekend on the diamond
Maryland and Michigan State will square off as the Spartans will make their first ever trip to College Park. The three-game set will be of the standard Friday-Saturday-Sunday format.
The series opener will commence at 6:00 p.m., game two at 2:00 p.m., and the series finale will have a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
Sunday's game will be the teams annual Pride Game, with fans in attendance having a chance to win a Polaroid Camera or Amazon Fire Tablet.
Admission is free for all games.
All three bouts with the Spartans can be streamed live via BTN Plus ($) with Alex Flum and former Terp Erin Pronobis on the call. A link for live stats is listed below.
Live stats for each game are available here: Live Stats. Be sure to follow @TerpsSoftball on Twitter all weekend for live in-game updates and behind the scenes content from the Terps weekend on the diamond.
Fri. April 8 vs. Michigan State 6:00 p.m. ET BTN Plus ($) Live Stats
Sat. April 9 vs. Michigan State 2:00 p.m. ET BTN Plus ($) Live Stats
Sun. April 10 vs. Michigan State 1:00 p.m. ET BTN Plus ($) Live Stats
Last time out
- Maryland wrapped up its non-conference slate with a midweek twin-bill against St. Francis PA this past Tuesday. The Terrapins used a balanced approach to take game one 6-3, before faltering in the nightcap, 7-3.
- Skylynne Ellazar led the Terps from the plate, going 4-7 with three runs to continue her sophomore surge.
- Brenna Nation and Madison Martin had solid outings in the circle. Nation threw a complete game, four hitter to earn the win in game one. Martin pitched an effective 2.2 innings in relief in game two, striking out four and only allowing one hit.
quick hits
- On the season, the Terps are hitting .282 with a .358 on base percentage and a .398 slugging percentage. Maryland has cracked 255 hits, scored 131 runs, knocked 45 doubles, and totaled 360 bases.
- Skylynne Ellazar has been a force from the plate all season. Through 35 games, the Hawaii native is batting a team leading .400 by way of 40 hits and 20 runs. Ellazar ranks fifth in the Big Ten in hits, sixth in doubles, and seventh in batting average.
- Hannah Dewey and Kristina Dillard have also produced in the lineup. The two juniors have a combined 67 hits, 21 extra-base hits, and are top two on the team in RBI's with 46.
- Madison Martin has led the Terps in the circle. The Redshirt Junior holds a 3.54 ERA in 61.1 innings of work. Martin leads the Terps in ERA, hits allowed, runs allowed, strikeouts, and opposing batting average.
ScOUTING Michigan STate
- Michigan State enters this weekend hovering around .500 with a 19-17 record. Maryland and Michigan State hold the same Big Ten record at 1-5. The Spartans have dropped series to Wisconsin and Penn State in the first two weekends.
- The Spartans have produced at the plate, holding a .309 batting average with four players hitting over .370. Ebonee Echols is hitting at a .398 clip, while Lea Foerster is right behind her at .390 and leads the team in runs, doubles, home runs, slugging percentage, and on base percentage.
- Sparty ranks fourth in the Big Ten in hits and doubles, and second in triples and total bases.
- Kristina Zalewski is the leader in the circle, holding a 3.47 ERA. Zalewski has 134 strikeouts and nine complete games for the Spartans.
- Jacquie Joseph is in her 23rd season at the helm of the Michigan State softball program. Josesph is the all-time leader in wins with 588 and has led the Spartans to four NCAA Regional appearances.
Series history
- The Terps and Spartans have met seven times, with Michigan State holding a 4-3 advantage.
- Last season, Maryland dropped a series in East Lansing. The Terrapins won the middle game on Mandy Gardner go-ahead single in the seventh inning and lost the bookend games.
- Corey Schwartz went 5-11 with a solo home run in the series last year.
Surging sarah
- Surging, sensational, stellar, super are all words to describe Sarah Calta's play over the last twenty games.
- The junior captain is batting a team high .473 from the plate with 26 hits, eleven runs, seven walks, and four triples.
- Calta is second in the Big Ten in batting average, triples, and total bases, and is third in hits in conference play. The Reistertown, Md. native holds an incredible .632 batting average through six Big Ten games.
Schmeiser two away from runs record
- Lindsey Schmeiser is just two away from tying Jennifer Potzman's career Maryland softball run record.
- The Dunkirk, Md. native has 12 runs this season and a total of 127 in her illustrious Terrapin career.
- The senior already holds the record for most career home runs, most doubles in a single season, most RBI's in a single season, and is fourth all time in career batting average, hitting at an all-time .334 clip.
Sky's the limit
- Skylynne Ellazar has been nothing short of sensational from the plate this season.
- The Hawaii native leads the Terps in hits, runs, and doubles. Ellazar also ranks in the top ten in the Big Ten in all three of those categories, and is seventh in batting average.
- Right now, Ellazar also holds the best career batting average in Maryland softball history at .377.
looking ahead
- Maryland will travel to Penn State next weekend for a weekend series against the Nittany Lions. This will start the first of three consecutive weekend road series for the Terrapins.
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 midweek doubleheader.
-Maryland-
