PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO – Keyed by the play of several freshmen, Maryland began its 2023 season with a 7-3 victory over No. 22 Oregon in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge. Three different players (
Sydney Lewis,
Madison Runyan and
Sammi Woods) making their collegiate debut recorded a hit and
Keira Bucher came up big in relief, notching a save and not allowing any runs.
Maryland's win over a ranked Ducks team is the first for the Terps since they beat No. 22 Michigan on April 14, 2022, 5-1. Oregon was an NCAA Tournament team last season, winning a pair of games in the Fayetteville Regional.
Trinity Schlotterbeck and Runyan each had two-run hits in an explosive first inning that saw the Terps take a 5-0 lead and they never looked back. Megan Mikami scored two runs, including a steal of home in the third inning. Schlotterbeck went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. The Terps' other hits came from
Taylor Liguori,
Jaeda McFarland, Woods and Lewis.
In the circle, Courtney Wyche started and tossed 5.2 innings, striking out four and allowing eight hits and three earned runs. Freshman Bucher came on in relief and immediately stranded two runners on base to get the Terps out of the sixth with a three-run lead still intact. She was awarded a save, finishing with 1.1 innings pitched and no runs allowed.
Defensively, catcher Kiley Goff threw out three Oregon baserunners to thwart Duck rallies.
Maryland won its season opener for the first time since 2019 when the Terps beat Murray State 6-3 in Troy, Alabama. The last time the Terps beat a ranked team in a season opener was in 2008, beating No. 12 Michigan.
Montgomery's Musings
Head Coach Mark Montgomery on the victory: "I am really proud of the team. I thought it was a good team win where lots of players stepped in and contributed. We had a couple of big hits off the bench. We had a couple of great defensive plays on the team and then and then ultimately I felt Courtney (Wyche) and K-Bar (Bucher) both pitched an outstanding game. We're proud of this and this is the way we think this team to play softball playing every game. Hopefully we're able to keep this going and just get ready for what's next."
Breaking Down The Action
- The Terps came out blistering hot, scoring five runs in the first inning to take a 5-0 lead on the Ducks. Maryland scored its first run of the season as Mackense Greico walked with the bases loaded to score Mikami. Schlotterbeck singled up the middle to score Greico and Campbell Kline making it 3-0. Then Runyan doubled to right – in her first college at bat – scoring Schlotterbeck and Greico.
- Maryland added to the lead with a double steal by McFarland and Mikami, who stole home to make it 6-0 after the second inning.
- Oregon got one back in the third inning, making it 6-1.
- The Ducks threatened in the fifth inning with two runners on, but Oregon was caught trying to steal third base and then ran into an out in a rundown.
- Oregon loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth and tacked on two runs to cut the deficit to 6-3.
- The Terps got one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth as a Sydney Lewis single scored Schlotterbeck. It marked the first hit and first RBI of the freshman's collegiate career.
- Maryland forced the Ducks to strand two more baserunners in the seventh as the Terps came away with the big win.
Wins Over Ranked Teams
- Maryland opened the season beating a ranked opponent for the first time since beating No. 12 Michigan on Feb. 8, 2008.
- Last season the Terps posted two wins over ranked teams beating No. 17 Missouri, 1-0 and No. 22 Michigan, 5-1.
- This marked the third year in a row Maryland opened the season against a ranked team, falling 2-1 to No. 18 Tennessee in 2022 and 2-1 in extra innings to No. 24 Minnesota in 2021. Maryland went on to win Game 2 of a doubleheader against the 24th-ranked Golden Gophers on Feb. 26, 2021, for a win over a ranked foe.
Numbers To Know
- 1: Maryland won its first game of the season for the first time since 2019.
- 2: After piling up 129 stolen bases to rank seventh in the nation in 2022, Maryland stole two bases in their opener, including Mikami stealing home.
- 3: Goff threw out three runners attempting to steal bases in the game.
- 4: Four Terps made their debuts, and all four contributed as Sydney Lewis, Madison Runyan and Sammi Woods all had hits and Keira Bucher pitched in relief.
- 15: The Terps beat a ranked team in their season opener for the first time in 15 years.
Up Next
- Maryland returns to action for Game 2 on Friday at 4 p.m. ET as the Terps take on BYU. The Cougars lost to North Carolina (1-0) and beat Wisconsin (2-0) on Thursday.
