Maryland Softball Hosts Minnesota To Open Conference Play

Minnesota (14-13) at Maryland (13-14)

March 22-24, 2024

Maryland Softball Stadium

3 PM, 5:30 PM, 11 AM

COLLEGE PARK, MD - The University of Maryland softball team will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers to open up Big Ten play in College Park, Maryland. The Terps will face off against Minnesota in a three game series over the weekend. The action kicks off March 22 when the Terps open the series on Friday with a double header with the first game starting at 3:00 p.m. and game two starting at 5:30 p.m. ET. The final game of the series will take place on Sunday with first pitch coming at 11:00 a.m. All three games between Maryland and Minnesota will be scheduled to be live streamed via BTN+ and live stats will be available for all three games.

Series Preview

Maryland is currently on a three game winning streak heading into Big Ten Play. The Terps have won six of the last seven games including a midweek win on Tuesday against James Madison.
As a team the Terps rank second in the conference with triples. Jaeda McFarland is currently first in the conference with triples and ranks second in the country.
Minnesota will head into Big Ten play with 14-13 record. The Gophers have two ranked wins over #24 San Diego State and #10 Clemson. They have seven ranked losses this season against #3 Stanford, #23 Kentucky, #10 Clemson and #5 Washington, #24 Boston University and #23 South Carolina.
Minnesota will travel to College Park having a team batting average of .287 which ranks 36th in the country. Minnesota averages 5.56 runs a game as a team which ranks fifth in the conference and 53rd in the country. The Gophers rank second in the Big Ten in walks with 97 and with a 0.969 fielding percentage, they rank third in the conference.
At the plate, they are lead by Jess Oakland who leads the team with a .409 batting average, hits (36), HRs (8), and RBIs (29). Oakland currently is fourth in the Big Ten in hits and third in RBIs.
In the circle, the Gophers have a team ERA of 3.69. They are lead by Bri Enter, Sydney Schwartz and Jacie Hambrick.
Bri Enter leads the team with a 2.47 ERA and a 9-5 record this season. With 76.2 innings pitched Enter is ranked fifth in the conference.
Maryland is currently 3-14 all-time against Minnesota. Maryland would lose the last meeting in 2023, 4-1.

Maryland has four batters that are hitting above .300 this season.

last game recap

Maryland was able to earn a midweek victory over James Madison on Tuesday when the Terps would defeat them 6-5. James Madison (17-10), was ranked No. 38 among Division 1 schools in RPI.
Mazie MacFarlane would be the standout player of the game for Maryland as she went 2-for-3 with two HRs including a grand slam and 5 RBIs. MacFarlane would tie her career-high RBI mark.
After James Madison was able to tie the game in the top of the fifth Diamond Williams was able to help the Terps retake the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a deep HR to center field. She launched her tenth home run of the season which leads the team.
In the circle, Bri Godfrey went 4.1 innings and held the hard-hitting Dukes team to only one run across the first four frames. Julia Shearer came in to pitch the remaining 2.2 innings and was able to earn her first career win.

Jaeda McFarland is currently second in the country in triples (5) only one back from moving into first place.

transfer spotlight

Coastal Carolina transfer Diamond Williams continues to make her impact on this Maryland team. Diamond has started in all 27 games at first base.
Williams currently leads the team in batting average (.341), RBIs (26), hits (30), and HRs (10). Diamond has hit a home run in each of her last three games.
Graduate student Mazie MacFarlane also made her presence known. The right fielder from Utah State missed all of last season with an injury but has provided an immediate impact with her bat and her glove this season. Mazie has started in 26 of the 27 games for the Terps this season. She is currently third on the team in batting average with .319 and is third on the team in hits with 22.
Against James Madison, MacFarlane would go 2-for-3 with two HRs including a grand slam and 5 RBIs. MacFarlane would tie her career-high RBI mark. This would be the first multi-HR game of her career and her fifth multi-hit game of the season.

Diamond Williams is currently second in the Big Ten in HRs with 10 only one back from first place.

in the circle

Maryland has been lead in the circle this season by four players.
Bri Godfrey joined the Terrapins after playing her freshman season at Marshall. She currently second on the team in wins as she has a 3-3 record after starting in 10 games. Godfrey is third on the team in ERA with a 3.32 and has only allowed 24 earned runs in 50.2 innings of work. Against San Diego, Godfrey would pitch six shutout innings only allowing one hit to earn her first win as a Terp. Against Green Bay, Godfrey would pitch five dominant innings only allowing two hits to earn her third win of the season.
Graduate student Courtney Wyche has been a consistent threat in the circle this year for the Terps. She is currently 6-5 and leads the team with a 2.09 ERA. Wyche also leads the team in strikeouts with 77. Opponents are hitting just .143 when Wyche is in the circle.
Wyche would earn Big Ten Pitcher of the Week for her season-high 11 strikeouts against Boston College. This would be the third time in her career that Wyche won this award.
Against No. 25 Oregon, Wyche had a dominant performance which helped Maryland upset the ranked Ducks. Courtney went the distance for her 37th complete game while allowing just four hits and zero runs to secure the win. It was the 10th shutout of her career and the 37th time in program history that Maryland has defeated a ranked opponent.
Wyche is currently in fifth place in career strikeouts with 502. She became one of only five players to notch 500 in a career. She is tied for fifth in career wins with 47 only four wins behind moving into third place. Lastly, she has pitched 516.2 innings in her career, only 62 innings away from moving into fifth place.
Genevieve Ebaugh has been another strong arm for Maryland. After missing her freshman season due to an injury she picked up her first college win on February 24 against Green Bay. She pitched her first career complete game only allowing one run on three hits and striking out six batters. She currently has the second best ERA on the team with a 2.42 and has only given up nine earned runs in 26 innings.
Against Lafayette, Ebaugh pitched her second career shutout and three career complete game. She would finish the game allowing just three hits and struck out four batters.

Julia Shearer would earn her first win of her college career on Tuesday after pitching 2.2 innings and helping Maryland defeat James Madison.

freshman spotlight

Freshman Delaney Reefe has been a staple in the starting lineup since arriving to College Park. She has currently started in 25 of the 27 games this season behind the plate.
Reefe is currently second the team with home runs with three and is fourth on the team with 13 RBI's. Reefe would be the hero for Maryland vs Boston College, as her RBI double in the bottom of the ninth would score the game winning run to help Maryland defeat BC 3-2 in extra innings.
Reefe has been quick to introduce herself to the college softball world. The freshman finished her first weekend series with a .385 batting average after she went 5-13. Reefe was able to drive in 6 RBI's and her weekend was highlighted by hitting her first home run which was a grand slam.
In her first career game, Reefe went 3-for-4 with two runs scored against San Diego.
In her second career game against No. 10 UCLA, Reefe had a two RBI single and would finish her first full day as a Terp going 4-5.
In the last game of the series, Reefe was able to help lift Maryland over LMU 8-1 as she would go 1-3 with four RBI's.
Hannah Runk has also been a key contributor this season for Maryland. Against Fairfield, Runk was able to blast her first career home run on a two-run shot and helped the Terps defeat Fairfield 10-2. Currently on the season she has six hits including three doubles.
Freshman Julia Shearer would earn her first win of her college career on Tuesday after pitching 2.2 innings and helping Maryland defeat James Madison.