Maryland Softball Set For Weekend Series At Penn State

Maryland (15-15) at #22 Penn State (26-6)

March 29-31, 2024

Nittany Lion Softball Park and Beard Field

5:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 1:00 PM

COLLEGE PARK, MD - The University of Maryland softball team will travel to State College, Pa. to play the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Terps are set to compete against Penn State in a weekend series spanning three games. The action kicks off Friday, March 29 with the first game starting at 5:00 p.m. Saturday's game begins at 2:00 p.m., while the series concludes on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. All three games between Maryland and Penn State will be scheduled to be live streamed via BTN+ and live stats will be available for all three games.

Series Preview

Maryland is coming off winning its first conference series this past weekend against Minnesota. Maryland has won eight of its last 10 games heading to State College, PA.
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.
Penn State will head into week two of Big Ten play with 23-6 record. The Nittany Lions have wins over No. 20 Arkansas and No. 24 Kansas and two notable losses over #2 Texas and #19 Baylor this season.
Penn State will host the Terps after having a team batting average of .302 which ranks 65th in the country and fourth in the conference. Penn State averages 5.45 runs a game as a team which ranks sixth in the conference and 54rd in the country. Penn State ranks second in the Big Ten in doubles with 57 and with 38 stolen bases as a team, they rank fourth in the conference.
At the plate, they are lead by Jenna Nelson who leads the team with a .400 batting average. Emily Maddock leads the team in hits (32) and her four triples is tied for first on the team.
In the circle, the Nittany Lions have a team ERA of 3.17. They are lead by Bridget Nemeth, Mady Volpe, Lydia Spalding and Paige Maynard. Bridget Nemeth leads the team with a 1.09 ERA and a 13-0 record this season. Nemeth is currently second in the conference with that ERA and her 13 wins in the Big Ten ranks as first.
Maryland is currently 15-22 all-time against Penn State. Maryland would lose the last meeting in 2023, 2-1.

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

last weekend's recap

Maryland is coming off winning their first conference series this past weekend against Minnesota. The Terps defeated Minnesota 7-6 in 9 innings in game one of the series. Maryland dropped game two but would rebound on Sunday to defeat Minnesota 12-6
Maryland opened conference play with a bang after defeating Minnesota 7-6 in walk-off fashion. The win would be the Terps fourth win in a row. This would also mark Lauren Karn's first Big Ten win. Sammi Woods hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to clinch the win. She was set up by a lead off walk from Mazie MacFarlane and a single by Michaela Jones. Courtney Wyche held Minnesota scoreless in extras.
Wyche struck out nine Minnesota batters over nine innings. The graduate ace retired nine batters in a row across the third, fourth, and fifth innings. She picked up her 41st career complete game and 48th career win, both ranking fifth in Maryland's career record book.
After losing the second game of the series, the Terps were able to rebound and earn their first conference series win of the season. Maryland trailed by four runs entering the bottom of the fourth inning but rattled off seven runs to stun Minnesota, 12-6, in game three of its opening conference series at Maryland Softball Stadium on Sunday. A major factor in the Terps' comeback win was Courtney Wyche. She made her second start of the series in the circle and threw a career-high 167 pitches. She pitched her ninth complete game of the season and struck out a season-high 12 batters. She picked up her eighth win of the season.

Michaela Jones would have a season-high 5 RBIs on Sunday to help Maryland earn their first conference series win of the season.

transfer spotlight

Coastal Carolina transfer Diamond Williams continues to make her impact on this Maryland team. Diamond has started in all 30 games at first base.
Williams currently leads the team in batting average (.360), RBI's (29), hits (36), and HRs (10).
Williams would stand out in her first Big Ten conference weekend. She would finish with a .545 batting average with six hits including one HR and six RBI's.
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 29 of the 30 games for the Terps this season. She is currently second on the team in batting average with .359 and is second on the team in hits with 28.
MacFarlane would finish her first weekend in Big Ten Conference play hitting .667 with six hits in nine at-bats. She would also record a HR and two RBI's after the three game series.
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 hitting .362 with runners in scoring position.

In the circle

Maryland has been led in the circle this season by four players.
Graduate student Courtney Wyche has been a consistent threat in the circle this year for the Terps. She is currently 8-5 and leads the team with a 2.72 ERA. Wyche also leads the team in strikeouts with 98.
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 532. She became one of only five players to notch 500 in a career. She is tied for fifth in career wins with 48 only three wins behind moving into third place. Lastly, she has pitched 532.2 innings in her career, only 46 innings away from moving into fifth place.
Bri Godfrey joined the Terrapins after playing her freshman season at Marshall. She currently second on the team in wins as she has a 3-4 record after starting in 11 games. Godfrey is third on the team in ERA with a 3.93 and has only allowed 29 earned runs in 51.2 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.
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 3.46 and has only given up 13 earned runs in 26.1 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.
Freshman Julia Shearer would earn her first win of her college career after pitching 2.2 innings against James Madison.

Opponents are currently hitting just .163 when Courtney Wyche is in the circle.

Sydney lewis

Sydney Lewis has been a consistent bat in the lineup this season for Maryland. The sophomore has played in all 30 games this season batting as the designated player.
Through 30 games, Lewis is currently second on the team in HRs with four and is second in RBI's with 25.
Lewis would have a phenomenal start to Big Ten Play. After her first conference weekend, Lewis would finish the three-game series batting .545 with six hits including two doubles. Lewis would also hit a HR and drive in six RBI's on the weekend.