Purdue Boilermakers (23-22) (9-8 BIG) at Maryland Terrapins (19-27) (4-13 BIG)
April 26-28, 2024
Maryland Softball Stadium
6:00 PM, 2:00 PM & 12:00 PM
B1G+
COLLEGE PARK, MD - The University of Maryland softball team will host the Purdue Boilermakers for the final weekend series at College Park this season. The action kicks off Friday, April 26 with the first game starting at 6:00 p.m. EST. Saturday's game begins at 2:00 p.m., while the series concludes on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 EST. All three games between Maryland and Purdue will be scheduled to be live streamed via B1G+ and live stats will be available for all three games.
Match up preview
- Purdue is 23-22 this season. They have a team batting average of .263 which ranks 137th in the country. In the circle, the Boilermakers have a team ERA of 3.98.
- At the plate, they are led by Khloe Banks who leads the team with a .361 batting average and hits (43). Tyrina Jones also plays a key role in the offense for Purdue as she leads the team in RBIs (22) and home runs (4). In the circle, the Boilermakers are led by Kendall Klochack who has a 3.28 ERA and is currently 6-3 this season.
- Maryland will host Purdue after starting 19-27 this season. As a team they have a batting average of .273. In the circle, as a team the Terps have a 3.73 ERA.
- In the circle, Maryland is led by Courtney Wyche who is 10-12 this season with a 2.99 ERA. Wyche leads the team in innings pitched with 140.1 and strikeouts with 185. Currently, Wyche ranks first in the Big Ten and is sixth in the NCAA in strikeouts. Wyche is seventh in the Big Ten in innings pitched and ranks second in opposing batting average with hitters just batting .170.
- At the plate, Maryland is led by Diamond Williams and Jaeda McFarland. McFarland currently leads the team in batting average (.349), stolen bases (16) and hits (52). With seven triples this year McFarland is tied for first in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten for most this season. Her 16 stolen bases ranks fifth in the Big Ten. Diamond Williams is currently batting .327 this season and her 13 home runs on the season leads the team. This season, Williams 13 home runs rank sixth in the conference.
- Maryland is currently 4-3 all-time against Purdue with their last meeting coming in 2022. The Terps would defeat Purdue 2-1.
The Terps are looking to capitalize this weekend after defeating Towson 11-2.
last weekend's recap
- Maryland is coming off of a 11-2 victory over Towson on Wednesday. Maryland scored 10 unanswered runs through the first, second and fourth innings. Towson had no answers for Maryland's lineup, which registered 12 hits. Jaeda McFarland, Sydney Lewis, Diamond Williams, Michaela Jones and Hannah Runk recorded multiple hits. It was Runk's first career game with two or more knocks.
- McFarland finished the game 2-for-3 with a home run and a triple. The homer was her sixth of the season, and the triple was the 20th of her career, a Maryland softball program record. The outfielder also scored two runs.
- Keira Bucher started in the circle for the Terps and pitched the first complete game of her career. She allowed just four hits and zero earned runs. The sophomore also struck out three batters and earned her first win of the season.
- This past weekend Maryland would go 0-3 against Ohio State in Columbus, OH. Maryland would lose game one 4-0 on Friday. On Saturday, the Terps would drop game two 6-3 and Sunday, Ohio State would defeat Maryland 3-2.
- On Friday, Courtney Wyche became one of four Terps in program history to reach 600 career strikeouts in Maryland softball's 4-0 loss to Ohio State in game one at Buckeye Field on Friday. Wyche's record-setting strikeout occurred in the first inning and she continued her dominant outing in the circle. She retired the first 11 batters she faced and finished with six strikeouts through 5.1 innings. Wyche allowed three runs before Kiera Bucher entered the game in the circle. Megan Mikami went 2-for-4 and added to her program record with two stolen bases. Madison Runyan went 2-for-3.
- On Saturday, Maryland would fall to Ohio State 6-3 in game two at Buckeye Field on Saturday. The Terps rallied late, scoring all their runs in the final two innings. Jaeda McFarland broke up the no-hitter with an RBI single to get her team in the scoring column. Sydney Lewis followed with one of her own. Delaney Reefe accounted for the other run with an RBI double in the seventh. Freshman pitcher Julia Shearer pitched the second complete game of her career and tied her career-high with three strikeouts.
- On Sunday, Maryland softball lost its series finale to Ohio State, 3-2, at Buckeye Field on Sunday. The Terps rallied late, scoring all of their runs in the sixth inning. Jaeda McFarland drove one home with a sacrifice fly and Mazie MacFarlane drove home the other with a single. Maryland is now 18-27 overall and 4-13 in Big Ten play. Ohio State improved to 27-17 and 8-9 in the conference. Courtney Wyche made her second appearance of the series in the circle. She pitched her 16th complete game of the season and struck out five batters. Wyche also allowed just three hits.
The Terps have three batters that have 30 or more RBIs this season.
transfer spotlight
- Coastal Carolina transfer Diamond Williams continues to make her impact on this Maryland team. Diamond has started in all 47 games at first base.
- Williams currently is third on the team in batting average (.327) and second in hits (49). But leads the team in RBIs (38) and HRs (13). Williams is sixth in the Big Ten in home runs this year.
- Williams would stand out in her first five Big Ten conference series. She would finish with a .327 batting average with 16 hits including three HR's and ten 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 44 of the 45 games for the Terps this season. She is currently second on the team in batting average with .333 and is third on the team in hits with 39.
- MacFarlane would finish her first five weekends in Big Ten Conference play hitting .349 with 15 hits and four RBI's. She would also record a HR and two RBI's after her first conference series against Minnesota.
- Against James Madison, MacFarlane would go 2-for-3 with two HR's 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.
moving up the record books
- With a stolen base against Virginia, senior outfielder Megan Mikami has become the all-time program leader in stolen bases in a career with 76. The record was previously held by Vangie Galindo (2009-2012). Mikami has led the Big Ten in stolen bases in back-to-back years.
- Jaeda McFarland is currently third all-time in career batting average with .337 and currently has the school record for most career triples with 20. McFarland is also second in school history in stolen bases with (68).
- Graduate student Courtney Wyche is currently in fourth place in career strikeouts with 610. She just became the fourth player in school history to record 600 career strikeouts in the circle. She is fourth in career wins with 51 only 8 wins behind moving into third place. Lastly, she has pitched 593.1 innings in her career passing Kaitlyn Schmeiser (2012-2015) who pitched 578.2 innings.
- Freshman Keira Bucher led the country in saves last year with 12, the most ever in program history. After her freshman year she currently holds the school record for most saves in program history.
