Maryland (23-29, 8-15 BIG) at Penn State (34-17, 12-11 BIG)
May 8, 2024
Pearl Field
5:30 PM EST
BTN
COLLEGE PARK, MD - The University of Maryland softball team will travel to Iowa City, Iowa to face the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. The action kicks off Wednesday, May 8 with the game starting at 5:30 p.m. EST. The game between Maryland and Penn State will be scheduled to be live streamed via BTN and live stats will be available for the game.
Match up preview
- Penn State is 34-17 this season. They have a team batting average of .282 which ranks 98th in the country. In the circle, the Nittany Lions have a team ERA of 3.55.
- At the plate, they are led by Gaby Garcia who is second on the team with a .343 batting average and is tied in first for home runs (11). Maddie Gordon also plays a key role in the offense for Penn State as she leads the team in hits (56) and home runs (11). In the circle, the Nittany Lions are led by Bridget Nemeth who has a 1.68 ERA and is currently 22-5 this season.
- Maryland will head to the Big Ten Tournament after finishing 23-29 this season. As a team they have a batting average of .280. In the circle, as a team the Terps have a 3.60 ERA.
- In the circle, Maryland is led by Courtney Wyche who is 12-14 this season with a 2.84 ERA. Wyche leads the team in innings pitched with 170.1 and strikeouts with 231. Currently, Wyche ranks first in the Big Ten and is fifth in the NCAA in strikeouts. Wyche is fourth in the Big Ten in innings pitched.
- At the plate, Maryland is led by Mazie MacFarlane and Jaeda McFarland. McFarland currently leads the team in batting average (.362), stolen bases (19) and hits (63). With eight triples this year McFarland is second in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten for most this season. Her 19 stolen bases ranks fourth in the Big Ten. Mazie MacFarlane is currently batting .340 this season and has 25 RBIs on the season.
- Maryland is currently 16-24 all-time against Penn State with their last meeting coming earlier this season. The Terps would lose the series to Penn State in Happy Valley two games to one.
Julia Shearer would go 2-0 on the weekend vs Wisconsin and hit her first career home run.
last weekend's recap
- Maryland is coming off of a 3-0 weekend in Madison, Wisconsin against the Badgers.
- Maryland dominated in game one against Wisconsin, winning 12-2 at Goodman Softball Complex on Friday. The Terps utilized a strong hitting performance from their lineup and a dominant outing in the circle by Courtney Wyche. Wyche pitched her 18th complete game and earned her 12th win of the season. She struck out 13 batters and surrendered only two runs.
- Maryland scored its most runs in a road Big Ten game this season and matched its season high for a conference game overall. It scored five of its runs in the third inning and six in the seventh inning.
- On Saturday, Maryland defeated Wisconsin in game two, 6-5. The Terps captured the series win after taking game one, 12-2, on Friday. With the win, Maryland clinched a spot in the Big Ten Tournament in Iowa City, Iowa. The tournament begins on May 8.
- Julia Shearer starred for the Terps in the circle and the batter's box. The freshman hit her first career home run in the fourth inning and finished her outing with her first multi-hit game, going 2-for-3.
- Shearer pitched 6.2 innings in the circle and earned her second career win. She struck out four batters and handed pitching duties to Keira Bucher, who recorded the final out and earned her 13th career save, a program record.
- On Sunday, Maryland swept Wisconsin in its regular season finale, 4-3, in nine innings. It was Maryland's first Big Ten sweep of the season and third time winning three or more games in a row.
- Mazie MacFarlane drove in the go-ahead run with a single to center field in the top of the ninth inning. Megan Mikami used her speed to score from second base, beating the throw and tag at home plate. MacFarlane went 3-for-5 and added a run in the game.
The Terps have three batters that have 38 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 52 games at first base.
- Williams currently is third on the team in batting average (.327) and second in hits (56). But leads the team in HRs (13). Williams is fourth in the Big Ten in home runs this year.
- Williams would stand out in Big Ten conference play this season. She finished the season batting .291 with 23 hits including three HR's and 10 RBI's against Big Ten opponents.
- 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 51 of the 52 games for the Terps this season. She is currently second on the team in batting average with .340 and is fourth on the team in hits with 48.
- MacFarlane would finish her first year in Big Ten Conference play hitting .358 with 24 hits and eight 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.
Mazie MacFarlane would finish the season batting .358 against Big Ten opponents this year.
moving up the record book
- Jaeda McFarland is currently third all-time in career batting average with .341 and currently has the school record for most career triples with 21. McFarland is also second in school history in stolen bases with (71).
- McFarland is second all-time in school history only one run back from being the all-time program leader in runs with 139 runs scored.
- With 112 RBIs McFarland is seventh all-time in career RBIs and is only three back from moving into sixth place.
- McFarland's 38 doubles for her career are tied for seventh all-time in program history for most in a career.
- McFarland's 217 career hits are third all-time and is only two hits back from moving into second place in program history.
- With a stolen base against Virginia, senior outfielder Megan Mikami has become the all-time program leader in stolen bases in a career with 77. The record was previously held by Vangie Galindo (2009-2012). Mikami has led the Big Ten in stolen bases in back-to-back years.
- Graduate student Courtney Wyche is currently in fourth place in career strikeouts with 656. She just became one of our four players to notch 600 career strikeouts. She is fourth in career wins with 53 only six wins behind moving into third place. Lastly, she has pitched 623.1 innings in her career passing Kaitlyn Schmeiser (2012-2015) who pitched 578.2 innings.
