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University of Maryland Athletics

Bailey Murphy Makes Diving Catch Against Rutgers
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Winner Rutgers RUTGERS 10-9, 1-0 Big Ten
5
Maryland MARYLAND 10-10, 0-1 Big Ten
Winner
Rutgers RUTGERS
10-9, 1-0 Big Ten
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Final
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Maryland MARYLAND
10-10, 0-1 Big Ten
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 R H E
Rutgers RUTGERS 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 6 10 2
Maryland MARYLAND 0 0 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 10 2

W: Kelsey Hoekstra (3-2) L: Bucher, Keira (4-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Rutgers Outlasts Maryland 6-5 in 12-Inning Marathon

Anna McGowan homered for the seventh time in 2026 in a lengthy Big Ten opener.

COLLEGE PARK, MD — Rutgers outlasted Maryland 6-5 in 12 innings in the Terps' first Big Ten game of the season. Friday night's marathon featured a heroic homer from Anna McGowan and two RBIs from Zayda Rocke, but Maryland fell to 10-10 on the season.  Sammi Woods and Bailey Murphy each recorded three-hits night. Woods drove in the game's first run in the third inning with a single to right field after three scoreless frames from Elisea Wiegand, who made her seventh start of the season in the circle for the Terps and only allowed two runs on four hits across her 4.2 innings of work. Rutgers led 2-1 when she relented the pitching duties to Keira Bucher. Maryland rallied with a three-run fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead. Rocke plated two with a double off the wall, setting Bucher up to lock down her fifth win of the season. Rocke's rocket to left field bounced off Maryland's new outfield wall, which the Terps debuted on Friday.  Rutgers countered with a three-run seventh to take a 5-4 lead before McGowan's seventh homer of the year forced extra innings. The game stayed knotted at 5-5 until the 12th inning, when the Scarlet Knights pushed a run across to move to 10-9 on the season.

Bucher threw a career-high 7.1 innings in the loss, throwing 136 pitches and fanning six batters. Maryland is back in action on Saturday as the Terps look to even the series at 2 PM.  How it Happened:
  • T1: Wiegand collected a pair of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 first inning. 
  • B3: Woods singled a run home with a two-out knock.
  • T4: An RBI triple tied the game at 1-1.
  • T4: Rutgers claimed a 2-1 lead with an RBI single.
  • T4: Wiegand stranded a runner on third with her third strikeout of the night.
  • T5: Rocke threw out a runner trying to swipe second in a scoreless frame. 
  • B5: Caitlyn Cornwell and Woods legged out infield singles to lead off the frame. 
  • B5: Cornwell scored on a fielding error to tie the game.
  • B5: Rocke's two-RBI double put Maryland ahead 4-2.
  • T7: Rutgers used a three-run seventh to take a 5-4 lead. 
  • B7: McGowan's solo shot tied the game and forced extra innings.
  • T8: Bucher fanned two in a clean inning. 
  • B9: Woods legged out a leadoff bunt for her third hit of the day.
  • T10: Bucher stranded two on base.
  • T12: Rutgers pushed across the go-ahead run with a two-out single.
Impact Performances:
  • Woods (SS): 3-6, R, RBI. 
  • Murphy (RF): 3-4, BB.
  • Rocke (C): 1-6, 2 RBI, 2B. 
  • Wiegand (SP): 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 K, 2 BB, 88 pitches.
  • Bucher (RP): 7.1 IP, 4 R, 6 H, 6 K, 3 BB, 136 pitches.
Numbers to Know:
  • 3: Woods had three hits on Friday. 
  • 12: The 12-inning game was tied for the Terps' second-longest game in program history. 
  • 30: Woods' 30 hits this season lead the team. 
  • 43: McGowan has collected 43 total bases this season to lead the Terps in 2026.
  • 231: Friday's game lasted 231 minutes.
Up Next:
  • Maryland's weekend series against Rutgers rolls on with another game on Mar. 7. First pitch is set for 2 PM and the game will air on B1G+.
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