Big Ten Conference play opened for the Scarlet Knights this weekend against Maryland, with the Scarlet Knights looking to once again reach the .500 plateau. While the opening game of the series went well, the Knights ended up dropping two of the three games against the Terrapins.
Game 1: Friday, March 14.
The Scarlet Knights opened their series against Maryland looking to continue their winning ways at home, following their victory over Wagner earlier in the week.
After the Terps tied the score 1-1 in the top of the third, the Knights took the lead in the bottom of the inning thanks to an L.A. Matthews sacrifice fly that scored Addie Osborne. Once they were in the lead, the Scarlet Knights relied on the pitching of Ella Harrison and never looked back.
An RBI single by Baileigh Burtis in the fifth drove home two more runs, and by the time Gaelen Kelly added one more with an RBI single in the sixth, the Knights were well on their way to their fourteenth win of the year, 5-1.
Harrison recorded her ninth win of the season, pitching a complete game and surrendering just two hits to Maryland. Julia Shearer took the loss for the Terrapins.
Game 2: Saturday, March 15.
The Terrapins looked to avenge their Friday loss to Rutgers as they came out firing on all cylinders. RU would once again send Harrison to the circle, but having seen her previously, the Terps were ready for the freshman hurler.
When Maryland centerfielder Mazie MacFarlane homered in the top of the second off Harrison, the Terps took a 3-0 lead. Rutgers would get one back in the bottom of the fifth, but Maryland ace Bri Godfrey was thoroughly in command in the game, spreading out just four hits over seven innings, while striking out six Scarlet Knights.
The Terrapins would add one more on an RBI single by Sydney Lewis in the seventh, sealing the fate of the Scarlet Knights, 4-1. Godfrey tallied her third win of the season for Maryland, while Harrison picked up her eighth loss as a Scarlet Knight.
Game 3: Sunday, March 16.
Due to the threat of afternoon showers, the start time for the rubber match of the series was moved up to noon, and from the fireworks that began in the first inning, it was clear that both squads were ready to play.
The Terrapins struck in the top of the first when Lewis caught hold of a pitch from RU starter Kelsey Hoekstra, and put it over the fence to give Maryland a 2-0 advantage.
But, the Scarlet Knights struck right back on a two-run blast by Matthews, tying the score at 2-2.
The Knights would add another to take the lead 3-2, with the Terps preparing to bat in the top of the second. But, the Maryland attack was potent on this day, as they homered twice more off Hoekstra, chasing her from the circle after just 1.2 innings of work.
Down 6-3, the Knights came storming back, first with an RBI hit by Jillian Anderson to make the score 6-4. After Bailey Briggs was hit by a pitch, RU had runners on first and second as Matthews stepped into the box.
The graduate student first baseman then promptly smacked a double, and as Anderson scored easily, Briggs came flying around third base seemingly determined to score. The throw reached home as Briggs slid under the tag, tying the score, 6-6.
Matthews would subsequently score on a Jayden Hutchinson RBI single, and once again the Knights led, 7-6, after two innings.
But that is where the RU magic would end. The Terps then went on to score four more runs, including a second home run by Lewis, as they would take the third game of the series, 11-7. Harrison would end up taking the loss, dropping her record to 9-9 on the season, while Godfrey would end up notching the win, her fourth of the year.
The Knights now stand at 14-17 on the season as they prepare for a West Coast road trip that opens with Oregon State on Tuesday, March 18. They will then take the field against Portland State on March 19, before tangling with Washington on March 21 and 22.
