Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

It sure didn't feel like April.

It took a little while for the Terrapin softball team's bats to warm up in the cloudy cool in yesterday's double-header against Georgetown. But in the end, the Terps took both games without allowing a single run.

The Terps got on the board early in the first game after Hoya centerfielder Aimee Moffat committed an error and then misjudged a deep shot by senior catcher Brittany Bessho that went over her head and scored a run for the Terps.

Thanks to a great effort by junior starter Sarah Dooley (13-7), who struck out nine in a three-hit shutout, that run was enough to ensure the 1-0 victory.

Then, as the sun set and the second game began, the Terps lit it up.

Recent struggles with offensive production evaporated and the Terps exploded for 12 hits en route to an 8-0 victory. Four Georgetown errors added to the damage and the game was called after six innings due to the eight-run rule.

"We came together in that second game and put it all the right direction," coach Laura Watten said. "We knew that as long as we produced offensively, we've got the pitching."

Regular starting pitcher Meredith Nelles had suffered an unspecified back injury, and she will miss the rest of the season. But sophomore Lindsey Wright (2-0) stepped right into her second start of the season and allowed only one hit to pick up her first career shutout as a Terp.

Although both games produced wins, they were markedly different. In the first, Dooley pitched herself into a couple tricky situations, but managed to get out each time. Meanwhile, the less-experienced Wright breezed through a game that the Terps took a hold of early and never let up.

"It's very much needed as a pitcher to have insurance runs, because you never know when that one pitch is going to slip up," Wright said. "It happens, and it's good to know as the pitcher that mistakes can happen and your offense will be there no matter what."

jnewmandbk@gmail.com

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