Softball mixes good and bad in sweep of Georgetown

The Terrapin softball team showed last night the powerhouse it can be when all systems are go.

It also showed it can get the same result when that's not exactly the case.

In a two-game sweep of Georgetown yesterday, the Terps mixed dominant pitching with erratic offense to snap a three-game losing streak at Robert E. Taylor Stadium.

The series opener had everything coach Laura Watten wanted. The Terps' bats were hard to stop, recording 10 runs and 11 hits, while Ashley Czechner pitched a one-hit shutout in the five-inning game. Powered by a three-run home run from infielder Lexi Carroll and a three-run triple from infielder Candice Beards, the Terps scored nine runs in the first inning and never needed to look back.

"We came out and attacked and had good energy in the first game," Watten said.

The nightcap was a different story, even if it shared an ending. A strong pitching performance from Georgetown's Melissa Conners held the hosts to only one run in a 1-0 Terp victory. Pitchers Kendra Knight and Kerry Hickey combined to get the shutout win, but Watten felt the game should not have been as close as it was.

"I feel like we lost focus going into the second game," she said. "I felt like we really let up, and we can't do that."

After the early blowout, Watten said she told her team it couldn't get complacent. The Terps, Watten said, almost learned their lesson the hard way.

"I think it was more lack of focus," outfielder Amanda McCann said. "We were just kind of — I don't really know."

The Hoyas (9-28) threatened late in the second game after putting runners on second and third base with one out in the seventh, but Hickey was able to get a strikeout and groundout to preserve the win.

Czechner, who opened the doubleheader for the Terps, confessed to a bit of helplessness in watching the Terps (23-13) close out the sweep with the one-run win last night. It was an emotion that was hardly evident in another impressive outing for the freshman, who had pitched just once since her last start March 20.

If there was any rust yesterday, it was hardly evident behind her stretch of dominance on the rubber and the Terps' hot hitting at the plate.

"It's definitely a big confidence booster," Czechner said. "It takes a lot of stress off me. I know that maybe I can try a couple different things, knowing I have a couple runs to back me up if I do anything wrong."

While the Terps struggled to keep up the offense in the second game, their normally reliable defense also struggled somewhat. A misjudged fly ball by outfielder Sloane Van Meter in the seventh allowed the Hoyas' go-ahead run to move into scoring position before Hickey sealed the sweep.

"We've got to be able to get the outs for pitching and make the plays for the pitching," Watten said. "We got to do that consistently. ... We let a lot of outs get away from us that we should have had."

As the Terps prep for ACC rival Boston College this weekend, Watten could only say that maintaing focus would be a focal point for the Terps as they move back into conference play.

But after tough losses last weekend to No. 25 Georgia Tech, the confidence boost from last night's wins couldn't be understated.

"As long as we keep our heads in the game and don't underestimate anyone," McCann said, "we should be fine."

dgallen@umdbk.com