Softball sweeps past Fordham in doubleheader

For Terrapin softball coach Laura Watten, how wins happen doesn't matter so long as they ultimately do happen. They can include late-inning heroics, which last week she said made her feel "awful," or they can come in the form of start-to-finish advantages.

Last night, she didn't have to pick: She got both during a doubleheader inside Robert E. Taylor Stadium. After taking the lead and never looking back in a 7-1 win against Fordham, the Terps staged a late comeback in a 5-4 victory to extend their winning streak to six.

"We applied everything we've learned the last few weeks today," Watten said. "Offensively, our bats were on, energy was good, we made adjustments early, we picked things apart, and we just kept things going. Pitching was great, and we had great leadership on the mound, and our defense played well behind it."

The Terps (15-9) had their top two pitchers in the circle in senior Kerry Hickey and junior Kendra Knight, and their nights mirrored the play of the team.

In the team's blowout opener, Hickey cruised through 4.2 hitless innings and six innings of run-less ball before Fordham put a run on the board in the seventh.

Knight followed Hickey in her first action since March 5, spotting Fordham an early 3-0 lead before settling in and pitching four scoreless innings. The Rams (14-12) got one back in the sixth, but Knight battled through the final inning to get the win.

"When I first got out there, it wasn't really connecting," said Knight, who had been absent from the team's lineup for the past week as she attended to a death in her family. "It was a little rusty, but I fought it out and tried stay in there and keep going at them."

"She's been home for five days, and she's been out of it," Watten said. "She's had a rough weekend, and I wanted to leave her out there and let her work through things."

Offensively, the Terps were bolstered by solid efforts from infielders Marisha Branson and Candice Beards. Branson had two multi-hit games and was 4-for-7 on the night with two runs scored and one RBI. Beards went 3-for-6 and had a home run and two RBI.

"From top to bottom, we executed and made things happen," Watten said.

After witnessing her team's continued success last night, Watten said her confidence in the team's ability to find ways to win was only growing. But the coach acknowledged the team can't expect every game to end as last night did.

"This is what happens when you bring it all at one time," she said. "I feel like we can beat anyone when we bring everything to the field."

TERP NOTE: The Terps' win in the first game of the doubleheader was Watten's 500th in her coaching career. With a second win last night, she now has 179 wins with the Terps and 501 overall.

"I don't pay attention to anything like that," she said. "The reason this was so much fun tonight was to see them all succeed so much and so well."

dgallen@umdbk.com