Softball team hopes comforts of home can help slumping lineup

The Terrapin softball team's bats have been asleep for the majority of the young 2010 season. The Terps, who have some of the worst offensive statistics in the ACC, are hoping that sleeping in their own beds will help wake their slumping offense.

The team hosts the Maryland Round Robin tournament at Robert E. Taylor Stadium this weekend after playing its first two weekends of the season on the road. After a rough start at tournaments in Florida and Georgia, the Terps know how important a strong showing back at home will be.

Through 10 games, opponents have outscored the Terps by only four runs, but coach Laura Watten's team is still 4-6. While the Terps' pitching has been dominant, they have been hamstrung by an offense that is averaging just 2.6 runs per game and hitting .198 on the year.

"We've gotten more live, more game-like play during practice," pitcher/utility Kerry Hickey said. "We've really focused on getting our minds right and our mental perspective in the box."

Watten said the team has all the offensive talent necessary to be a NCAA Tournament-quality squad. Though she continues to keep focusing on hitting in practice, she said it's all a matter of having the right mentality at the plate.

"Our key hitters that have speed need to start coming through and finding ways to get on base," Watten said. "I think there are some key players in the lineup that have done some deep thinking and soul searching. We worked through a lot this week to get ready."

The Terps were feeling good after their 11-run outburst against Iowa on the first day of the NFCA Leadoff Classic last weekend. Though shortstop/utillity Marisha Branson was named to the All-Tournament team after hitting .545 with seven RBI on the weekend, the Terps only scored seven more runs after their victory against Iowa.

"It inspired them. It's been a thorn in their side," Watten said. "They grew a lot this week."
"It made us really zone in," Hickey said. "It made us focus on what we need to work on and our weaknesses and bearing down."

The Terps face off against Princeton and Mount St. Mary's today, Towson and Princeton tomorrow, and then Mount St. Mary's again Sunday to close out the tournament.

Mount St. Mary's comes into the tournament with a 6-1 record on the strength of first baseman Liz Christiansen's .421 average. On the mound, Nicole Pagano has been dominant with a 3-0 record, 0.43 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 21 innings.

After two subpar showings for the Terps, this weekend's home opener is critical if they want to achieve their goal of reaching the postseason. The team is confident that coming home will be advantageous in turning its season around.

"It will be nice to be on our home turf for once. It makes a difference," Hickey said. "We're not traveling, not jumping on a plane, rushing here, rushing there. It lets us focus more on what we're going to do gametime."

With what the team calls a new level of comfort from playing at home, the Terps are confident this is the weekend they break out of their slump and show off their offensive potential.

"We're gonna come out and we're gonna hit the ball," shortstop/utility Alex Schultz said. "It's not gonna be ever questioned again."

schneider@umdbk.com