Trio of newcomers lifts softball early in season

On a team whose dominant storyline entering the season centered on the returning pitching at the top of its rotation, it was a trio of newcomers that sparked the Terrapin softball team on its opening weekend.

Freshmen Ashley Czechner and Candice Beards, along with junior transfer Bree Hanafin, pitched in solid performances last week to help lead the Terps to two victories at the Red & Black Showcase in Athens, Ga.

While the mainstays of the lineup struggled, the trio — making their Terp debuts after differing paths to the team's final roster — led the team from the plate and the circle.

"I recruited all three of them and know what they're capable of," coach Laura Watten said. "I expect that from them. I wasn't surprised."

Joining an already solid pitching rotation anchored by senior Kerry Hickey and junior Kendra Knight, Czechner arrived with a near--flawless portfolio from her career at Waccamaw High School in Pawleys Island, S.C., where she went 27-1 with a 0.29 ERA and 422 strikeouts as a senior.

In her first collegiate start against Lipscomb on Feb. 12, Czechner recorded a complete-game victory, allowing three runs over seven innings while striking out nine Lipscomb batters.

"It was definitely a lot more fast-paced and intense than high school ball was," Czechner said. "It was really exciting to get the chance to start a game and win. The team definitely rallied behind me."

Beards has provided a lift to the Terps' offense as well at first base. She is batting .400 with a .571 on-base percentage through the first set of games from last weekend.

The freshman recorded a hit in her first collegiate at-bat, a single through the right side against Iowa on Feb. 11, and kept her success going in her first career start the next day against Illinois State, going 2-for-3.

"I felt like I was getting my foot wet in the water a little bit, and then I jumped into starting," she said.

Coming out of Paramus Catholic High School, the Ringwood, N.J., native hit .500 as a senior and was named an ESPN RISE All-American along with garnering All-League, All-County and All-State honors.

"I used to see people on TV, and now I'm actually playing against them," she said. "I was kind of patting myself on the back because I made it, too."

"[Czechner and Beards] just need to keep in perspective that this is not high school, this is not travel ball," Watten said. "When you play at this level, your opponent's never going to give up. They're only going to get stronger throughout the game."

As a transfer from Baylor, Hanafin took a more circuitous route to College Park. She returned to be close to her home and her family in Arlington, Va., but was familiar with the program as a former recruiting target of Watten while playing at Yorktown High School.

The junior played in 50 games for the Bears in 2010, batting .232 with seven home runs and 32 RBI. She had to sit out fall practice after breaking her hand, something that had her itching to get back in the lineup, but hit .500 in the Terps' five-game tournament, including a two-run home run in the team's Feb. 13 loss to Georgia.

"I just kind of wanted to get out there and show them, ‘Hey, this is what I can do, and I can help you guys out this year,'" Hanafin said.

While the Terps are keying on the pitching of Knight and Hickey to help lead them back to the NCAA Tournament, the team knows the sustained success of its newcomers will be just as important as the contributions from its proven veterans.

"I feel like a goal would be just to put my team first before me and make sure everybody plays like a team," Beards said, "because I feel like we all made it as a team so we should all play as a team."

dgallen@umdbk.com