Maryland vs. Oregon: Can the Terps shock the softball world again?
The Maryland softball team shocked the world on February 18 when it beat the undefeated, No. 1-ranked team at the time, Florida. This weekend, the Terrapins head to Columbia, Missouri, for the Mizzou Tournament where they will take on the undefeated, No. 4-ranked Oregon Ducks. The question is, can the Terps take down another top ranked team? Fastpitch News breaks it down here.
Maryland (2-11-1)
Team Batting Average: .279| Team Earned Run Average: 5.07| Runs Scored: 32| Runs Allowed 84
Senior Madison Martin played a huge role in the win against Florida. She was 3-for-4 at the plate and pitched just over an innings’ worth of shutout softball. She appeared in relief in the bottom of the sixth with bases loaded and got the Terps out of the jam. Martin leads the team with a 3.14 earned run average in 29 innings of work.
Amanda Brashear is hitting .396 for the team-lead and also leads in hits (19), triples (2) and slugging (.521). Juli Strange boosted her average up to .344 this past weekend in Louisiana by going 8-for-16. She leads the team in runs scored (6). Anna Kifta is the home run leader for the Terps. So far, she’s hit three, the only three.
Oregon (14-0)
Team Batting Average : .355| Team Earned Run Average: 1.07| Runs Scored: 94| Runs Allowed: 21
The Oregon Ducks lead the all-time series against Maryland, 2-0. They rank third in the PAC-12 and 10th in Division I with their team ERA. They also rank 10th in on-base percentage (.442).
Megan Kleist and Maggie Balint have pitched the majority of innings for the Ducks this season. Kleist is 5-0 in 35.1 innings with a .059 ERA while Balint is 7-0 in 37.1 innings with a 0.94 ERA. Balint leads in strikeouts (56), runs (10) and walks (7). Opposing teams are hitting less than .190 against both pitchers.
Offensively, the Ducks are paced by a .512 average from Danica Mercado. She has scored 18 runs and is slugging .829. In 41 at bats, she has only struck out twice. Nikki Udria was one of FPN’s hitters of the week. She is tied with Mercado for the team-lead in hits (21) and leads them in home runs (5) and runs batted in (17).
Analysis
The Ducks have four girls hitting over .400 while the Terps’ highest is .396. The team ERA is a four-run difference and the Terps have only scored 32 runs or roughly 34 percent of the Ducks’ total.
We can break it down number by number and tell you that Oregon should win 8-0 in five innings. But, then there’s that cliché about any team can win on any given day. We will just have to wait it out and see what happens. The game is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. CT.
