IU softball is on the road one last time to finish the season with a four game series at Maryland Softball Stadium against Maryland this weekend.
IU has come off of a huge series sweep against Penn State, improving its record to 23-17 and putting the Hoosiers in a three-way tie with Illinois and Iowa for fourth place.
Related: IU softball sweeps Penn State, moves to fourth place in Big Ten
The tenth place Terrapins are back home after a 3-1 series win against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the Rutgers Softball Complex in Piscataway, New Jersey. After a 3-1 loss to Rutgers in the first game on Friday, Maryland came back in the second game with a victory.
Sophomore pitcher Courtney Wyche threw a shutout, allowing only three hits throughout the game. The offense prevailed to win the second game 5-0 and split the doubleheader.
The Terrapins then set a season record in the third game of the series, with Maryland recording 12 hits. Wyche and sophomore pitcher Trinity Schlotterbeck faced 27 batters, recording three strikeouts and only allowing Rutgers to score off of a two-run home run.
A grand slam from senior infielder Sammie Stefan and a home run from freshman infielder from New Palestine, Indiana, Michaela Jones, secured a 6-2 victory against Rutgers.
The last game was a 4-1 victory with another strong offensive showing. Senior outfielder Jojo McRae hit a three-run RBI single during the top of the second. Freshman outfielder Jaeda McFarland then provided an insurance run with a one-run RBI double.
IU will look to focus on its pitching. Hoosiers ace senior Emily Goodin has thrown seven of the team’s eight shutouts throughout this season and currently holds a 16-12 win-loss record. Junior pitcher Natalie Foor has also pitched well, going 2-1 in her starts.
IU also needs to continue the momentum it’s had the last few weeks. Including the Purdue series from April 9 to April 11, the Hoosiers have won four of the last five series played against Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State, only splitting against Illinois.
The Terrapins, on the other hand, have won three of the last five against Michigan State, Penn State, and Rutgers, but got swept by Nebraska and the Big Ten Conference champions No. 18 Michigan.
All games will be on Big Ten Network Plus. The first game will be played at 5 p.m Friday. At 2 p.m. Saturday, the second game of the series will start off a doubleheader and will immediately be followed at 4:30 p.m. Finally, the last game of the regular season is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
