Terps Softball Prepares To Host The Terrapin Invitational
Friday morning marks the beginning of the Terrapin Invitational, in which the Maryland Terrapin softball team is set to host at College Park. Syracuse, Providence, Fairfield, and UMBC are slated to be the teams featured in the tournament.
The Terps (6-9) will start by facing Syracuse on Friday at 3 p.m., followed by back-to-back games against Providence at 3 p.m. & Fairfield at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, and finishing off the tournament on Sunday against in-state foes, UMBC at 3 p.m.
History Against Teams At. Invitational
- Syracuse: Record (3-4)- Currently on a three-game losing skid against the Orange, and haven't won since 2014, which was also at College Park in a 7-6 victory in parts to a six-run sixth inning.
- Providence: Record (1-0)- These two programs have only met once all-time, back in 2015's FAU 'Strike Out Cancer' Tournament, where the Terps dominated in a 4-0 shutout that featured pitchers Kaitlyn Schmeiser and, Hannah Dewey combining for 12 strikeouts and only three hits allowed.
- Fairfield: Record (4-2)- Since meeting for the first time in the ECAC Championships back in 1997, the Terps have a comfortable advantage, currently winners of the past three meetings, including a double-header sweep in 2023 and a 10-2 sixth-inning decision in 2024.
- UMBC: Record (18-4)- It's been a one-sided advantage in favor of Maryland, including a dominant 10-1 advantage at Maryland Softball Stadium. The Terps won the most recent meeting in 2024, when Maryland alumnus Bri Godfrey pitched a complete game, and a 10-run third inning led to a 14-1 win in five innings.
Storylines Entering The Invitational
Maryland participated in the Liberty Softball Classic, where they split two outings last Saturday, shutting out Toledo, 4-0, and dropping the second matchup against Liberty in a close 3-2 loss.
The pitching over the weekend was phenomenal, as the starters and bullpen gave the Terps a chance to go undefeated in the Classic. Keira Bucher picked up her third win on the season. Bucher has the most wins among Maryland pitchers, runs allowed among pitchers who have appeared in at least five games (6), and era (1.91).
Bailey Murphy's bat was active; she went 5-of-7 at the plate, scoring two runs and driving in two RBIs during the Liberty Softball Classic. Sammi Woods finished with five total hits.
Meanwhile, Syracuse (7-5) is coming off a 3-1 finish in the Liberty Softball Classic. The Orange defeated Toledo twice and split with Liberty.
Jadyn Burney, who has had the most plate appearances, sports a .417 batting average with 15 hits, scoring 10 runs, and driving in two RBIs.
Madison Knight leads the team in home runs (4) and RBIs (10), with a slugging percentage of .688%.
Knight is also the leading arm for the Orange, appearing in seven games, earning five wins, and retiring 20 batters in 31 innings of work with a 4.29 ERA.
Syracuse steals the bases well as a team, going 18-for-19 on their attempts.
Maryland Player To Watch
Pitcher Aubrey Wurst
Wurst has a talented arm and had a great freshman season in the circle last season for the Terps. I got to witness some of her dominant outings last season, in which she struck out 10 and nine batters on separate occasions against UMass & Rider, displaying the control, velocity, and poise she brings.
Although the 2026 season hasn't started off the way Wurst had hoped for herself, currently holding a 0-3 record in six appearances, don't expect head coach Lauren Karn to lose confidence in the sophomore, and I'm expecting a winning performance for Wurst in one of these matches this weekend.
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Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.