Indiana completed a statement weekend in College Park, using power at the plate and timely pitching to sweep the Maryland Terrapins in a three-game series.
The Hoosiers capped the trip with a 7-2 win on Sunday after also taking Friday’s opener, 8-5, and a 10-2 run-rule victory in five innings Saturday. The sweep marks Indiana’s first in conference play this season and extends the winning streak to four, and 10 straight over Maryland dating back to 2021.
The weekend didn’t start easily.
The Hoosiers found themselves down 4-0 through four in Friday’s opener before mounting an impressive rally. The Hoosiers erupted in the fifth to equalize the game at four, highlighted by a two-run shot from Alli Gavin and a game-tying RBI double from Josie Bird.
Indiana took its first lead of the game in the sixth when Hannah Haberstroh scrambled home on a wild pitch. Then in the seventh, Alex Cooper delivered a go-ahead solo home run before Madalyn Strader added a two-run blast to give Indiana the three-run lead headed into the last half of the game where Brooke Mannon was able to shut down the Terrapins offense and seal the comeback victory
Saturday’s game told a much different story.
Indiana’s offense broke things open early with a six-run second inning, punctuated by Cooper’s grand slam over the right-center wall. The Hoosiers refused to be easy outs as they added on with a solo home run from Strader in the third and a two-RBI triple from Avery Parker in the fourth to stretch the lead to 9-0.
The early offensive surge proved to be more than enough as Indiana cruised past the Terrapins in game two of the series 10-2 in five innings — their fourth run-rule victory of the season. Cooper finished with four RBIs in the contest, while the Hoosiers capitalized on limited opportunities, scoring 10 runs on six hits.
Sunday’s finale was much like Friday's duel, but the Hoosiers responded with the same formula that truly defined the weekend:
Timely hitting.
Maryland jumped in front early taking a 2-0 lead in the first, but Strader continued her torrid stretch with a solo home run in the fourth to cut the deficit in half. An inning later, Indiana took control for good. Back-to-back doubles from the 1-2 Parker-Bird punch was the key to a three-run fifth that flipped the tables doubling the Terrapins score at 4-2.
Indiana added insurance in the seventh when Bird launched a three-run home run to left field, extending the lead to five. The pitching staff was efficient, closing out the Terrapins with a scoreless final two innings, winning 7-2 and sweeping in dominant fashion.
In total, Indiana outscored Maryland 25-9 across the three-game series and was able to find control of each contest in the later innings. The Hoosiers also continued their dominance in the all-time series, sweeping Maryland for the third time in the last four meetings.
Ahead for the Hoosiers, they return to Andy Mohr Field against their highest ranked Big Ten opponent so far this season in the No. 16 Oregon Ducks on Monday.
