Diamondback Blogs

The Terrapin softball team started off their play in the ACC Tournament with 7-4 loss at the hands of Virginia Tech earlier today.

Hokies ace Angela Tincher struck out 12 Terps in a complete game effort. Only two of the Terps four runs were earned.

Playing in a steady drizzle, the Terps jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning after senior outfielder Jenny Belak scored on a fielding error, and senior catch Brittany Bessho hit her seventh home run of the season, a two-run blast over the centerfield fence.

But Tincher clamped down on the Terps the rest of the way, allowing only three hits after the first inning.

The Hokie offense backed its pitcher up, scoring runs consistently throughout the game. Virginia Tech took a 7-3 lead in the fifth inning off a sacrifice fly by designated player Jessica Everhart.

The Terps would tack on one more run in the seventh inning, but with runners on first and third, Tincher struck out junior second basemen Breanna Shaw to end the game and seal up the victory.

The Terps will take on Boston College, who earlier lost to Florida State on a ninth-inning walk-off grand slam, tonight at 8 p.m. The Terps must win in order to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament. With a win, the Terps will play again at 8 p.m., tomorrow.

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I know, I know. It’s one of the most annoying sports clichés ever, but with six games left- including tonight’s against Maryland- Eastern Shore- for the Terps baseball team pride is the only thing left to play for.

This is the team’s first game after getting swept at Boston College, another disappointing ACC series in a season full of them. Barring a miracle, the Terps aren’t going to make it to the ACC tournament, and there were times this year when the pressure to make it there hurt them.

But now it’s not about pressure. It’s just about that “pride” thing again among a few other goals:

- With 26 wins right now the Terps can be only the second team in program history to win 30 games. The first and only time that happened was in 2002, when the team won 34 games.

- With three more wins- including the one they will get tonight (yeah so what, I’m guaranteeing a Terps win tonight) – they will have their first winning record since 2002

- With a single win against No.21 N.C. State over the weekend the Terps will have won more than 8 ACC games for the first time since 1980

Basically, there are still some things the Terps can do this season to make it a productive one. So maybe the playing for pride thing is real- we’ll see starting tonight.

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It’s Senior Day at Byrd Stadium for the Terp men’s lacrosse team.

They just honored the nine seniors before the game against Yale by giving them their framed jerseys. High up in Tyser Tower at Byrd Stadium it was hard to tell exactly what the mood was like during the ceremony. I’m gonna guess happy.

Actually, I’ll just let coach Dave Cottle speak to the importance of this game, which he addressed in a phone interview on Thursday.

“I think senior day is one of the most important days of the year for us. It’s a chance to honor the kids who have made those sacrifices. I know I get very emotional on senior day because it’s amazing how fast it seems to have gone by. When you have senior day you know you’re at the end of the regular season.”

 But it will be interesting to see how the Terps react in their final regular season game in their final opportunity to impress the NCAA selection committee before the field is set Sunday. An 8 to 10 goal win might be just what this team needs having lost three of its last four.

A last note is you have to hand it to the folks who put on Art Attack last night. The concert didn’t wrap up until close to 11, but everything was apparently cleared out quickly before today’s 1 p.m. game. The lone remnant of Art Attack is a pretty cool waffle pattern visible from my position left by the temporary flooring that was brought in for the event.

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Charolettesville, VA - The Terrapin women’s lacrosse team had been in this position before. The Terps were on the verge of squandering a sizeable lead in the ACC tournament, but unlike last season, they came out on top.

The Terps raced out to 6-1 lead and controlled the game. But North Carolina scored four unanswered goals in the second half to make it a close game. But, unlike last season, the Terps played stifling defense and held on, 6-4, to advance to the ACC championship game.

“The best thing that you can take out of this game is that we won,” senior midfielder Dana Dobbie said. “We scored more goals than they did so we are super excited about that. For us seniors this is our first time going for an ACC championship.”

For the Terps this win was more than just a ticket to the ACC championship game. It was redemption for last season’s collapse in the ACC semifinals.

“Its like a weight has been lifted off our shoulders,” senior attacker Casey Magor said. “We made it past that hump and we are ready to go. We are so excited.”

The Terps raced out to a quick 6-0 lead. But that would be the extent of the Terps offensive fire power. The Terps offense stalled in the second half, and the Tar Heels offense reeled off four goals to cut the lead down to 6-4 with 23:22 to go.

But with Tar Heels within striking distance, the Terps defense held off the comeback to advance.

“They came out hard after [halftime], and they wanted to get back into it. It took us a while but we controlled the ball when we needed to and stopped it when we needed to. We did what we had to do and came out with a win. It may not have been pretty but it worked.”

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One thing the Terp men’s lacrosse team does not have going for it heading into this weekend’s ACC tournament is their experience.

With a roster featuring 18 freshman making their first appearance in the tournament, it will be up to the older players to show the younger guys the ropes. Five Terps played in the 2005 ACC championship game win against Duke. Two players, defenders Ryne Adolph and Jacob Baxter, were even around the 2004 championship team as freshmen who were redshirting.

“I just gotta try to keep the guys focused,” Adolph said. “The [awards] banquet tonight is pretty cool for all the young guys, but we just have to maintain that it’s just a business trip, and we’re going down there to take care of business.”

Coach Dave Cottle said he will individually meet with each freshman in the hotel tonight to talk about how he can help them the rest of the season. He will learn a lot about his team by its performance this weekend.

“This is a training ground for the NCAA playoffs,” Cottle said. “It’s a big game on the road at a different site. I’ve seen some guys that have hit the wall and gone through it. I’ve see some of the younger guys who are getting close. I just think we’re learning how to be a better team right now.”

Freshman attackman Grant Catalino said he doesn’t really know what to expect from the tournament, but after playing big, rivalry games throughout the season, he is feeling confident.

“I still don’t feel like a veteran when I play in these big games, but it’s not like it was going into the (season-opening) Georgetown game. I’m not nervous and stuff like that,” Catalino said.

The worst part of the trip could be the travel. The Terps left on the bus for Charlottesville at 11 a.m. When the Terps arrive, they will practice, go to the awards banquet later tonight and then wait until 7:30 tomorrow night for their game to start.

“It’s going to be fun and difficult at the same time,” junior midfielder Jeff Reynolds said. “A lot of guys are going to be anxious because we’ve got a lot of down time. Once again, we’ve got to focus on what we’ve got to do and can’t mess around too much.”

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