STAFF : Syracuse softball team splits doubleheader against DePaul on road

After dropping the first game of a doubleheader to Syracuse 3-2, the Orange earned a 5-3 victory in extra innings in game two in Chicago.

DePaul (28-18, 9-7 Big East) got off to a fast start against the Orange (35-12, 12-4) in game one against SU starting pitcher Jenna Caira. Caira allowed two runs in the second inning to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead.

And the Blue Demons didn’t stop there. Caira’s counterpart, DePaul pitcher Kirsten Verdun, doubled down the line to drive in a run to help her own cause and put DePaul up 3-0. Meanwhile, Verdun baffled the SU hitters throughout the game.

The Syracuse lineup finally woke up when it rallied in the fifth. Emily Thompson scored on a misplayed fly ball to right field off the bat of Carey-Leigh Thomas. Julie Wambold then scored on a base hit from Leah Porter, but the offense stalled from there and SU couldn’t find a way to tie the game in its last two innings.

DePaul jumped out to an early 2-1 lead in the second game, but Veronica Grant’s two-run home run in the seventh inning gave the Orange the lead. DePaul tied it in the bottom half, leading to extra innings.

In the ninth inning, senior second baseman Stephanie Watts launched a two-run shot to give SU the lead again. And this time, SU held off the Blue Demons in the bottom half of the inning.

Caira picked up the win, going five innings in relief after pitching a complete game in the front end of the doubleheader.

The Orange takes on Connecticut in a three-game set this weekend in Storrs, Conn.

-Compiled by David Propper, staff writer, dgproppe@syr.edu