5 runs in loss to Florida State give Syracuse offense hope before postseason

Gabby Teran knew what FSU pitcher Meghan King liked to throw. She had seen the Seminoles ace two days prior and expected an inside fastball.

On the first pitch of the game, Teran turned on the pitch she anticipated, pulling a long line drive down the left field line and eliciting a collective, curious reaction from the fans at Skytop Softball Stadium.

Even though Teran’s line drive curled foul, Syracuse learned from her aggressive approach — swinging at strikes early in counts — at the plate. Syracuse (21-31, 8-16 Atlantic Coast) scored four runs on four hits in three innings against King, who entered with a 1.44 ERA. SU finished with five runs on eight hits, including three doubles, but couldn’t keep pace with the defending national champions in a 14-5 loss. Florida State (48-8, 18-5 ACC) swept the three-game series, but the Orange offense’s improved production on Sunday gives the team some optimism for its upcoming first-round ACC tournament game on Wednesday.

“We’ve been frustrated by the ups and downs of the offense,” head coach Shannon Doepking said, “because we know that we have the potential to be a really good offense.”

The offensive inconsistency has been a staple all season for the Orange. In April, SU followed a 10-0 rout of last place Pitt with a one-run dud the next day. This weekend, the Orange scored one run in the first two games of its series before stepping on home plate five times Sunday.

After Florida State scored six runs in the first inning off starter Miranda Hearn, SU needed to cut into the deficit to avoid the approaching mercy rule. In the bottom of the first, senior Alicia Hansen lined a double into left-center off another inside fastball from King. She later scored on a single from sophomore Neli Casares-Maher.

FSU’s back-to-back homers in the second inning extended its lead to 9-1. Still, Syracuse had an answer at the plate. Teran drove catcher Gianna Carideo in with an RBI double into right-center. Teran later scored on an error by the right fielder, and Hansen crossed home on a Bryce Holmgren opposite-field single. In all, the Orange scored three runs on two hits.

“We had to be more competitive at the plate,” Hansen said, “and I think that by the third game, we had seen these pitchers now, over hundreds of pitches.”

Syracuse would score one more run in the game, a fifth inning RBI single from outfielder Lailoni Mayfield. Even Syracuse’s outs were hit hard, though. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Teran roped a grounder down the third base line, but FSU fielded it cleanly and nearly turned two. The inning before that, Gianna Carideo drilled a similar grounder to third, but FSU spun it into a 5-3 double play.

Stringing together consecutive hits against King, who has the lowest ERA in the conference, gives Syracuse confidence heading into the postseason, Teran said. The second baseman hopes SU can continue to have an aggressive mindset at the plate, as many hitters did today.

“Just putting balls in play, putting the pressure on them,” Teran said. “We definitely need to keep that going into next week, and we really have nothing to lose.”

Doepking, like Teran, believes the Orange can build on Sunday’s hitting. She’s a “huge fan” of momentum, and feels that even despite the 14-5 loss, SU has found some.

“Any time you can show these girls that we’re capable of doing this stuff,” Doepking said, “I think it’s easy to feed off of.”