Syracuse crushes Penn State, 11-1, in 5 innings

On Friday, Syracuse led Penn State by one run entering the top of the sixth inning, 1-0. At the end of the seventh, SU had lost, 3-2.

In the rematch between the two teams the next day, the Orange saw a similar situation in the fourth inning, leading 2-1. When senior Alicia Hansen walked up to the plate with the bases loaded in the fourth, she made sure to avoid the same fate.  

Hansen crushed a pitch to left center field, tripling and bringing home all three runners. On the very next at bat, Penn State junior Hannah Shields threw a sliding pitch underneath her catcher. Hansen, already off the third base bag, dashed towards home plate. Before PSU sophomore catcher Haley Vallejos could even toss the ball to Shields, Hansen had scored.

That was the impetus for a nine run fourth-inning. Syracuse (2-5) cruised to a 11-1 win over Penn State (3-5) in only five innings. Less than 24 hours after dropping their two opening games in the ACC Big 10 challenge, the Orange totaled nine hits and only struck out four times.

After Hansen’s triple and ensuing score, the Orange loaded the bases once again with only one out. Junior Toni Martin walked and SU had scored its fifth run of the inning. Two errors and a sacrifice bunt later, SU had an 11-1 lead.

Sophomore Sophie Dandola, who allowed three runs in the sixth and seventh inning Friday, also redeemed herself against the Nittany Lions. Through five innings of work, she allowed only seven hits while striking out three.  

The Orange don’t have much time to celebrate their second win of the season. SU will play its final game of the ACC-Big Ten challenge against Indiana tomorrow at 10 a.m.