Toni Martin ends slump with 4 RBIs, leads SU to split doubleheader with Clemson
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Toni Martin walked up to the plate and steadied herself for her second at bat against freshman Millie Thompson in game two of SU’s doubleheader against Clemson. The right hander smacked a fly ball to the opposite field, and it sailed over the fence for her sixth home run of the season, and first since April 6 against Buffalo. Lailoni Mayfield and catcher Geana Torres greeted Martin with a hug and slap on the helmet as she crossed home plate and gave Syracuse a 2-1 lead. When she returned to the dugout, her teammates placed an inflatable crown on her head and rainbow-colored lei around her neck.
The Orange (20-22, 12-19 Atlantic Coast) split Saturday’s doubleheader against No. 13 Clemson (39-5, 28-5), and Martin — a graduate student — went 2-for-7 and brought in four RBIs across two games. Her sixth multi-hit performance in a series allowed the Orange to keep a two-run loss in game one close and made a walk-off victory in game two possible.
“There’s just certain kids on this team that you just really want to see get it done,” head coach Shannon Doepking said of Martin. “Players like that … can step up in big moments when the team needs them.”
After Martin’s performance on Friday when she struck out in both at bats, she texted hitting coach Evan Ruechel, concerned with how poorly she had performed. She was disgruntled with her eight-game hitless streak, one that dropped her batting average 32 points. She went to the batting cages early Saturday morning to work through her swing in an attempt to find what had been causing the drought.
Doepking applauded the extra effort the outfielder put in, and said it played a large role in helping her confidence against the ACC’s top pitching staff. Prior to Martin’s last at bat in game two, Doepking asked her if she wanted the at bat, if she wanted to win the game for Syracuse. Martin said she did. Despite Martin striking out with the bases loaded, Doepking was happy with Martin, as a senior, wanting to seize the “big moment.”
“She’s just in a good spot right now of wanting these big moments, because she’s worked really, really hard for them,” Doepking said.
Martin did strike out four times, including earning a hat trick of swings and misses in game two. In game one she eclipsed her season high in strikeouts (37), but coming up in big moments is what Doepking harped on.
After Syracuse’s first nine games, Martin boasted a .280 batting average, and looked as if she would replicate her 2020 numbers — third on the team in OPS, first in doubles, and tied for third in RBIs (12). But since April 23, her batting average has dropped after each game, finally settling at .190 before the double header.
She started off in the bottom of the second in game one with a hard-hit line drive that traveled all the way to the wall. As she slid in, Mayfield and Torres crossed home, giving the Orange an early 2-0 lead they wouldn’t relinquish until the fifth inning. She stood on the base, tilted her head to her right and flashed a double “peace” sign to her dugout. It was her first RBI since April 18 and first multi-RBI game since April 6.
“Toni’s just one of those kids that’s just been through a lot,” Doepking said. “She’s also one of those kids that will never get the recognition she deserves because she doesn’t have gaudy numbers.”
Martin ended an eight-game hitless streak with an RBI double in the second inning of game one. Elizabeth Billman | Senior Staff Photographer
With just one more regular season game remaining at Skytop Stadium, Doepking was sad to see the current crop of seniors leave, specifically because they won’t be able to reap the benefits of the foundation they set. Doepking believes that players like Martin laid a winning framework that SU will someday use to propel themselves into the top of the ACC — and eventually — to the NCAA Tournament.
But for now, Doepking says Martin — whom coaches and other players have deemed a captain — can use the last few games to demonstrate the amount of work she’s put in. She can showcase her confidence at the plate in big situations so that the next time she approaches the plate with the bases loaded, she can deliver. What Martin does on the softball diamond won’t impress you, Doepking said, but she’s been one player the third-year head coach desperately wants to do well and deliver for the team.
“When you watch how far that kid’s gone in the three years since I’ve coached her, it means everything to me,” Doepking said.