Syracuse sweeps Virginia in doubleheader
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With one out and the bases loaded in the sixth inning, Madelyn Lopez came up with the bases loaded. She hit a dribbler toward third base, grounding out into a fielder’s choice. Angel Jasso then stepped up to the plate.
On the first pitch of the at-bat, Virginia’s Jenny Bressler tossed it right down the middle of the plate, allowing Jasso to rip a two-RBI single into left-center field, extending the Orange’s lead to 8-3. In need of a rally, Virginia could only muster one baserunner in the seventh inning.
“Before the game started I pulled (the team) in and was like, ‘this is the first game of the season, so let’s all ball out,’” Jasso said. “And that’s what we did on the field today.”
To start just its third home series of the season, Syracuse (22-22-1, 6-12-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) powered past Virginia (29-20, 8-15 Atlantic Coast Conference) 8-3 in game one of a doubleheader. Syracuse then blanked the Cavaliers 4-0 to close the day. In the series opener, the Orange put six runs on the board in the third inning, allowing them to coast through the remainder of the contest. In game two, Syracuse was bolstered by Madison Knight’s seven-inning shutout.
Lindsey Hendrix started in the circle, facing off against Eden Bigham in the first game. Each pitcher had a scoreless first two innings and Hendrix only allowed one baserunner in the third, continuing a shutout.
From the start, Bigham faced issues. In the bottom of the third, Rebecca Clyde led off and worked her way into a 3-2 count. With the full count, Clyde drilled a liner into center field that traveled over the fence for her second home run of the season — SU’s first hit of the day.
Ryan Starr continued to put pressure on the Cavaliers, beating out a short ground ball down the first base line which Tessa Galipeau followed with a walk. Bigham’s first pitch to the ensuing batter, Lopez, was low and in the dirt, leading Starr and pinch-runner Gabby Lantier to complete a double-steal.
With runners on second and third, Lopez chopped a grounder to second base, but UVA’s Kelly Ayer mishandled it and made an errant throw past first base. Starr and Lantier crossed home plate, giving Syracuse a 3-0 Syracuse lead.
Later in the inning, Kelly Breen knocked a double to left-center field, scoring both Lopez and Jasso. Laila Alves hit a single in the next at-bat, and Taylor Posner brought Breen home despite grounding out.
Posner was the first Orange to be retired in the third after seven consecutive hitters reached base. Olivia Pess grounded out scoring a run for Syracuse’s sixth and final run of the inning.
“It made me feel not as tense pitching,” said Knight, who came in for relief in the fifth inning. “When its a 6-0 lead you’re like, ‘OK, I have room to breathe, I can work through my pitches.’”
The next inning, Hendrix began to falter. She allowed a leadoff single to Abby Weaver, then after forcing a Katie Goldberg pop-up, hit Shelby Barbee with a pitch that put runners on first and second. Ayer loaded the bases with a single, but Hendrix struck out Lauren VanAssche for the second out of the inning.
The next two batters drove in three UVA runs, as pinch-hitter Gabby Baylog drew an RBI walk and Leah Boggs followed with a two-run single, cutting the deficit to 6-3. Hendrix’s day ended after the fourth inning, finishing with three earned runs and four hits allowed.
Knight was placed in the circle for the final three innings. She was nearly flawless. The freshman only walked one batter, not allowing a run or hit. Virginia never got a runner into scoring position while Knight was in the circle.
Continuing her dominance from the first game, Knight threw a complete game as Syracuse’s starting pitcher in game two. She let up two hits, issued four walks, struck out four and left Virginia scoreless by the end.
The two-way player made her mark on the offensive end as well. With no score in the second inning, Knight unleashed a towering, solo home run that traveled above a group of trees behind the left-center field wall, giving Syracuse a 1-0 lead.
“Coming out and being able to perform on both sides of the ball is huge,” Knight said.
Syracuse added insurance in the fourth. In a long at-bat, filled with a plethora of foul balls, Breen faced a full count with Jasso waiting at second base. Breen pulled an inside pitch down the third base line, as a diving Barbee couldn’t reach the ball and the second baseman recorded an RBI double.
“When Madison’s dominating (in the circle), it gives us the confidence to back her up,” Jasso said.
Posner nearly doubled SU’s lead in the fourth, but Virginia’s VanAssche caught the long fly ball.
In the sixth, Jasso doubled and Knight hit a high fastball into left field for an RBI single, increasing the Orange’s lead to 3-0. Next up was Alves, who nailed an RBI double over Ayer’s head in left field that brought Knight home. Alves was thrown out trying to extend the play to third base, but the damage was done.
