Syracuse defeats Lafayette to complete 3-game sweep
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Before this weekend, Jackie Pengel only came up to bat once and did not record a hit. With no score in the top of the fourth inning of Syracuse’s final game against Lafayette, Pengel stepped up to the plate for just the third time this season. The freshman stepped up to bat with runners on the corners and two outs. With a full count, Pengel swung on an inside pitch, chopping it down the line. Pengal didn’t make great contact with the ball, but it snuck by the third baseman Kylee Sweet, scoring Kelly Breen and giving Syracuse a 1-0 lead.
Pengal’s RBI single started an offensive explosion for Syracuse (18-22-1, 4-12-1 Atlantic Coast) against Lafayette (6-32-1, 2-10 Patriot League) with the Orange winning 11-1. The Orange recorded their most runs since putting 11 past Iowa on Feb. 19.
Leading by a run in the top of the fifth, Syracuse created separation, putting up four runs to extend its lead. Angie Ramos led off the inning with a single before advancing to second by a Ryan Starr sacrifice bunt. With Tessa Galipeau up to bat, Ramos took off for second. Galipeau slapped a hard-hit ball to second base, Kaili Reitano dove in front of the ball, but couldn’t handle it in time to throw to first. Ramos rounded third and headed home, beating the throw, putting SU up 2-0. On the ensuing at-bat Breen doubled to the gap, scoring Galipeau. Breen finished 3-4 on the day.
Peyton Schemmer recorded her first hit of the season to put SU up 4-0 with a double to deep right field. The Orange continued the big inning when Madison Knight doubled to the gap in right field, extending their lead to five. Knight showed off her two-way ability, with two hits and three RBIs while pitching a complete game, only letting up four hits and one earned run.
Lafayette got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning with a single up the middle from Kaya Ciccone-Cozart. The Orange responded with six runs in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach. The inning started with back-to-back singles from Galipeau and Breen later advancing to second and third on a fielder’s choice and steal respectively. Knight started a string of three straight doubles, slapping a pitch into right field knocking in two runs. Laila Alves and Pengal doubled as well, scoring two more. Adding onto the big inning, Taylor Posner blasted a ball deep to right field for her third home run of the season. Posner’s ranks second on the team in homers, tied with Galipeau and only trailing Breen.
Syracuse finished with a season-high 17 hits, with six players finishing with two or more. Seven different players recorded at least one RBI. Over the three game stretch against Lafayette, the Orange recorded 46 hits, the most of any three-game stretch this season.
