SU’s 2023 season predicts a bright future for the team’s young talent
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Syracuse softball’s 2023 season was a rollercoaster. It began with a 26-game road trip which didn’t end until April 1. In 51 games, Syracuse was shut out 11 times and suffered six defeats via the run rule.
In Atlantic Coast Conference play, Syracuse lost its first seven games and scored just four runs in that span. Finishing 7-15-1 in conference play, the Orange earned the No. 9 seed in the ACC Tournament. They matched up against No. 8 seed Virginia in the first round, which SU swept in late April, and blew it out with an 8-2 victory. The victory was Syracuse’s second-ever ACC Tournament win.
SU faced off with No. 1 Florida State in the Tournament quarterfinals. After going up 1-0 early, that was the only run it could muster, ultimately falling 4-1 to the Seminoles.
As its season has come to an end, here are some observations from Syracuse’s (24-26-1, 7-15-1 ACC) up-and-down year:
Fresh Faces
The Orange are a young team with 10 of 24 rostered players as freshmen. Rebecca Clyde was the only senior who started in over 15 games. Freshmen Madison Knight and Madelyn Lopez carried the load while flashing their potential.
Knight, a two-way player, led Syracuse’s regular season in ERA (3.04), innings pitched (140.1), doubles (10) and bases on balls (17). She was second in RBIs (25) and fourth in OPS (.802). Knight’s highlight was a five-inning no-hitter in an 8-0 win over NC State, when she struck out seven and only walked two.
Syracuse often came up short in close games, but Knight was one of its few clutch players. Down 4-2 against North Carolina on April 15, Knight stepped up to the plate with two runners on base. She sent a towering, go-ahead three-run home run to right field for a 5-4 SU lead. Knight then trotted out to the circle to secure the victory over the Tar Heels.
“She’s super super talented,” head coach Shannon Doepking told CitrusTV on April 6. “We haven’t even tapped into what she’s capable of doing. She’s going to be a really special player for us.”
Lopez turned into one of the Orange’s top hitters despite beginning the season on the bench. Through the regular season, the right-fielder batted .305, an OBP of .400 and a .810 OPS — all team-highs. Lopez used aggressiveness to kickstart SU’s offense at the top of the order. She displayed her patience at the dish as well, sharing the team lead in bases on balls with Knight (17).
Lopez adapted to new situations, including batting leadoff for the first time on April 6 against NC State. Lopez went 3-for-3 with a walk in the 4-2 win over the Wolfpack. Doepking told CitrusTV postgame that Lopez “set the tone” from the leadoff spot.
Late-Season Surge
Sitting at 15-22-1 and 4-12-1 in the ACC, Syracuse needed a spark to qualify for the conference tournament. From April 22-29, Syracuse won eight straight games, outscoring its opponents opponents 68-15.
Syracuse swept Lafayette, setting season-highs in hits in three straight games, including 17 in the series finale. Half of the Orange’s double digit run games came against the Leopards.
Syracuse returned to New York to face Cornell on the road in a doubleheader. The Orange shutout the Big Red as Knight pitched a complete game in a 5-0 opening-game win. Lindsey Hendrix followed up Knight’s performance with a seven-inning no-hitter, only issuing two walks.
SU came back home for a pivotal series with Virginia. The Cavaliers struggled to keep up with the red-hot Orange, getting swept and outscored by 15 runs across the three games. A six-run third inning in game one boosted SU past UVA for an 8-3 victory. Knight threw a complete game, blanking the Cavaliers 4-0 in the second contest. To close out the sweep, SU’s offense exploded with Laila Alves hitting a grand slam and Kelly Breen blasting two home runs for five RBIs.
Power Outage
SU hit 27 home runs in the regular season, the fewest in the ACC. It was 65 homers less than Virginia Tech’s conference-leading 92, and less than half as many as Notre Dame’s 55, which ranked in the middle of the ACC at seventh. Syracuse averaged 0.55 home runs per game, ranking 136th in the nation. Breen led the team with seven homers. Nobody else on the team had more than three.
The Orange’s 3.86 runs per game was 175th in the country, and second-worst in the ACC, only ahead of Boston College. SU’s .367 slugging percentage ranked second-to-last in the ACC and No. 185 in the country.
From February 24 to March 19, SU went 4-10, hitting zero home runs, averaging 1.5 runs per game.
It began the season with six home runs through its first four games, and ended with 13 long balls in the final 12 regular-season contests. But for the Orange to improve heading into next season, their power needs to be more consistent.
A Long Way To Go
Syracuse is still far away from competing with the top teams in the ACC. In March, SU traveled to then-No. 4 Clemson for its first conference series of the season. The Orange were swept, scoring a single run and registering one extra-base hit.
The Orange’s matchup against then-No. 6 Florida State ended with the same result two weeks later. Two out of the three games ended in a run-rule, plating one run throughout in three games. The Orange registered four hits in the series and were outscored 23-1.
While struggling against tougher competition, Syracuse was plagued by missed opportunities against weaker opponents. It fell to programs like IUPUI, Robert Morris, UC San Diego, UAlbany and Binghamton. Its final regular-season series against Boston College displayed Syracuse’s struggles.
Entering the series, BC had three conference wins. After sweeping SU, the Eagles doubled their total. The Orange could’ve improved their ACC Tournament seeding and finished the season above .500, but they couldn’t close it out.
