Syracuse couldn’t make good on its opportunities. In its loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday, the Orange stranded 10 runners on base.

It was an area that the Orange struggled in all day, and Mary Dombrowski did all she could to make it a non-factor.

“There’s just a different intensity when it gets to the end of the game and you just feel the need to pull out,” Dombrowski said, “and be the more important hitter, the one who’s going to be the star and get the winning run.”

The senior center fielder was the star in the first five innings, knocking in four runs on two hits, including a home run that gave SU (15-22, 1-10 Atlantic Coast) the lead in the bottom of the fifth. But Pitt (29-14, 9-9) answered back and Orange hitters squandered late opportunities in an eventual 10-7 loss at SU Softball Stadium.

In the first inning, Syracuse loaded the bases on three straight two-out walks. Dombrowski followed with a single through the hole on the left side for her first RBI.

Dombrowski walked to lead off the fourth before designated player Rachel Burkhardt knocked her in two batters later. The senior entered the weekend series with a .131 batting average and one home run, but left the finale batting an even .200 with three homers.

“I’ve been working with (hitting coach Matt Nandin) on … getting my hands in front so I can time the ball better,” Dombrowski said.

She came to bat again in the fifth with two runners on base and timed the 2-1 pitch perfectly, hitting it over the fence in dead center to regain the lead.

Head coach Leigh Ross attributed Dombrowksi’s resurgence to her positive attitude and confidence at the plate, despite her struggles.

“I think we scored enough runs to win a game today,” Ross said.

And while Dombrowski did all she could, the rest of the lineup didn’t help the scoring enough to put SU on top.

In the sixth inning, first baseman Sydney O’Hara stepped to the plate with two out and two on. Pitcher Kayla Harris threw O’Hara seven pitches over the outside part of the plate, and the hitter obliged by chasing four of them in an eventual strikeout.

“We would get singles, one at a time, one by one by one, when you got bases loaded you need one big hit,” Ross said, adding that while SU failed to get that big hit late in the game, Pitt succeeded.

The Orange entered the top of the seventh trailing by two, but found itself down five by the time Dombrowski stepped to the plate with one on in the bottom half.

She smacked a ground ball toward third baseman Shelby Pickett, who misplayed the ball, allowing Dombrowski to reach base. After a strikeout, Burkhardt loaded the bases on an infield single.

Syracuse scored two more runs. And despite a breakout performance from a player who desperately needed it, the Orange still came up short.

Said Dombrowski: “Getting two runs in an inning is nothing to shake your head at but that’s just how the game goes.”

Published on April 12, 2015 at 6:01 pm