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Disaster struck Syracuse in the bottom of the sixth in game one of its doubleheader versus Seton Hall. With two runners on and two outs, Andrea Perez singled to center, but the ball was misplayed by Angel Jasso, allowing both runners to score. Caroline Hobbes then knocked in Perez, extending Seton Hall’s lead to 8-4.

Yet Syracuse came storming back, as Taylor Posner hit a two-run home run to start the seventh. Then, two straight singles set up the Orange with a chance to tie.

Laila Morales-Alves stepped in and delivered, hitting a two-RBI double to the left center gap to tie the game.

After a Makenzie Foster walk, Vanessa Flores gave Syracuse its first lead of the game, singling to right field. Both runners crossed home, and the Orange held a 10-8 lead. SU tacked on two more runs, and took a 12-8 lead into the bottom of the final frame. The eight-run inning was the most runs in an inning for the Orange since scoring nine against Canisius on April 13, 2022.

Taylor Hill homered for the Pirates in the bottom of the seventh, but SU finished with a 12-9 comeback victory.

Syracuse (18-17, 4-11 Atlantic Coast Conference) began its three game series against Seton Hall (18-14, 9-6 Big East) with a doubleheader sweep of the Pirates, winning 12-9 and 5-3, extending the Orange’s winning streak to four.

Lindsey Hendrix got the ball in the circle for Syracuse in game one after throwing a nine-inning complete game Wednesday against Colgate. She escaped a two-runners-on jam in the first, striking out two.

The Pirates opened the scoring in the second, when Erin Howard took Hendrix’s offering to deep left center for her second home run of the year. The next batter, Perez, singled and scored on a two-out double from Hill later in the inning, giving Seton Hall a 2-0 lead.

Seton Hall starter Kelsey Carr responded by striking out the side in the top of the third. After the first two batters in the bottom of the third got on base, Hendrix’s afternoon was over and Britney Lewinski replaced her in the circle. Lewinski walked her first batter on four pitches, loading the bases with no outs.

Despite getting the next two batters out, Lewinski walked in SHU’s third run of the game. Another run scored on a passed ball, and Seton Hall held a 4-0 advantage.

The Orange struck back in the top of the fourth. After loading the bases, Morales-Alves doubled, cutting the deficit to 4-2. But in the bottom of the inning, Lela Allen hit a sacrifice fly and put the Pirates up three runs.

The game continued to be a back-and-forth affair. Jasso led off the top of the fifth with a single, and was promptly brought home on a Madelyn Lopez double. Two batters later, Lopez came in to score on a Kelly Breen sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 5-4.

Jessie DiPasquale faced early pressure after replacing Lewinski for the bottom of the fifth, with runners on the corners and just one out. But DiPasquale delivered, striking out Hill and Carr to end the threat. SU had a chance to tie the game in the top of the sixth, with Foster parked on second. But Jasso struck out swinging to end the opportunity.

But Syracuse turned around a huge comeback, and took game one of the series, with Julianna Verni closing it out in the seventh.

Syracuse carried over its hot bats into game two, getting on the board early. Jasso doubled and Lopez singled to put runners on the corners. Posner then drove in Jasso on a ground out and two batters later, Lopez crossed home on a Madison Knight single to put the Orange up 2-0.

Seton Hall came right back in the bottom of the frame. Knight started for SU, and surrendered back-to-back home runs to Hill and Carr.

Again, SU answered in the top of the second. Tessa Galipeau singled and Taylor Davison doubled, setting up Peyton Schemmer. She sent a deep drive to center field for a double, giving SU its two-run lead back.

Seton Hall put another run on the board in the bottom of the third with an RBI double from Katey Brennan, making the game 4-3. Syracuse punched back in the top of the fourth though, with Jasso delivering an RBI triple to extend the lead back up to two.

The Pirates threatened to strike back again in the bottom of the frame, with runners on second and third and one out. But Knight forced a ground out, then Verni replaced her and forced another ground out to hold off Seton Hall.

Neither team got anything going offensively until the bottom of the seventh, as the Pirates loaded the bases against Verni with one out. Head coach Shannon Doepking elected to put Hendrix back in to attempt to close out the contest.

She came up clutch, forcing a fly out to Allen and a line out to Howard, completing the doubleheader sweep of the Pirates.

Published on April 13, 2024 at 6:11 pm

Contact Nick: nsjepson@syr.edu