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After domination from Syracuse starter Jessie DiPasquale through three innings, Cornell picked up its first hit in the top of the fourth on a triple by Lauren Holt. The ensuing batter, Maddie Ullensvang, sent a flyball to Madelyn Lopez in right.

After Lopez secured the flyout, Holt tagged up attempting to score. Though Lopez’s throw home was a perfect, one-hop throw, catcher Taylor Davison caught it on the bounce and applied a swift tag on Holt for the out, keeping SU’s shutout intact.

DiPasquale finished the final three innings with ease, walking just one Big Red hitter in the process to give Syracuse a trouble-free win.

After winning its series against No. 15 Virginia Tech, Syracuse (26-21, 7-14 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Cornell (7-27, 4-14 Ivy League) in a single game Wednesday. The Orange blanked the Big Red 4-0 behind a complete game, one-hit shutout from DiPasquale. SU defeated Cornell for a sixth straight time and has shut it out the past four.

“Her focus was outstanding today,” Madison Knight said about DiPasquale postgame. “I think she did a really good job.”

Right out of the gate, DiPasquale shut down the Big Red in the top of the first. In the bottom of the frame, Vanessa Flores quickly put the Orange in front 1-0. With Angel Jasso sitting on third, Flores blooped a single to left, scoring Jasso.

SU continued in the second, beginning with a Taylor Posner single and an error by Ella Harrod on a hard ground ball from Rebecca Clyde. Davison grounded into a fielder’s choice, setting up Kate Dorazio in her first start of the season. She grounded to second to drive in Posner and Lopez followed with a rope to right field, bringing in Davison to extend SU’s lead to 3-0.

“Today I think our biggest thing was pitch selection and choosing good pitches to hit,” Clyde said. “I think it’s only going to be harder with FSU because they have girls that can throw up to 70 miles an hour.”

DiPasquale sat down Cornell 1-2-3 in the third. Kylie Deeny followed with her first clean sheet of the afternoon, ending on a running catch against the wall in center field by Kate Callaway.

After DiPasquale escaped Cornell’s threat in the top of the fourth, Davison produced a one-out single for Syracuse, but Dorazio followed by grounding into a double play to end the inning.

DiPasquale bounced back from the fourth, striking out Hailey Pirkey and Sydney Stapf in succession before Lilly Travieso left the box too early. In the bottom of the inning, Knight continued her red-hot hitting, blasting a no-doubt solo shot to left field to give SU its first run since the second inning, and a 4-0 lead.

“I think earlier in the season, I really struggled with the pitch I wanted to hit, I fouled it off,” Knight said Tuesday. “I think I’ve done a good job (now) of seeing the ball I want to hit and putting it on the field.”

DiPasquale walked her second batter of the afternoon with two outs in the sixth, but the Big Red could not find a spark. In the bottom of the frame, Syracuse loaded the bases with one out. Yet, Galipeau popped out and Lopez flew out to end the threat.

DiPasquale waltzed right through Cornell in the seventh to finish off the complete game. She ended with eight strikeouts while walking just two over seven innings. Syracuse did enough to pick up the win, but there is still more to be done.

The Orange now turn to the weekend, where they face the defending ACC Champions and NCAA runner-ups in No. 14 Florida State. The Seminoles rank fifth in the country in scoring and sit atop the ACC standings.

“I think going into practice (Thursday), we’re probably going to see very hard pitching, and try to prepare for that and try to pick out good pitches to hit,” Clyde said.

SU has dropped its last 27 straight against the Seminoles, eight of which have been run-rules. All-time, the Orange trail the series 2-31 last taking down FSU twice in 2005, when Florida State was not even in the same conference as Syracuse. The Orange have scored more than four runs in a game just six times over the 27-game losing streak.

FSU has relied heavily on its high-scoring offense this season. With Lindsey Hendrix’s domination against No. 15 Virginia Tech last weekend, there is a newfound confidence for SU.

“We all want to make the tournament more than anything, so we just know that we need to bring our A-game,” DiPasquale said. “So it’s just being hype and knowing that we are capable of doing it.”

Published on May 1, 2024 at 6:29 pm

Contact Nick: nsjepson@syr.edu