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Heading into its contest against Long Island, Syracuse found itself in unfamiliar territory. Despite winning their first five games, the Orange had not hit a home run. It was the first time SU hadn’t hit a homer through its first five games since 2018.

So, when Madelyn Lopez came up with runners on first and third in the second inning, the center fielder looked to end SU’s dry spell. Her at-bat ended with a fly ball that sailed over the right-field fence, breaking the game open and doubling the Orange’s lead to 6-0.

Lopez’s home run kicked off a strong offensive performance to open SU’s Columbus Classic doubleheader. Syracuse (7-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) defeated Long Island (1-6, 0-0 Northeast) 10-1 to start the day before beating Tennessee Tech (4-3, 0-0 Ohio Valley) 3-0. The wins improved the Orange to 7-0 for the first time in program history.

Unlike most of its games from the previous week, SU got off to a fast start against Long Island. Gabby Lantier led off the first inning with a strikeout, but Lopez and Kelly Breen hit two consecutive singles.

Laila Morales-Alves then laced a ground ball into the right field corner for a double, giving Syracuse a 2-0 lead. It marked Morales-Alves’ second extra-base hit of the season.

An Angie Ramos groundout pushed Morales-Alves to third soon after, bringing up Peyton Schemmer with two outs and a runner in prime scoring position. Schemmer’s subsequent grounder squeaked past Kaylee Clarkson, scoring Morales-Alves and giving the Orange a three-run lead.

Lopez’s aforementioned home run added another three to that tally in the next frame. Breen then drove Sarah Wall’s next offering over the left-field fence, doubling Syracuse’s home run total and bringing its lead to seven runs.

The game didn’t get much easier for Wall afterward. In the following inning, Tessa Galipeau punished a Madison Knight free pass with a home run of her own, bringing SU’s lead to nine and putting the Sharks at risk of getting run-ruled.

Throughout the first three innings, Long Island struggled to find an answer to Julianna Verni. The Syracuse starter had kept the Sharks off the board, striking out four and allowing just two hits in that span.

But in the fourth, LIU began to piece together its first rally of the game. Alyssa Polemeni started the inning with a single, and she advanced to third after a passed ball and a sacrifice groundout. Soon after, she scored LIU’s first run on a Sophia Mariottini single into right.

Clarkson and Jaedyn Lincoln each notched two-out singles after Polemeni’s run. Though, the rally was short-lived, as Lopez threw out an adventurous Mariottini at home plate to give Verni her third win of the season.

Following a relatively easy five-inning affair against Long Island, Tennessee Tech presented a much greater challenge early on. Knight silenced the Golden Eagles through two innings, but SU’s offensive efforts in that span amounted to nothing.

That changed in the third. Payton Wagner limited SU’s offense to ground balls, but Taylor Posner opened the inning with a single. A subsequent steal and sacrifice ground out placed Posner on third with two outs, with Breen having a chance to give Syracuse its first lead.

Breen’s ensuing ground ball found the mitt of an outstretched Ella Bishop, who nearly threw her out to end the inning. However, after review, the initial out call was overturned, driving in Posner and giving Syracuse a 1-0 advantage.

The Orange continued to extend their advantage in the following inning. After Kaimi Tulua pinch hit for Knight, she started the rally with her first collegiate single. Vanessa Flores followed with a single, bringing up Posner with one out and two runners on.

Tulua and Flores were substituted for pinch-runners Knight and Lauren Fox, and Posner got jammed into a weak dribbler off her bat. However, Abby Shoulders couldn’t corral the ball and Knight scored. Once Posner reached base, she goaded the Golden Eagles into a rundown, scoring Fox to bring SU’s lead to three.

The rest was easy for Knight, who struck out seven Tennessee Tech batters in seven innings. The Orange have allowed just four runs in forty-seven innings this year, only one of which was earned.

Syracuse’s offense came into question after its dry spell in Wilmington, and it answered those concerns in a resounding fashion Friday in Columbus. Now, the Orange remain undefeated as they look to build toward Atlantic Coast Conference competition.

Published on February 14, 2025 at 6:59 pm

mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarSU