Syracuse Orange softball had a dominant weekend of softball as they swept Virginia, outscoring them, 24-9, in a three-game series. The pitching, which was led by Lindsey Hendrix and Madison Knight, completely controlled the Cavaliers’ hitters as they racked up a total of 14 strikeouts in the three games.
The ‘Cuse bats showed up in a big way, especially for second baseman Kelly Breen, who had two home runs in the third game of the series along with five RBIs. The Orange hit a total of five home runs in the games against Virginia off the bats of Knight, Rebecca Clyde, Laila Alves, and then the two from Breen in the third game.
Adding on to Breen’s five home runs, she also added seven RBIs against the Cavalier pitching, which was tied for most on the team with catcher Alves.
This team, which is of the youngest teams in the nation, shocked me with how well they performed. They needed to win at least two games this weekend and ended up stealing all three.
Syracuse Orange softball has won eight games in a row.
As I mentioned before, I have to give my full credit to the ‘Cuse offense, as whenever Virginia thought they were drawing close, the SU offense would answer back in the next half-inning. The Syracuse Orange win on Saturday meant a lot more than any other win as the university retired former ‘Cuse pitcher Jenna Caira’s jersey following the final out.
With this win, Syracuse Orange softball moves up to the eighth spot in the ACC standings, now moving ahead of the team they just swept, Virginia, and guaranteeing them a spot in the ACC Tournament with Virginia being done with ACC play, Georgia Tech having one more ACC game, and NC State ending their season against Pitt next weekend.
The win on Saturday also marked the 100th career win for head coach Shannon Doepking on the Hill.
https://twitter.com/CuseSB/status/1652453689133604864
Up next, the Syracuse Orange (23-22-1, 7-12-1 in the ACC) will take on Colgate at Skytop Softball Stadium for a doubleheader on May 3rd. Game one is scheduled for 2 pm and game two is scheduled for 4 pm.