Syracuse Orange softball gets ready for ACC Tournament as No. 9 seed

The Syracuse Orange softball 2023 regular season has come to a close and with the ACC Tournament nearly upon us, the ‘Cuse was able to get into the 10-team field as the No. 9 seed. Syracuse will take on No. 8 seed Virginia, a team they just swept not too long ago.

Syracuse Orange softball finished up the 2023 regular season at 23-25-1 overall and 7-15-1 in conference play.

Syracuse Orange softball is set to play in the 2023 ACC Tournament.

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH FOR SYRACUSE

Someone you could probably expect in the circle every game that ‘Cuse advances in the tournament is freshman Madison Knight, who has shown she’s been the top arm on the team this season.

Per stats on cuse.com, in 30 appearances for ‘Cuse, Knight has logged 140.1 innings pitched, with a 3.04 ERA and striking out 124 batters and only allowing 10 home runs. Seven of those 30 appearances ended in her getting complete games while having three shutouts. In her 622 batters faced, hitters only batted .212 against her. She finished this season with a win-loss record of 13-8.

There is a couple of hitters you should watch on this team. I want to bring attention to sophomore infielder Kelly Breen, who dismantled Virginia the last time they played where she hit two home runs in one game and even went for seven RBIs in the series.

In 45 games this season, Breen had a stat line of .267/.308/.474 while hitting a team-leading seven home runs and 36 RBIs. The last player I want to spotlight is freshman infielder Madelyn Lopez, who led the qualified players in batting average at .305. Lopez also led them in OPS at .810.

PREVIOUS MATCH-UP

In Syracuse’s previous match-up with the Cavaliers, it resulted in ‘Cuse sweeping them while outscoring Virginia, 24-9, at Skytop Softball Stadium in Syracuse.

In that series, Breen would have five home runs in the three-game set as well as bringing seven runs across the plate so you can guarantee she’s chomping at the bit to face the pitching of Virginia again. The Syracuse Orange also had a huge series from catcher Laila Alves and third baseman Rebecca Clyde.

The first round match-up in the 2023 ACC Tournament will take place on Wednesday, May 10, at 1 pm from Melissa Cook Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. You can watch the game on the ACC Network.