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Syracuse trailed 3-1 in the top of the fourth inning against No. 6 Virginia Tech when Taylor Posner stepped to the plate. Facing Hokies pitcher Emma Lemley, who has the lowest opponent batting average in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Posner stayed patient and forced a walk on eight pitches. Angie Ramos then got on base after beating out a routine throw to first, and the Orange had players on every base, down only two, against the conference’s best team.

But the momentum vanished in three swift pitches as Laila Alves struck out swinging. Virginia Tech proceeded to erupt for two runs in the bottom half of the inning before adding three more in the sixth to take an 8-1 lead. The Orange only got one more runner on base the rest of the game.

“We just got to compete a little bit harder, especially when we got runners in scoring position,” head coach Shannon Doepking said in an interview with The NewsHouse after Syracuse’s loss to Notre Dame. Doepking hasn’t been made available to The Daily Orange this season.

Syracuse has the second worst conference record in the ACC at 3-13 and has lost its last five conference matchups. The Orange’s offensive stats are still average, though, as they’re seventh in stolen bases, ninth in on-base percentage and seventh in batting average out of 13 ACC teams. But the team is struggling to hit in key situations during the games that count the most. The Orange have left 45 runners in scoring position over just 16 ACC contests, significant for a team that’s been outscored by 52 runs in those games.

This issue was apparent early, coming in Syracuse’s first conference win this season against NC State. Although SU won 9-3, the Orange left seven runners on base in scoring position. And in the third game of the series, which was much closer, it really cost them.

Three Syracuse runners had been left on the base path through the first five innings, and after leaving Carli Campbell stranded on third base in the fifth, the Wolfpack hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to break the 4-4 tie.

It was up to Syracuse to respond in the sixth, and the game started to go its way after NC State pitcher Maddie McPherson hit Kelly Breen with a pitch. When Olivia Pess pinch ran for her, Pess stole second before advancing to third on a wild pitch.

With runners on the corners, Paris Woods stepped up to the plate with an opportunity to tie the game again. But Woods popped out to second base on the first pitch thrown to her, and McPherson retired the side. Syracuse couldn’t get on base the rest of the game and lost 5-4.

Maya Goosmann | Digital Design Director

Syracuse faced Notre Dame at home about a month later, and the Orange found themselves in a close game with one of the ACC’s top teams, again having the perfect chance to strike in the first inning.

SU had two runners in scoring position with two outs and the game tied at one. Notre Dame’s Payton Tidd was rattled at the pitcher’s circle after allowing three straight outfield pokes to a struggling Syracuse offense, but Campbell hit a ground ball to second, resulting in an underhand throw to first base to end the inning.

The Orange ended up leaving eight runners on base that game, including five in scoring position. Syracuse’s bats couldn’t get anything going even though its pitchers held the Fighting Irish to a reasonable five runs, and it fell by three runs. This struggle to capitalize on opportunities has been most apparent in ACC games, but the issue also showed up in a doubleheader against Canisius on April 13. The Orange left seven runners in scoring position in the day’s first game.

Maya Goosmann | Digital Design Director

This has been compounded by the fact that those runs could’ve made a difference as the team lost 4-3. In the bottom of the seventh, Breen knocked a double and Neli Casares-Maher drew an intentional walk. Then, a wild pitch put the tying run on third and the winning score on second.

Jude Padilla came in to pinch hit for Geana Torres and worked the count to 2-2. She made contact on a hard line drive that looked like it would sail through the right side of the infield. But, Saige Alfaro made a leaping grab at second base to end the game. Even Angel Jasso, who is top three on the team in nearly every hitting statistic, couldn’t take advantage of a runner on second at the beginning of the first game. It all led to another Syracuse loss, and while this one didn’t drop its conference record further, it still showed the Orange’s inability to connect on pitches in crucial spots.

Published on April 18, 2022 at 10:41 pm

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu