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On just the fourth pitch of the game, Neli Casares-Maher cracked the first pitch of her at-bat deep to left field and over the fence for a first inning home run, her fifth in six games. The blast gave Syracuse an early 1-0 lead and hope for the biggest upset in a string of improbable wins to not only make the conference tournament, but also advance in it.

Syracuse had to win its final three games against North Carolina to even make the tournament. And on Tuesday vs. Louisville, who swept the Orange during the regular season, Ariana Adams pitched a no-hitter into the sixth as the Orange won 2-0 in their first ACC Tournament win in eight tries.

In the second round of the ACC Tournament, Syracuse’s (26-21, 7-15 Atlantic Coast) five-game winning streak ended at the hands of Keely Rochard and No. 2 Virginia Tech (40-6, 21-2 ACC). After three losses to the Hokies in March by a combined score of 27-3, the Orange held a 1-0 lead after the first inning before Virginia Tech came back to win 2-1.

After Casares-Maher’s thirteenth home run of the season — greater than her nine total home runs in her first four seasons — Syracuse put runners on first and second with two outs for Carli Campbell, but she grounded out to second to end the inning.

Syracuse threatened again in the second inning after Rebecca Clyde and Paris Woods worked back-to-back walks with one out. But Rochard, a first team All-American and ACC Pitcher of the Year last season, got out of the jam once again.

Rochard dominated Syracuse earlier in the season, where she pitched a three-hit complete game while striking out a season-high 17. But today, the Orange tallied seven hits against Rochard. Syracuse had multiple baserunners in four innings and at least one in every inning but the seventh.

In the third frame, the Orange had second and third with two outs, but Rochard struck out Olivia Pess to end the inning. Syracuse had first and second with two outs again in the fourth, but Kelly Breen struck out looking for the final out of the frame.

After Adams’ one-hit shutout on Wednesday, Lindsey Hendrix started for the Orange Thursday. In Syracuse’s ACC Tournament-clinching sweep of North Carolina, Hendrix pitched just over 15 of 21 possible innings, allowing just two earned runs.

She started off strong, allowing one hit in her first two innings of work. But Hendrix ran into trouble in the third inning when Jayme Bailey singled and Emma Ritter walked. Morgan Overaitis hit a two-out RBI single to bring Bailey home and tie the game at one run apiece.

After Overaitis’s single, Adams came in to pitch the remainder of the contest, and retired Meredith Slaw to end the inning. With one out in the fourth, Bre Peck launched a 1-1 pitch over the right center field fence for a home run to give Virginia Tech a lead it would not relinquish.

Syracuse’s last scoring opportunity came in the top of the sixth, when the speedy Angel Jasso hit a two-out single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Casares-Maher, owner of the team’s lone run, stepped to the plate. She worked a full count before popping out to first base to end the inning.

SU’s 3-4-5 hitters were up in the seventh inning, but Rochard sat them down in order to knock the Orange out of the ACC Tournament.

This year’s ACC Tournament was Syracuse’s most successful run in program history. Not only did SU pick up its first-ever ACC Tournament win, but it also played the ACC regular season champions to a tight scoreline in the second.

Despite the 2-1 loss, Syracuse outhit Virginia Tech 7-5. They left 10 runners on base to the Hokies’ five. If the Orange had beat Virginia Tech, it would have been among the biggest upsets in program history, and certainly the greatest achievement of the Shannon Doepking era.

Published on May 12, 2022 at 3:00 pm

Contact Connor: cpignate@syr.edu