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Down 2-0 against NC State on April 7, Syracuse stranded two runners with two outs in the sixth inning. Designated player Yamila Evans stepped into the batter’s box with a chance to even the score. 

Facing a 2-2 count, Evans smoked a line drive directly to the shortstop. NC State’s MaKayla Marbury snagged it to end the inning, snuffing out the Orange’s scoring opportunity. SU would make it 3-2 in the later innings before ultimately falling to the Wolfpack.

In a clutch at-bat, one of Syracuse’s bench players was expected to capitalize. Evans, who has just five total hits with an OPS of .486, wasn’t able to. The lack of depth in Syracuse’s lineup has affected its ability to win tight games. Far too often this season, SU’s secondary position players haven’t delivered. 

Only three SU players hold an OPS above .700: Madelyn Lopez (.899), Madison Knight (.761) and Tessa Galipeau (.741). The Orange have a team batting average of .226 — ranking last in the ACC. But if you remove Lopez, Knight and Galipeau’s combined average of .290 , the teams’ plummets to a measly .205. 

Syracuse has struggled mightily compared to middling ACC teams. Virginia has 12 players that bat at least .250, compared to Syracuse’s three. The Cavaliers are two games under .500 in conference play. Apart from the heart of its lineup, SU lacks clutch hitters.

Back in early March, during a three-game series against No. 7 Clemson, Syracuse looked overmatched. It dropped game one 4-1 before being run-ruled 8-0 in game two. But in game three, the Orange stayed even with the Tigers throughout, tied 0-0 heading into the fifth inning. 

With one out and runners on first and second, Rebecca Clyde stepped in to hit. She worked a full count before Clemson’s Regan Spencer struck her out looking. With Ryan Starr due up next, Syracuse opted to pinch-hit Taylor Posner. Down to the last out, Posner hit a dribbler to third base and the half-inning ended on a fielder’s choice. The Tigers would score the game’s lone run in the bottom of the fifth, securing the series sweep. 

Clyde has played in all but one game this year, producing a lowly .183 batting average and a .557 OPS. Posner’s numbers are slightly better, hitting .224 and a .650 OPS, but she’s started in less than half of SU’s games. Both hitters have failed to generate scoring opportunities consistently, and struggled even more in clutch moments. Only Knight, Lopez and Galipeau have served as a spark in crunch time.

This past Saturday against North Carolina, Knight was at the plate in a close game. The Orange had runners on second and third, down 4-2 with two outs. On the first pitch of the at-bat, Knight uncorked a towering, go-ahead, three-run home run to right field. Knight then went back out to the circle to close down the Tar Heels, winning 5-4. 

Jacques Megnizin | Design Editor

Knight, a two-way player, understands the importance of late-game run production. While she was in the circle against NC State on April 6, Syracuse put a stamp on the game in the fifth inning, scoring two runs to increase its lead to 4-0 and putting the Wolfpack out of reach. Knight stressed how extra run support takes pressure off a pitcher late in games.

“It meant a lot. We had a lot of insurance (runs),” Knight said. “And especially getting those runs late in the game made me feel a lot better.”

Syracuse has been shut out 11 times this season, equaling nearly one-third of its games up to this point. Against then-No. 6 Florida State in a three-game series from March 17 to 19, Syracuse scored just one run. Two of those three games ended in just five innings because of the run-rule. 

In game one, the Orange were no-hit by Seminoles pitcher Kathryn Sandercock. Only Galipeau reached base on a walk and, on an off-day from Lopez and Knight, no one else was heard from. The second game featured just two hits from Starr and Galipeau. Game three mirrored the opener, as Lopez and Angie Ramos were the only two with base knocks, and SU was run-ruled again. 

Better opponents have created gameplans for Syracuse’s top players, and its role players continue to go down in order time and time again. Thus, SU has been unable to win close games.

Published on April 17, 2023 at 11:07 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews