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In the bottom of the first inning, Syracuse drew three straight walks, loading the bases. After Madison Knight struck out, Laila Alves stepped up to the plate. Alves came out swinging, but got behind in the count to Virginia pitcher Edin Bigham. Protecting the plate, Alves chopped a ball down the left field line, but it went just foul. Alves continued to foul, pitch after pitch, eventually drawing a full count.

Alves was patient, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. On the 17th pitch of the at-bat Bigham delivered an off-speed pitch that Alves turned on. She shifted her hips and drove the ball to deep right center field. As the outfielders backed up, the ball kept on going, landing just above the outfield fence for a grand slam. Alves’ big hit gave Syracuse an early 4-0 lead.

“I think it set the tone,” Syracuse head coach Shannon Doepking said to Cirtrus TV after the game. “When you throw that many pitches, at some point you’re going to make a mistake and Laila capitalized on it.”

Alves’ first home run of the year sparked a dominant offensive effort in Syracuse’s (23-22-1, 7-12-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) 12-6 win over Virginia (29-21, 8-16 Atlantic Coast Conference). SU’s bats stayed hot, led by Kelly Breen’s two home runs and career-high five RBIs, while the Orange forced Virginia to use five different pitchers. In the past three games, Syracuse has scored 24 runs, helping it complete the series sweep of Virginia — its first of the season.

As quick as Syracuse jumped out to a lead, Virginia answered right back. Lindsey Hendrix walked Katie Goldberg to start the inning before Gabby Baylog slapped a ground ball under Rebecca Clyde’s glove at third, putting two runners in scoring position. The first pitch of the next at-bat, Reece Holbrook blasted a ball to deep left field for a home run to cut Syracuse’s lead to one.

After Hendrix struck out Auren VanAssche, her day was done with Madison Knight replacing her. Despite pitching 10 innings across two games in SU’s double header the day before, Knight stepped up again. The freshman pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs.

The next inning Syracuse had the bases juiced again, but this time it was due to the Orange’s bats. With one out in the second inning, Syracuse got three straight singles from Tessa Galipeau, Madelyn Lopez and Angel Jasso to load the bases. Just like in the first inning, Syracuse cashed in. Breen ripped a ball high in the zone to the gap in right field. Breen’s double made it to the wall, clearing the bases, restoring Syracuse’s four-run advantage.

A one-two-three inning from Knight brought Syracuse up to bat once again. Back-to-back singles from Taylor Posner and Clyde put runners on first and second. The ensuing at-bat Ryan Starr chopped a slow grounder which was charged by Shelby Barbee. The third baseman rushed her throw, firing wide of Baylog at first. Posner rounded third base, putting the Orange up five runs. Galipeau followed that up by driving in another run with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Clyde. In each of the first three innings Syracuse scored multiple runs, giving them a 9-3 advantage.

Virginia threatened in the top of the fourth inning. Knight struggled finding the zone, walking two batters. Goldberg led off the inning with a single up the middle before two straight walks loaded the bases. With one out in the inning, UVA leadoff batter Jade Hylton grounded a bouncing ball toward second which Starr then couldn’t field. At the end of the play, everyone was safe. Knight bounced back by getting Abby Weaver to pop out. Leah Boggs then grounded one to Clyde at third who fired across the diamond for the third out, getting out of the jam.

Just like it had earlier in the game, Syracuse answered back with more offense of its own the following inning. With nobody on base, Breen stood at the dish. Virginia pitcher Molly Grube gave Breen an elevated pitch which she blasted to straight away center field for her fifth home run of the year.

“The game of softball is a roller coaster and she’s had some down moments this year,” Doepking said. “She was huge for us today and it was exciting to watch.”

The Cavaliers wouldn’t go away. Shelby Barbee was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Two batters later, Baylog came up to bat. The senior blasted a ball to deep left field, one again cutting into Syracuse’s lead making it 10-6.

Syracuse put runners on first and second with nobody out in the following inning and the top of its lineup coming up to bat. Goldberg wasn’t fazed, recording with three straight outs. Galipeau and Lopez flew out before catching Jasso on an off-speed pitch to end the inning without surrendering a run.

The Cavaliers threatened in the top of the sixth inning with a two out rally. Behind 2-1 in the count, Knight threw an off-speed pitch to Barbee, getting her looking. Knight threw the same pitch again getting Barbee off balance causing her to swing and miss. Knight yelled out in excitement after getting out of the jam.

Syracuse added more insurance in the bottom of the sixth inning. Breen replicated her power from the fourth inning, driving a ball to deep left field for her second home run of the game. With a runner on third later in the inning, Clyde hit a ball to center field, scoring Angie Ramos who =pinch running. The play put the Orange up 12-6.

“We were gritty,” Doepking said. “We responded every time they responded. They put up a run and we would put up some runs. I think the cushion the offense gave to our pitchers was good.”

Knight ran into some trouble in the top of the seventh with runners on first and second, but two straight outs helped the freshman finish off the Cavaliers for a third-straight win for Syracuse.

“It’s just nice to see it come together,” Doepking said. “We’ve gone through some down times this year and had some games slip away. It’s nice to figure things out and watch them come together.”

Published on April 29, 2023 at 7:45 pm

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