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Tied 1-1 in the bottom of fourth inning, Syracuse had the chance to take control of its matchup with No. 15 Virginia Tech. After Olivia Pess was struck out by Virginia Tech’s Emma Lemsley, Madison Knight forced a walk from Lemsley. Laila Morales-Alves moved Knight to third after a single, giving the Orange a chance to gain the lead back.
Syracuse didn’t waste the chance this time as Mackenzie Foster knocked a single up the middle, scoring Knight to put SU in front 2-1.
“We knew they (Virginia Tech) are a good hitting team, we knew they were gonna hit a home-run coming in,” Knight said. “So, I think it’s just letting them do that and reacting to that and not letting it get to us.”
In Syracuse’s (24-20, 6-13 ACC) series opener against Virginia Tech (37-10, 17-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), the Orange stunned the Hokies. SU let up just five hits as it held on for a 2-1 win, its first ranked victory since 2022. The win helps improve Syracuse’s chances at sealing a spot in the ACC Tournament.
Angel Jasso entered Friday with a team-best .401 batting average and was coming off a four hit and three RBI performance in SU’s double-header against LeMoyne. She continued her hot streak in the first inning, ripping the ball into center field and got her to first base. However, Syracuse’s offense stalled out and finished the inning scoreless.
But the Orange got on the board the next inning. Knight, who hit two home runs last weekend against Pittsburgh, hit another one to give Syracuse a 1-0 lead. After Foster was struck out by Lemsley, Tessa Galipeau drew a full count and hit a single to the right infield. But in the ensuing at bat Galipeau was called out for leaving the base earlier when Kelly Breen after Kelly Breen slapped a ball into left field.
In the third inning, Posner had an error with two outs which resulted in a double for Virginia Tech, but the Orange remained composed. Lindsey Hendrix hit Addy Greene the next at-bat, but she then forced Bre Peck to ground out and end the inning.
Although VT’s Cori McMillan responded powerfully with a solo home run in the top of fourth inning to tie up the game, Hendrix finished out the inning with a strikeout.
“Honestly, coming into the game I knew (Hendrix) was gonna hold it down because she is a senior. So we just knew that. We’re just gonna have to be dominant on defense.” Jasso said.
After Foster put Syracuse in front in the bottom of the fourth, Syracuse’s defense remained strong to keep its lead. In the top of the fifth, Foster made a diving play in center field to record the second out, before catching another flyout to end the inning the next batter.
Although the Orange couldn’t extend its lead later on, strong pitching from Hendrix kept them in front. Kylie Aldridge flew out to Jasso in the top of the six innings before SU entered the seventh still leading 2-1.
After Martin worked a full count to start the seventh, Hendrix blew one past her for the first out. A walk put the tying run on base for Virginia Tech, but Annika Rhoas grounded out into a fielders choice for the second out. Greene then flew out to Posner in left to give Syracuse a massive victory over Virginia Tech.
“We just came in with a mentality of ‘why not us?’,” Jasso said. “We’re at the bottom of ACC and they’re at the top. So it’s just coming in with that mentality of that we’re just going to attack whatever, attack the pitcher (and) attack the pitchers that we know we can hit and just come out. Guns blazing.”
Published on April 26, 2024 at 8:18 pm
