Cornell beats Syracuse for the first time in twelve years
By Cole Purvis | @Cole_Purvis
Syracuse softball (22-16, 3-12 ACC) came into Wednesday afternoon’s matchup with Cornell (13-11, 4-5 Ivy League) with hopes of gaining some momentum before heading back into another road ACC series. However, the Big Red kept the Orange stuck in the mud, winning 2-1 in Ithaca.=
Deadlocked at 1-1 since the second inning, Cornell catcher Lauren Holt hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to put the Big Red up 2-1.\
The ‘Cuse hopped out to an early lead in the second when third baseman Kelly Breen hit a sacrifice fly which scored George Washington transfer Rose Cano, who got the start on the bump for SU, and was also in the batting lineup.
With a 1-0 cushion, Cano gave that run back quickly. In the bottom of the second, a ‘Cuse error at first base allowed Holt to score, knotting the game up at a run apiece.
From there, it was a stalemate, as neither team got a runner past second base in the bottom of the sixth inning. Then, in the bottom of the sixth, it was Holt delivering the kill shot. She blasted a home run over the left field fence, finally breaking a tie, and giving Cornell a 2-1 lead that it would not surrender.
Syracuse now drops its second game of the season to an unranked, non-conference opponent, the other team being Quinnipiac. This is also the first time Cornell has beaten SU since 2013, and the first time the Big Red had scored a run on the Orange since 2018. Despite Syracuse not rolling out its typical starting lineup, this is a game SU would love to have back against a below .500 Ivy League team.
Syracuse can bounce back this weekend at Virginia. The first of three games in Charlottesville at Friday at 4 p.m. For live updates, you can follow me on X @Cole_Purvis.
