Syracuse Softball Off to Best Start In Team History
By Cole Purvis | @Cole_Purvis
COLUMBUS, GA – Heading into this weekend’s Columbus Classic tournament in Georgia, Syracuse softball was 5-0, doing it without hitting any home runs. Today, however, the Orange finally provided the long balls. In its first game, a 10-1 mercy rule victory over Long Island University, Syracuse hit three homers en route to its best offensive showing of the season.
Shortly after, SU took on Tennessee Tech, of the Ohio Valley Conference. Pitcher Madison Knight was too much for the Golden Eagles, blowing them away with a complete game shutout.
Bigger picture? How about the best start in program history? That’s right, the Orange are 7-0 for the first time ever. Let’s recap the day:
Game 1
After beating crosstown rival Le Moyne twice last week, Syracuse looked to conquer another New York foe, and that they did. The Orange jumped all over the Sharks, making contact early and often.
Catcher Laila Morales-Alves got the party started, hitting a 2 RBI double that drove in Kelly Breen and Madelyn Lopez. Junior Peyton Schemmer continued the first inning success, singling to bring home Alves.
The next inning, Syracuse put on a sudden display of power. As mentioned earlier, the Orange came into today with zero homers to their name. After the second inning, they would have two.
Madelyn Lopez blasted one over the fence in right-center, for her fifth collegiate homer. It was a three-run shot. The very next batter was shortstop Kelly Breen, whose solo shot made it 7-0 in just the second inning, making it clear we may be heading for a run-rule.
The Sharks could not stop the bleeding, as infielder Tessa Galipeau hit a two-run dinger in the bottom of the third, making it 9-0. SU just had to see one go over the wall for the floodgates to open. Everyone was getting in on the action.
Long Island would get one back in its half of the fourth, when sophomore Sophia Mariottini smacked an RBI single, halting any chances of an SU shutout. However, in the bottom of the fourth, Madison Knight, who pitched for the Orange in the second game, drew a bases loaded walk to make it a 10-spot for Syracuse.
Lost in the fold was Julianna Verni, who started in the circle for SU. Don’t let the offense overshadow her performance. The junior only allowed one run in four innings. Fellow junior Jackie Pengel closed it out in the fifth, and it was a 10-1 mercy rule win for the ‘Cuse.
Game 2
While Syracuse’s later game against Tennessee Tech didn’t showcase as many offensive fireworks, the Orange still got the job done.
The first two innings belonged to the pitchers, with SU’s Madison Knight and TTU’s Payton Wagner giving up a combined one hit between the two. In the bottom of the third, however, Syracuse struck first, and it was the seniors running the show. Taylor Posner hit her way on base, and Kelly Breen drove her in with a single, continuing the shortstop’s productive day.
In the fourth, Posner hit a dribbler between first and second. The ball stopped in no-man’s-land, and Posner was safe, driving in a run. With TTU caught sleeping, Posner looked to steal second. She miraculously escaped a rundown, was safe at second, and allowed another run to score. It was an adventure – in a good way – for the veteran.
Knight continued her dominance, securing the shutout, which goes down as the third of the year for SU. The Golden Eagles only managed three hits against her. The ace has looked convincing early on.
7-0 for the first time in program history sounds nice, but Syracuse has little time to dwell on it. Shannon Doepking’s team is back at it against these same Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles tomorrow at 3 p.m. from Columbus.
As always, you can follow me, @Cole_Purvis, as well as @CitrusTVSports on X for live updates.
