Syracuse Swept by No. 19 Stanford to Open Up ACC Play
Photo Credit: Cuse.com / SU Athletics
Sunday, Mar 09, 2025 at 6:55 pm by
Sports Editor
By Cole Purvis | @Cole_Purvis
PALO ALTO, CA – After blazing through non-conference play, Syracuse softball (16-6, 0-3 ACC) saw its strong play come to a screeching halt this weekend. SU lost to Stanford (17-3, 5-1 ACC) 9-0 on Sunday, being swept out in Palo Alto. This defeat was the worst of the season for the ‘Cuse, who were mercy-ruled for the first time all year.
With ace Madison Knight on the mound for Syracuse, the Orange seemed to be going all-in on winning the last game of the series and avoiding the sweep. However, things went downhill fairly quickly.
Sluggish starts plagued coach Shannon Doepking’s team in the first two contests out west, and things were no different in game three. The Orange did not record a hit until the fourth inning when Madelyn Lopez’s single broke the no-hitter that Cardinal pitcher Zoe Prystajko had going. Prystajko was lights out, tossing five innings, only allowing two SU hits. Senior Kylie Chung, who saw work in the previous two games, came on for the save.
The Orange seemed to dodge a bullet in the bottom of the second when they only gave up one run despite the bases loaded with nobody out. However, the missed opportunity didn’t cost Stanford too much, as the Cardinal tallied two runs in their half of the third on two RBI singles off the bats of freshman Joie Economides and sophomore Jade Berry, making it 3-0.
Syracuse continued to dig a hole for itself. When freshman Sydney Jackson came on in relief of Knight, she gave up three runs in the fourth. Infielder River Mahler batted two of those runs in with a double to right. The mistakes compounded for the SU pitchers, as Jackson allowed a solo homer to Berry, making it 6-0.
In the sixth, Stanford would tack on a few more to reach the mercy rule threshold. With junior Julianna Verni now throwing for the ‘Cuse, Berry hit her second homer of the day, this time a three-run blast, making it 9-0, ending the game.
Syracuse finds themselves behind the 8-ball after one series of conference play, but Stanford is a ranked squad and one of the tougher challenges the Orange will face this year. That being said, potentially an even tougher test awaits them next week. SU travels to Durham to face No. 16 Duke.
For live updates of that series, follow @Cole_Purvis and @CitrusTVSports on X.
