Syracuse Battles the Weather and Strong Clemson Pitching in 10-0 Loss

What do Syracuse softball and the weather have in common? Neither were very good today. SU’s offense had the clamps put on it in a 10-0 shutout loss to Clemson. Tigers pitcher Brooke McCubbin recorded a season-high 12 Ks in the win. Syracuse head coach Shannon Doepking describes the challenges that McCubbin presented to her offense.

“I think that we needed to pick a pitch, right? You can’t get stuck in the middle on a kid that’s throwing high-60s with a really, really good off-speed, right, so our inability to pick one or the other and getting stuck in the middle, I think, was a huge difference today.

“Yeah I think the frustration level is really high right now. I think it’s been high all ACC play, so, I think it’s gonna be just staying the course, staying in the fight. This is softball, it’s hard, if it were easy, people would be hitting .300 every other day, so we just gotta stay the course and continue to try to have an approach and try to be committed to something.

Starting pitcher Julianna Verni: “I think the same thing: you gotta be tough. When you’re getting knocked down like this, you have to respond and be able to be tough. Be tough, be gritty, and just be competitive.”

The Syracuse offense has scored just one run in its last two games. Tomorrow is an opportunity for Clemson to bring the brooms out. With the win, the Tigers will pick up an ACC sweep of the Orange. That game begins at noon. For live coverage, you can follow me on X @Cole_Purvis, as well as @CitrusTVSports. For now though, reporting from Skytop Softball Stadium, Cole Purcis, CitrusTV.