Syracuse Comes Back to Defeat North Carolina, 7-5

Through two-and-a-half innings, it seemed it was same old ‘Cuse, falling behind 4-0 to North Carolina. Then, the floodgates finally opened, and the Orange executed a Tar Heel takedown, winning 7-5 in game one of the series. The key to today’s win? Resilience.

“I’m super proud of them. It’s been a tough stretch for us, so it was really, really good to see them start throwing some punches. I think the identity of this team is, I think, we are a tough team, right, and so, our ability to just sit and do hard things right now, you know, and who knows what tomorrow is going to bring, but, you know, it’s gonna be something that’s gonna be really important as we continue is that on any given day we could be really good or we could be really, really bad. But, that piece of the game is something that should be constant for us is that we keep throwing punches.”

For freshman Kaimi Tulua, it was all about being opportunistic at the plate. The pinch-hitter came up with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning, and hit a 2-RBI double.

“You know, just going up there, trying to help my team out, really, you know, hard hits, I know that it would help my team, just getting through, getting on, either that was a double, a single, whatever it was, a walk, I knew that I had the opportunity and coach called my name, so I had to deliver for my team.”

This was a win the Orange desperately needed, coming into today just 1-8 in conference play. And now, Syracuse can take the series in game two. First pitch in that one is tomorrow at 1pm.