Syracuse Softball on the Wrong End of a Clemson Offensive Explosion

Well today at Skytop Softball Stadium, Syracuse was demolished by the Clemson offense. And in the bottom of the fifth inning, all of the Orange’s problems really came to a head when Clemson hit back-to-back home runs over that wall right there in right field. Those were three of the eight runs that the Tigers scored en route to an 8-0 victory over SU. After the game, Orange head coach Shannon Doepking described the challenges that the Clemson offense presented to her squad.

“I mean they were on time from the jump. I think even when we did get out of it, like, they were still hitting the ball pretty hard, so, you just tip your caps to a team like that. We knew they were gonna hit the ball hard, that they were a good offensive team. Do I think Madison Knight can stack up, and do I think that was her best performance? No, I don’t think that was her best performance. I think we’ve gotta do better when we get up in counts, I think we had a lot of 0-2 hits today. Her ability to set up her pitches is really, really important against a team like that, and I think that’s an adjustment she can make. Every inning’s a battle. Pitching wise, we’ve been seeing some of the best arms in the country right now, offensively you can’t really make any mistakes or you’re obviously going to pay for those things. We know exactly what we’re getting into and I think we’re a better team than obviously what we showed today, so we’ve gotta clean some things up and I think that’s just us doing what we need to do and not worrying about what’s over there.”

Today marked the second largest defeat in ACC play for Syracuse. And, to be honest, conference play has not been too kind to the Orange, who now drop to 1-6 against ACC opponents. However, tomorrow is another opportunity for the pitching staff to tighten up its game. Syracuse hosts Clemson once again for game two of this three-game series, with first pitch at 2 p.m. For now though, reporting from Skytop Softball Stadium, Cole Purvis, CitrusTV.