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Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Syracuse had the chance to take control of its matchup with No. 15 Virginia Tech. After Olivia Pess was struck out by VT’s Emma Lemley, Madison Knight forced a walk. Laila Morales-Alves moved Knight to third after a single, giving the Orange a chance to gain the lead back.

Syracuse didn’t waste the chance this time as Makenzie Foster knocked a single up the middle, scoring Knight to put SU in front 2-1.

“We knew they (Virginia Tech) are a good hitting team, we knew they were gonna hit a home run coming in,” Knight said. “So, I think it’s just letting them do that and reacting to that and not letting it get to us.”

In Syracuse’s (24-20, 6-13 Atlantic Coast Conference) series opener against Virginia Tech (37-10, 17-5 ACC), the Orange stunned the Hokies. SU let up just five hits as it held on for a 2-1 win, its first ranked victory since 2022. The win helps improve Syracuse’s chances of sealing a spot in the ACC Tournament.

Angel Jasso entered Friday with a team-best .401 batting average and was coming off a four-hit and three-RBI performance in SU’s double-header against Le Moyne. She continued her hot streak in the first inning, ripping the ball into center field for a single. Yet Syracuse’s offense stalled out and finished the inning scoreless.

But the Orange got on the board the next inning. Knight, who hit two home runs last weekend against Pittsburgh, hit another one to give Syracuse a 1-0 lead.

In the third inning, Posner committed an error with two outs which resulted in a double for Virginia Tech, but the Orange stayed composed. Lindsey Hendrix hit Addy Greene the next at-bat, but she then forced Bre Peck to ground out and end the inning.

And while VT’s Cori McMillan responded powerfully with a solo home run in the top of the fourth inning to tie up the game, Hendrix finished out the inning with a strikeout.

“Honestly, coming into the game I knew (Hendrix) was gonna hold it down because she is a senior. So we just knew that. We’re just gonna have to be dominant on defense,” Jasso said.

After Foster put Syracuse in front in the bottom of the fourth, Syracuse’s defense remained strong to keep its lead. In the top of the fifth, Foster made a diving play in center field to record the second out, before catching another flyout to end the inning the next batter.

Though the Orange couldn’t extend its lead later on, strong pitching from Hendrix kept them in front. Kylie Aldridge flew out to Jasso in the top of the sixth inning before SU entered the seventh still leading 2-1.

After Trinity Martin worked a full count to start the seventh, Hendrix blew one past her for the first out. A walk put the tying run on base for Virginia Tech, but Annika Rhoas grounded out into a fielder’s choice for the second out. Greene then flew out to Posner in left to give Syracuse a massive victory over Virginia Tech.

“We just came in with a mentality of ‘why not us?’” Jasso said. “We’re at the bottom of ACC and they’re at the top. So it’s just coming in with that mentality of that we’re just going to attack the pitchers that we know we can hit and just come out guns blazing.”

Published on April 26, 2024 at 8:18 pm