SU Takes Down Virginia to Win Weekend Series
By Sam Rothman
Syracuse (15-8, 4-2 Atlantic Coast) sought revenge after falling to Virginia (9-19, 1-5) in extra innings on Saturday. The Orange held on in a back and forth duel to defeat the Cavaliers 9-6 in nine innings and win the weekend series on Sunday.
SU struck first for the third time against UVA. Bryce Holmgren, who leads the ACC with a .507 batting average, recorded an RBI double to drive in Alicia Hansen for the first run of the game.
However, Syracuse would not hold onto the lead for long. In the third, freshman pitcher Miranda Hearn gave up her first hit of the game. Hayley Busby hit a two-out solo homerun to put Virginia on the board. On the following pitch, Danni Ingraham recorded another solo home-run for the Cavaliers. Virginia grabbed the 2-1 advantage for its first lead of the weekend series.
Lacey Smith, who became the hero with her game-winning home run on Saturday, was up to bat next with two outs. Hearn surrendered her third straight hit to Smith who doubled and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Before today’s contest, Hearn had recorded six strikeouts so far this season. Through just three innings of play on Sunday, she already had four. The freshman added another strikeout to end the inning and got out of the jam with the Cavaliers up by just one run.
With the bases loaded and one out, Faith Cain pinch hit for Gianna Carideo in the fourth. The senior was hit by a pitch and brought home Holmgren. Toni Martin was also hit by a pitch on the following play, allowing Neli CasaresMaher to score and the Orange regained the lead.
Once again, Syracuse would quickly lose the advantage. Virginia responded with two more runs in the bottom of the inning to go up 4-3.
The Orange tied the game again at four as Holmgren capitalized on a Virginia fielding error in the fifth. With just one out in the inning, Mayfield and CasaresMaher both ran home off of Hearn’s RBI single to grab the 6-4 advantage.
Virginia started crawling its way back into the game in the fifth with its third home run of the day. After giving up two runs in the fourth, Lacey Smith hit the leadoff home run to cut into Syracuse’s lead.
In the sixth inning, Virginia tied the game at six as Allison Davis scored off of an RBI groundout. Both teams couldn’t convert in the final inning, and extra innings were needed to decide the outcome.
Hannah Dossett led off the ninth inning with a walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Gianna Carideo recorded an RBI double to drive in Dossett, while Carideo crossed home off of Hansen’s double. Toni Martin scored the final run for the Orange on Sammy Fernandez’s sacrifice bunt. Virginia had two runners on base in the bottom of the inning, but the Cavaliers couldn’t get it done. Syracuse grinded out the win in a game that saw five lead changes.
The Orange is back at it on Friday as it begins its three-game series at Florida State at 6 p.m.
