Sammy Fernandez Shines in Syracuse’s 4-2 Win Against Cornell
By Sam Rothman
Softball Beat Reporter
Heading into Syracuse’s matchup against Cornell (13-24, 8-10 Ivy League), SU was 8-1 against in-state foes and had won seven straight non-conference games. The Orange (29-19, 9-12 ACC) continued its dominance against New York state rivals with a 4-2 win on Monday against the Big Red.
Syracuse wasted no time getting on the board. Sammy Fernandez started things off with a single on the Orange’s first at-bat of the game. The senior then scored on a wild pitch to give SU the early 1-0 lead. But with just one out in the first, Syracuse was not done yet. Bryce Holmgren stole second and advanced to third on the wild pitch. The outfielder then crossed home on Gabby Teran’s RBI single for the 2-0 advantage.
But, Cornell responded immediately. Just as senior Sammy Fernandez scored the first run for her team in the top of the inning, senior Megan Murray did the same for the Big Red. Murray doubled to right field and then scored on a fielding error to cut Syracuse’s lead in half. And just like the Orange, the Big Red then added another run. With the bases loaded, Olivia Lam recorded an RBI single to tie the game at two.
SU regained the lead in the third, and once again, it was Fernandez who got it done for the Orange. After grabbing her second single of the day, the senior stole second and scored on Holmgren’s sac-fly for the 3-2 advantage, a lead Syracuse wouldn’t let up again.
In the fifth, Fernandez once again provided the spark for the Syracuse offense. For the third time on Monday, the shortstop got things going with a single and then scored on Teran’s RBI groundout. Just last week, Fernandez became Syracuse’s all-time multi-hit games leader with two hits against Siena. On Monday, the senior ended the day 3-for-4 and scored three runs. Freshman Gabby Teran recorded two RBI and now ranks second on the Orange in multiple-run games with seven.
Syracuse’s regular season comes to a close on Wednesday with a doubleheader against Colgate at Skytop Softball Stadium. Sitting at 29 wins, the Orange is looking to grab its second straight 30-win season. Head Coach Mike Bosch led SU to a 31-19 record in 2017, which was the program’s first 30-win season since 2012.
@samrothman_ | sbrothma@syr.edu
