Syracuse Bats Fall Silent as Hoosier Homers Carry No. 24 Indiana to Victory
By Tom Russo
CitrusTV Softball Beat Reporter
DURHAM, N.C. – A day after hanging an 11-spot on Penn State, Syracuse (2-6, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) could only muster a single unearned run against No. 24 Indiana (9-0, 0-0 Big 10), as the Orange fell 5-1 to the Hoosiers.
The unearned run came in the third, as Alicia Hansen, who picked up two of the five SU hits in the game, scored when Indiana left fielder Mikayla Ferrari couldn’t field Bryce Holmgren’s single cleanly.
After the Holmgren single, Syracuse managed only one more hit over the final four frames. The Orange did get five walks, but all five base runners were left stranded.
The bright side for SU was freshman pitcher Peyton Schnackenberg, who held the Hoosiers to only one run through four and two-thirds innings in her first career start for Syracuse.
But in the top of the fifth, Indiana’s Camryn Woodall put the barrel on the ball and sent her first collegiate home run sailing all the way over the left field wall to give the Hoosiers a 2-1 lead.
The next batter, Katie Lacefield, followed Woodall out of the yard with a solo shot to straightaway center field to give Indiana a 3-1 lead. Schnackenberg was pulled from the mound as a result.
A Maddie Westmoreland double and Grayson Radcliffe single would give the Hoosiers two more runs in the sixth and Josie Wood picked up her first save of the season, allowing only one base runner in her two and a third innings of work.
This marks the fifth time in the first eight games where Syracuse has failed to score more than three runs, as the Orange offense has come and gone seemingly at random.
As a team, Syracuse is hitting a frigid .196 through the first two weekends of the season. Only one player who has at least ten at-bats, Holmgren (.438), is hitting better than .250, while four of the regular starters, Alex Acevedo, Gabby Teran, Lailoni Mayfield and Toni Martin are all hitting .150 or worse.
Syracuse will look to revive the bats next weekend at the Bubly Invitational, which on starts Friday, February 22nd, with a double-header against Illinois State and Florida A&M.
twrusso@syr.edu | @TomRusso24
