Syracuse Blows Out Virginia 8-2, Moves on to Quarterfinals
By: Adam Gotkin | @adam_gotkin
South Bend, I.N – In its 50th game of the season today, Syracuse softball demolished Virginia 8-2. The game didn’t start well for the Orange. After three innings of play, Virginia led 2-0. Then, Madison Knight stepped up to the plate with Laila Alves on first and blasted a two-run home run to tie the game. In the ensuing inning, Knight hit a ball hard to second, which caused an error and allowed Angel Jasso to score.
Syracuse added on three more runs in the sixth inning and two runs in the seventh. Even though the ‘Cuse scored eight runs, they also missed a number of opportunities. The Orange left 14 runners on base. In four different innings, SU left the bases loaded. Angel Jasso and Laila Alves both had three hits on the day. Rebecca Clyde reached base twice on walks.
Madison Knight didn’t have her most dominant outing in the circle, but it was enough to get the job done. The freshman only struck out four batters and walked four. However, allowing just six total hits and one extra-base hit was enough to let just two runners cross home.
The win is just the second ACC Tournament victory for Syracuse softball. The first win came last year. Now, the focus has turned to Syracuse looking to make it to the semifinals for the first time ever. That won’t be an easy feat though.
Tomorrow, Syracuse takes on Florida State, which is ranked third in the nation. The Seminoles went 22-2 in the conference. FSU outscored SU 23-1 when these teams met in the regular season in early March. Florida State won two of the three games by way of the run rule. First pitch is at 11 a.m.
ajgotkin@syr.edu | @adam_gotkin
