Syracuse Finishes River City Leadoff With Win Over Jacksonville

By: Adam Gotkin | @adam_gotkin

JACKSONVILLE, FL – Opening weekend for Syracuse Softball was eventful to say the least. Day one featured a heartbreak and the Orange’s first win of the season. In between the first two games for the Cuse, a 4 hour-long rain delay. Day two never happened due to that rain. Both of Syracuse’s games yesterday were canceled, which led to a change in schedule. Instead of playing North Florida today, Syracuse played Jacksonville.

Both teams started slow offensively after a day off. In the first inning, both squads stranded runners on base then in the second inning, both the Orange and Dolphins went down in order. Syracuse went dormant from there. In the 3rd inning, the Cuse went down 1-2-3 again to make it seven outs in a row for Jacksonville. It took until the top of the 4th inning when the Orange got their first hit of the game from Madison Knight who ripped a double down the left field line. Knight later added on an RBI single. 

Syracuse finally got on the board in the 5th inning when Taylor Posner led off with a solo home run into left field. Later on, in the 6th inning, Yamila Evans pinch hit for Laila Alves and took advantage of her opportunity. In her first at bat of the season, the senior hit a three run home run, the first in her Syracuse career. That put Syracuse up 4-0. 

Knight didn’t just have a successful day offensively. She was also lights out on the mound. In her second start of the season, Knight pitched into the 6th inning scoreless. Eventually, she gave up one run in the circle. Lindsey Hendrix came in relief and gave up a run that went against Knights ERA. The Orange held on to win 5-2. 

Up next for Syracuse is the ACC-Big10 challenge next weekend in Raleigh, NC. The exact schedule hasn’t been released yet, but Syracuse will play Iowa and Purdue. Follow me on Twitter @adam_gotkin for all updates on the Syracuse softball team.