SB : SU falls in doubleheader vs. Irish to extend losing streak to 5
The Notre Dame softball team waited at home plate to greet Heather Johnson. Her solo home run to right field in the third inning put the Irish back up by a run after Syracuse evened the score in the previous frame.
The Fighting Irish players waved their fingers in a circular motion, signifying another run scored as Johnson rounded the bases, while SU pitcher Jenna Caira kicked the dirt in frustration. Heading back to the dugout, the team chanted, ‘Oh yeah, oh yeah,’ followed by ‘Irish, Irish, Irish.’
Notre Dame (26-7, 5-0 Big East) repeated the same routine after each run the team scored against Syracuse (24-10, 3-5 Big East) in a doubleheader Sunday. The Irish scored early and often to sweep the Orange, winning 9-2 in game one and 7-4 in game two.
Syracuse head coach Leigh Ross knew coming into the series that Notre Dame boasted a potent lineup. Five Irish starters were hitting above .350 for the year — a big reason for its .305 batting average as a team, second best in the Big East. Ross said it showed Sunday.
‘The balls that they were hitting were not mis-hit,’ Ross said. ‘I mean, even their slappers, their leadoff kids, could hit. They’re a good, solid swinging team.’
The vaunted Notre Dame lineup took advantage of an off day for Caira (15-8). The Syracuse ace allowed 12 runs on 16 hits in eight innings of work to take both losses.
Caira said she never found a comfort zone in the circle all day. After the first game, Caira said she tried to clear her head as she warmed up in the bullpen.
And she felt confident after retiring the Irish in order in the first inning of game two.
‘I felt really good,’ Caira said. ‘And then momentum was on our side, but it could automatically bounce back the next inning.’
The momentum did shift when Irish cleanup hitter Dani Miller led off the second inning with a line-drive homer over the center-field wall that hit the team bus. Shortstop Katie Fleury followed with a double off the left-field wall, and she scored two batters later on another double down the left-field line.
First baseman Kelly Saco’s two-run home run in the bottom of the second tied the game and gave Caira a fresh start. But Johnson’s home run quickly put SU behind again.
Caira made a mistake, and Johnson made her pay. It was one of many on the day for the SU pitcher. Caira couldn’t get an effective spin on her drop ball.
‘I was frustrated because my drop ball was more of a fastball today,’ Caira said. ‘And anyone can hit a fastball.’
Ross said Caira had to adjust after her drop ball wasn’t being called for a strike down in the zone early on. The head coach said Caira started to overthrow and overcompensate to throw the pitch for a strike.
‘You start making adjustments, and then you start bringing it up a little too high,’ Ross said. ‘Then you start thinking a little too much.’
The frustration continued for Caira after that home run. She walked the next batter and watched as her middle infield nearly turned a double play on a groundball by Fleury to get out of the inning. Instead, the umpire called Fleury safe on a bang-bang play at first base.
Then Fleury stole second base and scored on a hard-hit single that skimmed off Saco’s glove and into the outfield. Notre Dame never trailed again. The Irish knocked Caira out of the game in the fourth after a line-drive double to center scored two more runs.
Junior right fielder Lisaira Daniels said SU knew Notre Dame was a top team in the Big East, and it proved that in two convincing wins over the Orange. Daniels said the Irish lineup was impressive.
‘Everything they hit was either in the gap or it was over (the wall),’ Daniels said.
The team’s offensive struggles, coupled with Caira’s off day, made it tough for the Orange. Caira has been sharp all season, but she made too many mistakes against a talented hitting team.
‘They’re great hitters and they’re going to jump on that mistake,’ Caira said. ‘And that’s what caused that to happen.’
