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No one would ever mistake Syracuse for a power-hitting team. Even in a season where the Orange got off to a program-best 11-0 start, they didn’t hit a home run until their sixth game. It was the first time that had happened since 2018.

Since then, the Orange have hit just 12 home runs, the second-worst mark among Atlantic Coast Conference teams. Only four players on SU’s roster have multiple long balls. Of those four, Madison Knight is the only one who’s hit more than two.

So heading into a matchup with Clemson, which entered with 39 home runs this season, Syracuse knew it was behind the eight ball in that department. But on Friday, SU couldn’t do anything to mitigate that fact.

“I think the stats (show) we’re not a very big power hitting team,” Knight said postgame. “I think (it’s) just knowing how we play the game, and knowing that we’re not gonna always get a home run to win the game.”

In its first home contest in conference play, Syracuse (19-9, 1-6 Atlantic Coast) fell 8-1 to Clemson (22-9, 4-3 Atlantic Coast). The Orange had zero extra-base hits throughout the day, while the Tigers notched five, chasing Knight from the game early on. It was Knight’s second start in which she was unable to pitch a complete game.

The first inning got off to a promising start for the Orange. Jadyn Burney reached on a weak knuckler to home plate, and she moved into scoring position after stealing second. But after Angie Ramos moved her to third with a sacrifice bunt, Laila Morales-Alves ended the inning with a groundout to second base.

With Clemson starter Reese Basinger wielding a 2.24 ERA entering the game, Knight knew she had to bring her best stuff in order to steal a win for the Orange. Unfortunately for SU, she couldn’t bring it into the second inning.

“Sometimes pitchers have their good stuff, sometimes they have their bad stuff,” Knight said. “I had my bad stuff today, (Basinger) had her good stuff.”

Aby Vieira led off the second by drawing a walk on a lengthy at-bat, but she was forced out on a fielder’s choice by Sam Minish. Minish successfully stole second base soon after. Now in scoring position, Minish easily scored on Kylee Johnson’s line drive single to center field.

Johnson’s hit was the second of 11 hits to the outfield for Clemson, an element that wasn’t present in Syracuse’s turns at the plate. A two-out walk by Jamison Brockenbrough gave Alex Brown an opportunity to add to the lead, and she followed with a single down the left field line to plate Johnson.

A subsequent double by Maddie Moore gave Clemson its first extra-base hit, and it drove in Brockenbrough and Brown to add two more runs to Clemson’s tally. When Knight finally struck out Julia Knowler to end the inning, SU was already down 4-0.

In the bottom of the second, Knight came up to the plate after a Kelly Breen strikeout, hoping to close the gap to keep Syracuse in the game. She hit a fly ball to center field, but it fell harmlessly in Brockenbrough’s mitt. After that, the Orange wouldn’t hit another ball into the outfield until the sixth inning.

“I think she had some down action, which would get the ground balls,” Knight said. “Honestly, where we were standing in the box, (we) could have had some issues with that.”

The next two innings were uneventful for both sides, as Knight settled into the circle and Basinger kept SU’s offense at bay. Outside of a Gabby Lantier infield single for SU, there was really nothing to write home about.

But once the fifth inning rolled around, the Tigers got a chance to truly demonstrate their power. Brown led off the frame by notching a single to right, her third hit of the game. Then, after Moore popped out, Knowler smacked her team-leading 10th home run of the season deep over the right field fence.

Before anyone could even blink, Macey Cintron followed with a home run of her own. The blast over the center field wall gave Clemson a 7-0 lead, and it ended Knight’s outing well before the seventh.

Sydney Jackson replaced her, but the damage was already done. She immediately gave up a double to Vieira, already Clemson’s fourth extra-base hit of the game. The Tigers added one more in the sixth inning, as Brown checked in with a double for her fourth hit on the day.

The Orange came alive in the sixth, with Ramos, Kayla Sigala and Tessa Galipeau each notching singles. Those were SU’s first three outfield hits all day, and it produced a run to stave off the run-rule. But at that point, it was too little, too late.

“If we can get more quality at-bats back to back, then we’ll be able to pile on more runs,” Knight said. “And if we did that earlier in the game, that game probably would have been a lot closer.”

Published on March 21, 2025 at 7:31 pm
Contact Mauricio: mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarSU