Syracuse swept by UNC in doubleheader, falls to 2-10 in ACC play
Syracuse's pitching broke down in its doubleheader against North Carolina, wasting a 15-run, 23-hit performance from its offense. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Few things have been constant in 2025 for Syracuse. Its pitching staff was one of the most dominant units in the nation through nonconference play, but the Orange have since regressed. SU’s offense has put up 15-plus runs in multiple games, yet entered its series with North Carolina averaging under two runs per contest in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Still, it’s been relatively clear how Syracuse can win games. The starters need to dominate, the defense needs to keep opponents off the board early and the offense needs to provide moderate run support. The most important piece of the puzzle is the run support, though; entering the weekend, the Orange were 12-0 when scoring five or more runs in a game.
However, a breakout offensive performance wasn’t enough for Syracuse (21-13, 2-10 ACC) to top North Carolina (28-9, 8-4 ACC) in either game of Sunday’s doubleheader. The Orange fell 11-6 in game one and 10-9 in a 10-inning game two. Despite Sunday’s tallies being the most and third-most runs SU had scored in an ACC matchup this season, the Tar Heels’ late-game heroics doomed Syracuse twice.
“When (UNC) needed a clutch moment, they came through, and when we needed a clutch moment, we didn’t,” SU designated player Vanessa Flores said.
Game one began with the Orange surrendering early. Julianna Verni toed the rubber for SU, but gave up an RBI single to Carlie Myrtle to put Syracuse in an early hole. The Orange responded, though, as Taylor Posner and Tessa Galipeau reached base before Flores blasted a three-run homer to give SU a 3-1 advantage.
However, allowing big innings had been a major contributor to Syracuse’s 2-8 start to conference play. It plagued SU again on Sunday as North Carolina tallied five runs in the second inning. First, Shelby Barbee doubled to score Raeghan Carlson. Lexi Roberts, Kat Rodriguez and Sanaa Thompson all followed with run-scoring singles, extending the lead to 6-3 through an inning and a half.
Syracuse erased the deficit in the middle innings. Jadyn Burney scored on a throwing error in the second, Kaimi Tulua ripped an RBI single in the third, and Madelyn Lopez knotted the game in the fifth with a one-run single. Despite uncharacteristic struggles in the circle, SU was making up for it at the plate.
“(UNC) sequenced every pitch,” Flores said. “When you’re not changing it up, it allows us hitters to go in with a great game plan and allows us to succeed in those moments.”
In the seventh inning, though, Syracuse’s pitching problems caught up to it. Madison Knight entered the game for Rose Cano after Cano allowed two one-out singles. Knight hit Rodriguez with the bases loaded to give UNC the lead. Next, Thompson blasted a grand slam to put the Tar Heels up by five.
SU stranded two runners on base in the bottom half of the frame, and North Carolina held onto the advantage for a game one victory.
“Coming down to the last few innings, they got the job done and we didn’t,” Flores said. “We left a lot of runners on in those situations.”
The first inning of game two went nearly identically, with the Tar Heels adding a run early and the Orange responding with three. Rodriguez drove in Roberts to open the scoring for UNC, but Posner, Laila Morales-Alves and Lopez plated runs in the bottom half to put SU up 3-1.
Knight, who started game two, sat the Tar Heels down in order in the second and third innings but ran into trouble in the middle frames.
In the fourth inning, Rayna Blackwell ripped an RBI single with the bases loaded, and Grace Jackson cleared them with a three-run double. UNC continued to attack in the fifth, as Myrtle blasted a three-run homer to right-center. The Tar Heels led 8-3 through five.
Syracuse erased the advantage in the sixth. The Orange tallied five runs via singles by Tulua and Kelly Breen, RBI walks by Flores and Posner and a sacrifice fly by Galipeau. The five-run comeback showed the character SU has rarely displayed when down big in ACC play.
“We showed fight throughout the whole game,” Flores said.
The game went to extra innings knotted at 8-8. SU had many chances to walk it off and got baserunners on in each inning.
In the eighth, Syracuse stranded two runners with a chance to capture the win. Morales-Alves was narrowly thrown out at first with two outs, leaving the potential winning run on third.
Both teams scored in the ninth. Rodriguez teed off of Verni for a go-ahead solo shot in the top of the frame, but Burney drove in the tying run on a pop fly to center field.
In the 10th, though, a leadoff single by Myrtle allowed Barbee to knock home the go-ahead run with a two-out single. Galipeau singled through the right side with one out in the bottom half, but a groundout and a foul out sealed the defeat for SU.
“It’s obviously been tough for us,” Flores said. “We obviously want to come out and win, but we still have a lot of season left. This whole season could get turned around within a game or two.”
