Early struggles hinder Syracuse in doubleheader sweep to Georgia Tech
Syracuse was hindered by early struggles in its doubleheader sweep to Georgia Tech on Friday. SU has now lost four straight games. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor
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Syracuse softball has struggled early in games. In most conference games, opposing teams have established quick leads that they never relinquish. Georgia Tech followed this model when hosting the Orange for a doubleheader.
As a result, Syracuse (21-15, 2-12 Atlantic Coast) dropped both games to the Yellow Jackets (24-14, 9-5 Atlantic Coast). SU fell 11-5 in game one, then 4-3 in game two. The Orange have now lost four straight games after losing both games of their doubleheader versus North Carolina on Wednesday.
Georgia Tech took an early lead in the first game, scoring its first run in the bottom of the second inning on a Julianna Verni wild pitch, which Addison Leschber scored on.
From there, the Yellow Jackets scored again in the fourth inning when Eliana Gottlieb hit a sacrifice fly to center field, moving the score to 2-0.
Though SU quickly responded, as Lauren Fox got on base to start the inning before Taylor Posner homered down the left field line to tie the score 2-2.
However, GT quickly broke the game open in the bottom of the frame after the Orange failed to tack on another run. With runners on the corners, Georgia Tech re-gained the lead off another Verni wild pitch.
Then, three consecutive doubles from Grace Connelly, Leschber and Gottlieb extended GT’s lead to 6-2. To cap the inning, the Yellow Jackets tacked on two more runs, extending their lead to 8-2.
Syracuse loaded the bases in the top of the sixth, looking to chip into its deficit. A Kayla Sigala walk started a comeback effort, cutting the score to 8-3. The ensuing batter, Vanessa Flores, singled, adding another run. Yet that’s all the Orange managed before the game spiraled in the bottom of the frame, as GT added three runs to extend its lead to 11-4 en route to an 11-5 win.
Georgia Tech carried its momentum from game one to game two, scoring four first-inning runs to take a lead it never relinquished.
While Syracuse scored three runs in the top of the fourth, which all came off errors, it never overcame its four-run first-inning deficit. Though SU pitcher Madison Knight struggled in the opening frame and with her command (seven walks to three strikeouts), she silenced the Yellow Jackets for the remainder of the game.
But the Orange couldn’t materialize anything at the plate, leading to their fourth straight loss.
