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After logging its worst season opener in nearly two decades against Binghamton and South Carolina, then having to claw back from a 5-0 deficit to Winthrop, Syracuse has enhanced the definition of a slow start.

The Orange entered Friday having never allowed double-digit runs in a first inning. It had endured just one inning of 10-plus runs, which came in the fourth against then-No. 6 Florida State on March 17, 2023. After Friday, you can add another inning to both counts.
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Syracuse (4-3, Atlantic Coast) let No. 2 Texas (6-1, Southeastern) plate 10 runners to begin its 14-0 drubbing from the defending national champions. A few hours earlier, SU struggled to pull away from Abilene Christian (0-10, Western Athletic) in Friday’s matinee but prevailed in a 2-1 win.

Although ACU’s Leah Meyer took the Orange down in a 1-2-3 first inning, Madison Knight responded with one of her own, allowing SU’s offense to quickly find its footing in the bottom of the frame.

Vanessa Flores walked before her pinch runner, Sophia Taliaferro, stole second. Taylor Davison failed to contribute, but Lauren Fox took first when ACU’s Emerson Meggers made a fielding error. Milija Seaton singled, loading the bases for the Orange.

Kendall Gaunt drew a walk, allowing Taliaferro to score. With the bases loaded, one run already in, just one out and two of their most consistent hitters due up, the Orange appeared primed for a rally.

But it never materialized.

Kaimi Tulua, whose three-run homer spearheaded a comeback against Winthrop last Sunday, struck out. Two pitches later, Madelyn Lopez, SU’s 2025 leader in batting average (.430), on-base plus slugging (1.072) and slugging percentage (.563), flied out to left field.

Lopez wouldn’t touch a base once against ACU. No player on the Orange finished with more than one hit, and they had to rely heavily on the pitching circle.

ACU’s Emalee Romero grounded out on a full count to begin the third, before Knight notched her second of five strikeouts by catching Audrey Lacina swinging.

Kyana Lipardo flied out to center field, but Syracuse still couldn’t fully capitalize on its chances at the plate. A Jadyn Dawson gaffe at first gifted Jadyn Burney the base, and Burney advanced to third when Knight singled.

But in the same fashion as the first, SU’s batters faltered in the moment they needed to deliver.

Flores, Davison and Fox all failed to drive in a run. In eight pitches, the Orange went from threatening home with no outs to sitting in the dugout, waiting for Knight to get them back to the plate. Syracuse had been poised for a scoring run twice, and both times it played down to its opponent’s level.

The pattern persisted in the two subsequent innings.

Neither Knight nor Meyer faced over four hitters in the fourth and fifth, as both offenses stalled. Dawson and Ari Maxwell logged singles for the Wildcats, while only a Burney bunt got through ACU’s defense.

Fittingly, the Wildcats punished the Orange for their missed chances at the top of the sixth. After never getting a runner past second base all game, Lipardo opened the inning with a single, eventually finding her way to third thanks to sacrifice flies from Ciana Arguijo and Meggers.

A rare wild pitch from Knight — only her 16th in 410.1 career innings — sent Lipardo home and put ACU on the board.

Dawson lined out on the next at-bat, and the SU offense finally performed how it previously needed to.

A Rose Cano single and Kiara Bellido’s first career double were enough to push Fox into scoring position in the next inning. Gaunt’s subsequent flyout gave Fox the green light to reach home.

Knight closed out the pitching duel in the top of the seventh, and the Orange walked away clean. Knight’s performance held the score at 1-0 just long enough for SU’s offense to get its gears turning and sneak the win over ACU.

Syracuse never got going against Texas.

After just nine pitches from Jackie Pengel, the Longhorns already had the bases loaded, and SU’s infield gathered on the mound to converse with Pengel.

Reese Atwood’s grounder hit Pengel’s shin, and she hesitated when deciding to throw to first or home, allowing both Atwood and Asthon Maloney to reach safely to put the Longhorns on the board.

The mistake kick-started a merry-go-round of Longhorn scoring. Texas brought 15 batters to the plate in the first inning, and seven of its nine hitters reached base. Katie Stewart and Alisa Sneed, the two who didn’t touch a bag, both hit sacrifices to drive in runs.

SU head coach Shannon Doepking pulled Pengel after 39 pitches, and Julianna Verni closed the bottom of the first for the Orange.

SU’s offense logged three hits in the eventual five-inning mercy-rule win, and Verni never let up over two runs in the frames following the first. The Orange even closed the third inning with its first double play of the season.

Perhaps the most niche silver lining from SU’s otherwise abysmal showing is that it held the Longhorns inside the park all game.

Texas averaged 2.6 homers per game going into its outing with the Orange. An Atwood knock in the fourth hit the Red & Charline McCombs Field wall, but none got over.

The fact of the matter is, the game was over after that first inning. Syracuse never got a runner past second base, and its .158 average at the plate was nowhere near Texas’ .520.

By the third inning, Longhorns head coach Mike White began rearranging his batting order and field positions to give younger players more playing time.

To succeed, a team has to have the chance to compete. Bypassing the eight-run mercy rule threshold in the first inning shut the door before it was even open.

Published on February 14, 2026 at 1:34 am
Contact Peter: peterhradosh@gmail.com