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Syracuse arrived in Lynchburg, Virginia, riding an ugly two-game losing streak. The Orange were outscored 23-0 in two mercy-ruled contests against No. 2 Texas and Ohio State.

But Day 1 of the Liberty Softball Classic, which Syracuse (6-4, Atlantic Coast) swept with 5-3 wins over Toledo (1-9, MAC) and Liberty (3-9, Conference USA), brought hope that the Orange can iron out their inconsistencies going forward.

With the everyday right fielder and SU’s best bat last year, Madelyn Lopez, out with an injury, the Orange mixed up their lineup for their morning game against Toledo. Four starters — designated player Harmony Jackson, catcher Taylor Davison, third baseman Kaylee Eubanks, and shortstop Erika Zamora — entered the contest with fewer than 10 plate appearances this season.

The new bats helped jumpstart a dormant offense that had gone 11 innings without scoring. Jackson singled to left field in the bottom of the first against the Rockets, driving in lead-off hitter Jadyn Burney to give SU an early 1-0 lead.

The quartet combined for three hits, two walks, eight total bases, two runs and four RBIs against Toledo. Head coach Shannon Doepking elected to keep the same lineup against Liberty.

An inning and a half into that second game, though, Syracuse looked on the cusp of crumbling yet again.

SU’s earlier win over Toledo wasn’t without red flags that had become familiar over the first two weeks of the season.

Heading into the weekend, Syracuse had already accumulated 14 defensive errors. It added two more against Toledo, and as has been a theme, struggled to turn base runners into outs.

Toledo tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the third inning when Eli Enriquez crossed home following a Lauren Fox throwing error. In the top of the fifth, the Rockets evened the score again when a second throwing error, this time by Zamora, kept the inning going. Syracuse followed with a wild pitch to advance Toledo runners to second and third, a Jackie Pengel walk to load the bases and a Jenna Gober single into centerfield to bring in two more runs.

In the bottom of the first against Liberty, Syracuse starter Julianna Verni struggled with command. Her inaccuracy drew Davison out of her stance behind the dish three times, and a two-out, four-pitch walk gave the Flames their first base runner of the afternoon, setting the table for Savannah Jesse’s RBI double one at-bat later.

Then came another RBI double, putting Liberty up 2-0. It was a weak routine pop-up that plopped down in shallow left field. Both Burney and Zamora closed in on the slow-falling, potential inning-ending out. Then Burney stutter-stepped and stumbled to her left, allowing the ball to fall to the grass, and another run crossed home plate.

In the next half inning, all three Syracuse batters were sat down. The second and third outs were both on fly balls into left-center.

Syracuse’s rough start against Liberty was followed by a performance that proved SU had fixed its recent problems.

It started at the top of the third, during which Syracuse took a 3-2 lead thanks to a perfectly placed Burney bunt that trickled past home plate to fill the bases. Pinch-runner Peyton Schemmer beat the throw home off a Jackson infield ground ball, while Gabby Lantier tagged up at third to score off a Vanessa Flores fly out to right. Fox then walked with the bases loaded.

In the field, the Orange went errorless the rest of the way. Burney made a leaping snag of a line drive hit deep into left field. And on a routine pop-up in shallow left in the bottom of the fourth, that three SU fielders went for, Burney came down with it.

In the circle, Verni gained control of her pitches and began attacking the zone. Between her, Knight (who relieved Verni versus LU), and Pengel (who started in the Toledo tilt), nearly 62% of Syracuse pitchers’ deliveries were strikes.

SU batters regularly went down in counts against Liberty, but battled back, fouling off would-be put-away pitches to drive up Flames starter Gabby Mike to 114 pitches into the seventh inning.

The Orange hit three home runs between their two games Friday. Knight and Davison slugged solo shots over the fence in the fourth inning against Toledo, while it was Kaimi Tulua’s two-run shot in the top of the seventh that proved the difference against Liberty. Davison added a double and triple on the day, both against LU.

It’s not a new formula. Doepking has been preaching a simple, opportunistic offensive approach that employed slap-hitting, bunts, pinch runners, stolen bases and sacrifice flies to manufacture just enough runs to win games kept close by quality pitching and defense.

The Orange, finally, executed.

Published on February 20, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Contact Gabe: gfewen@syr.edu