Syracuse falls 11-6 to No. 10 Florida State, swept to open ACC play
Despite a six-run fourth inning, Syracuse’s pitching and defense imploded in its 11-6 loss to No. 10 Florida State Sunday. Zabdyl Koffa | Staff Photographer
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Twenty-five to two.
Across its first two games against No. 10 Florida State Friday and Saturday, Syracuse was outscored 25-2. Both contests ended in the fifth inning as SU was run-ruled, and the Orange mustered just three hits in the two games.
To kick off Atlantic Coast Conference play Friday, Syracuse was dismantled 12-1. The Seminoles pounced on SU starting pitcher Julianna Verni for seven runs, as they scored three in the first inning and never looked back. The Orange walked six times but left seven runners on base in the loss.
Little, if anything, changed Saturday. SU was obliterated 13-1 in five innings. Starter Madison Knight was rocked for seven runs and relievers Rose Cano and Jackie Pengel didn’t fare any better. Syracuse committed multiple fielding blunders, recorded just two hits, and looked disengaged and lethargic all afternoon.
With No. 18 Virginia on tap next weekend, Syracuse’s gauntlet to open ACC play isn’t slowing down anytime soon. On Sunday against the Seminoles, SU had one last chance to salvage the series and avoid a sweep.
Unsurprisingly, it fell short. Syracuse (11-10, 0-3 ACC) lost 11-6 to Florida State (25-4, 3-0 ACC) Sunday, getting swept to open conference competition. SU made things interesting and cut FSU’s lead to 7-6 with a Jadyn Burney fourth-inning grand slam, but it wasn’t enough. Verni allowed six first-inning runs, and the Orange’s pitching staff imploded en route to getting outscored 36-8 across the series.
Syracuse was swept by then-No. 19 Stanford to open its conference slate in 2025. It was a disappointing result for a team that breezed through nonconference play, but two of the three games were at least competitive.
The Orange trailed Stanford 4-0 early in the first game, but fought back to make it 4-2 entering the seventh inning. SU even came within one run and had the bases loaded in the seventh, but couldn’t tie the game. Still, it was an encouraging sign Syracuse could perhaps hang with the ACC’s blue bloods.
The first two games of 2026 were a vastly different story, and early Sunday was no different.
SU’s offense entered Sunday with an ACC-worst .245 batting average, and it couldn’t hit FSU starter Bella Dimitrijevic early. The Orange went hitless in the first inning as Jadyn Burney grounded out and both Gabby Lantier and Knight struck out.
It took four innings for the Seminoles to blow the game open Friday. It took just two Saturday. So, how long would it take Sunday?
Not even one inning. SU couldn’t even record an out before the game was temporarily out of reach.
After an Isa Torres infield single, Jaysoni Beachum blasted a home run to deep center field to give the Seminoles a 2-0 lead. Beachum notched three hits in FSU’s win Friday, and her dominance continued early Sunday.
Two runs may not seem like an insurmountable deficit. But it proved to be for Syracuse. With the bases loaded and still nobody out, Ashtyn Danley broke the doors open with a grand slam to make it 6-0. Danley tossed four scoreless innings against the Orange Saturday, and she crushed the Orange from the other side Sunday.
Similar to Knight, Verni has regressed mightily in 2026. She came into Sunday’s contest with a porous 4.83 earned run average, allowed seven runs against then-No. 2 Texas on Feb. 13 and conceded seven more against the Seminoles Friday. Yet no outing was as disastrous as Sunday, when she didn’t even survive the first inning.
Shelby McKenzie, who homered Saturday, added another to extend FSU’s lead to 7-0. Based on how the series had gone to that point, one would expect Florida State to keep pouncing on Syracuse.
But that wasn’t the case.
The fourth inning started with a Vanessa Flores single and Taylor Davison walk. Then, Kaimi Tulua singled to shallow right field to score Syracuse’s first run. Dimitrijevic was relieved by Marlee Gaskell, and a Harmony Jackson walk made it 7-2.
FSU still had a five-run advantage. It didn’t need to panic and was still in prime position for a blowout victory.
Burney flipped the game on its head with one swing. With the bases still loaded, Syracuse’s hottest hitter smoked a ball deep into right and over the wall for a grand slam. Just like that, it was a ballgame for the first time all weekend, with the Seminoles leading just 7-6.
It was a celebratory moment for Burney, who entered Sunday with a .421 average. After she rounded the bases and pumped her fists, the Orange emptied their dugout to greet her with a group hug at home plate.
Other than scoring eight runs in the first inning of an 11-1 thrashing of UMBC on Feb. 28, it was Syracuse’s most productive frame of the year. From strong and patient plate discipline to timely hitting, the Orange were just a run away from tying the game
Knight was also cruising on the mound. Other than McKenzie’s homer, the senior held an explosive Seminoles offense in check.
Then the fifth inning came around. Much of the progress SU made in the fourth was erased – and it wasn’t even Knight’s fault. Instead, it was miscommunications in the field that led to costly errors.
On what would’ve been an inning-ending double play, Milija Seaton’s throw from third to second base landed well into center field. Makenna Sturgis reached base before another error allowed Madi Frey to score, making it 8-6.
It may’ve been the beaming sun in center field. Or perhaps overconfidence in making a routine play. But on a catchable pop fly, three Orange fielders lost track of a Beachum hit, allowing three runners to score to make it 11-6.
The fourth inning provided a glimmer of hope it didn’t have at all on Friday and Saturday, but Syracuse’s late mental mishaps show how wide the gap between it and Florida State truly is.
