Syracuse’s depth prevails in 6-4 extra innings victory over Boston College
Syracuse softball relied on its bench for some timely hits against Boston College Saturday, ultimately leading to a 6-4 win in extra innings. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Two years ago, Syracuse was eliminated by Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Last year, neither team made the tournament at all.
As both teams have sputtered through this season, combining for just 24 wins entering Saturday, the final weekends before the ACC Tournament have become crucial, must-win battles. Heading into this series, it was no different. Friday’s gritty matchup proved the matchups wouldn’t be easy for either team.
In the ninth inning Saturday, Jadyn Burney reached first base and plated Syracuse’s eighth run of the afternoon. She raised her hand as if to mimic wiping sweat off her brow, stretched out her arms and tilted her head back in a clear expression of relief.
Relief was the word of the afternoon as Syracuse (14-16, 3-9 ACC) held off a late rally from Boston College (11-29, 2-12 ACC) to win 6-4 in extra innings. The bottom of SU’s batting order carried most of the weight offensively, and the Orange picked up two runs in the top of the ninth via Rose Cano and Burney’s RBI singles to secure the win.
For a while, the second inning seemed like it might do the trick for Shannon Doepking’s squad.
Taylor Davison reached on a fielder’s choice, then stole second moments later. Gabby Lantier, who finished the day 2-for-3, singled to right field and sent Peyton Schemmer – pinch running for Kaimi Tulua – home. Davison scored from second to put SU up by two.
The Eagles’ Nicole Riddell cut the lead in half with a second-inning solo home run, but the score remained 2-1 until the fifth inning. It seemed that the Orange had hit a lull: they were getting contact but couldn’t find base hits.
SU’s top hitting duo of Madison Knight and Burney — who each entered Saturday with 30 and 20 hits on the season, respectively — didn’t log a hit through eight innings.
In fact, Doepking’s dugout became the key factor in SU’s win.
The bottom third of the Orange’s lineup – Tulua, Kendall Gaunt, Davison and Gabby Lantier – combined for six of SU’s nine hits, accounted for three RBIs and scored five of SU’s six runs.
And Kaylee Eubanks and Cano, neither of whom saw the plate until pinch hitting in the ninth inning, were the linchpins that secured success.
The fifth inning brought promise for the Orange. Davison slid home thanks to a Madelyn Lopez fielder’s choice, and a Vanessa Flores single brought Lantier home. Through the fifth inning, all six of SU’s hits were singles.
BC didn’t offer much of a counterattack until the next inning, when Adriana Martinez homered to deep center field to cut the lead in half.
Before Saturday, Knight had given up 14 home runs on the season. She allowed four on Saturday as BC knocked a quartet of solo shots. Janis Espinoza, Riddell, Martinez and Emma Knight all logged homers as BC’s only scoring of the day.
And Knight, who eclipsed 80 innings pitched this season on Saturday, began to falter.
With the score knotted at four through eight innings, Doepking had to reach back into her dugout. It proved to be a success.
By the top of the ninth inning, Eubanks hadn’t yet seen the plate. But when given her chance, she took it. Eubanks laced a leadoff double down the third-base line, then advanced to third on a wild pitch.
She waited there while Gaunt and Kiara Bellido struck out on Alyx Rossi’s fifth and sixth strikeouts of the day, respectively. But for Eubanks, Burney and Cano, patience paid off.
Cano hadn’t recorded a hit since SU’s matchup against UAlbany on March 8. She hadn’t logged one in conference play, either. But she picked the perfect time to make contact, sending a single to right field as Eubanks scored to make it 5-4.
Burney, who was having an uncharacteristically quiet day, was up next. The fifth-year hadn’t logged a hit since April 2 against Pittsburgh. Yet so far this season, Burney has never gone longer than three games without a hit. It made sense that Saturday would follow that same pattern.
She singled to first and Lantier scored to make it 6-4. Burney reached first and smiled, relief palpable on her face.
It was smiles from there for SU, as BC’s Emma Knight flew out to center field and Abby Ptak laced a ball into a sprawling Gaunt’s glove in right. She straightened up with a smile as the Orange gutted out two extra innings.
At this point in the season, every game counts for the Orange. Securing another win on Saturday, despite the gut check that it required, puts them one step closer to the ACC Tournament. And Syracuse proved that it has the depth needed to fight through games.
Yet the Eagles and next week’s series with Notre Dame are still a far cry from the conference’s top teams, like Florida State.
When May arrives, a dugout and sheer grit likely won’t be enough.
