Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

A pitch that rose just a little too much outside the strike zone. A ball that skittered to just the wrong side of the foul line. A throw that arrived just a second too late for a tag. A runner, waiting at third base for a hit at the right time to score.

There are a million circumstances of “so close” to success in the game of softball. But for Syracuse, Friday and Saturday have been one big instance of being close to success – even though the scores don’t show it.

In Friday’s game, Syracuse led 5-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning. It seemed like an upset victory was in the works until Julianna Verni ran out of gas in the circle, and Louisville’s Bri Despines hit a grand slam to bring the Cardinals within one. At the end of six, Louisville had scored 13 unanswered runs.

So much for that upset victory.

Saturday’s game felt like a similar routine, where everything looked to be going fine, an upset win still within reach, until suddenly it wasn’t. Nothing went the Orange’s way as Syracuse (18-22, 4-14 Atlantic Coast) lost 5-1 to No. 25 Louisville (40-10, 15-5 ACC) on Saturday afternoon.

The Orange seemed to come out determined to right yesterday’s wrong, as their first three hitters made contact. Madison Knight flied out but worked a full count and Jadyn Burney reached first on a bunt. Then, Vanessa Flores grounded to third but was narrowly thrown out.

But the Cardinals came out ready, too, as Chelsea Mack opened with a leadoff single and advanced to second. Easton Lotus followed with a single and stole second, while Camryn Lookadoo’s sacrifice fly to right brought Mack home to make it 1-0. A Madison Pickens single brought Lotus home from second, but Knight closed out the inning by striking out Jordan Williams.

From there, the game still appeared winnable for SU. Through the next four innings, the Orange held Louisville hitless. The game remained close, with four scoreless innings and tight fielding from the Orange.

SU ended the day with a .962 fielding percentage compared to Louisville’s .966 mark. Its defense recorded 18 putouts, while Louisville had 21. Defensively, it nearly matched Louisville inning for inning.

Four SU runners reached base and out-hit Louisville 3-0 through those four innings. SU was rounding the figurative diamond, inching closer to a victory.

Yet SU still couldn’t score. By the fifth, it had left four runners on base, was 0-for-9 with runners on base and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Despite recording three consecutive outs in the bottom of the fifth, it was beginning to feel like clean fielding and getting runners on base wasn’t enough. Its poor situational hitting couldn’t dig the Orange out of the hole they’d collapsed into.

The sixth inning perfectly encapsulated SU’s day of almost-but-not-quite-enough.

Burney led off the inning with a bunt, then advanced to second off a wild Madi Reeves throw. Kaimi Tulua then laced a line drive through left-center field, and Burney, sliding home from second base, cut the lead in half to make it 2-1.

But in the bottom of the inning, Knight started to unravel in the circle. She hit Despines with a pitch, who promptly stole second. Knight walked Lookadoo and loaded the count for Pickens, who laced a ball deep into left field. Despines scored from second base to make it 3-1, and Lookadoo advanced from first to third.

But Knight bounced back, consecutively striking out Williams and Monroe. She clenched her fists in celebration, pointing at Taylor Davison behind the plate. The Cardinals had two outs, Knight was in a groove and 3-1 was still a manageable deficit.

Scratch that. Back to the batter’s box for SU.

Ava Venturelli stepped to the plate for the Cardinals and destroyed SU’s hopes of a comeback win in one blast to deep left center. Venturelli’s liner brought Lookadoo home, and Pickens scored from second to make it 5-1.

The Orange couldn’t muster much of a counterattack in the seventh. Grace Weaver flied out and Lauren Fox singled but was left on second base after Kayla Sigala and Knight both flied out.

Like Fox and the five other batters who were stranded on the bases, SU left Saturday’s matchup staring at a figurative home plate. Staring at everything it was almost able to accomplish: a win against a ranked opponent. A win against an ACC foe that might help its slim margins of qualifying for the ACC Tournament.

It just couldn’t reach it.

Published on April 25, 2026 at 5:18 pm
Contact Fiona: fmchugh@syr.edu