Syracuse’s faint ACC Tournament hopes sink further with 6-2 loss to ND
Despite outhitting Notre Dame 9-8, Syracuse’s faint ACC Tournament hopes sank further with a 6-2 loss to the Fighting Irish Friday. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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Syracuse’s doubleheader sweep of Colgate Wednesday was a breath of fresh air for a team struggling to capture late-season momentum.
SU’s pitching staff silenced the Raiders in both games, as Madison Knight and Julianna Verni held them to seven combined hits over the two contests. They marked the Orange’s first two shutouts of 2026, and Verni even carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning of Game 2.
Though since the wins didn’t come in Atlantic Coast Conference play, they frankly won’t matter much for SU’s postseason hopes. Syracuse entered Friday just 3-10 in ACC play this season, tied for last in the conference.
The Orange also came into Friday’s clash with Notre Dame three wins behind it for the final ACC Tournament spot. With conference powerhouses Louisville and No. 10 Virginia Tech on the docket to end the season, SU couldn’t afford any more hiccups if it wanted to make the postseason for the first time since 2024.
But Syracuse’s faint ACC Tournament hopes faded even further Friday. SU (16-18, 3-11 ACC) fell 6-2 to Notre Dame (18-26, 7-12) behind poor situational hitting and Verni’s sixth-inning implosion. The Orange outhit ND 9-8 and led 1-0 in the first but went just 2-of-9 with runners in scoring position.
“Timely hitting was still an issue for us,” Syracuse head coach Shannon Doepking told CitrusTV. “We had a lot of opportunities to break that thing wide open, and we just didn’t get it done today.”
Early on, Verni looked destined to continue her heroics from Wednesday. She retired the top of Notre Dame’s lineup on six pitches, striking out Mickey Winchell before inducing groundouts from Caroline O’Brien and Ava Zachary.
Notre Dame pitcher Micaela Kastor wasn’t the strongest opponent Syracuse could’ve faced, but she’s been a capable starter for the Fighting Irish for four years. Despite coming into Friday with a middling 4.49 earned run average in 2026, she ranked seventh in the ACC with 123 strikeouts in 2025.
In the bottom of the first inning, it seemed SU would be getting more of the 2026 version of Kastor. Knight singled to left before Madelyn Lopez’s hit moved Knight to second. Vanessa Flores then hit a routine ground ball to shortstop, but a Zachary error put her on first.
With the bases loaded and still nobody out, Kendall Gaunt had a prime opportunity to give SU an early cushion. While her single scored Knight, Syracuse couldn’t extend its lead as Rose Cano and Taylor Davison struck out — one of several instances where the Orange failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position.
It didn’t take long for Notre Dame to tie the game in the second.
After Verni hit Hayden Kyne with a pitch, Sydny Poeck’s single advanced Kyne to third before Olivia Levitt’s sacrifice fly scored Kyne to even the score. Still, Verni escaped trouble by getting Avery Houlihan to ground out.
Besides that hiccup, Verni’s first three innings were relatively smooth. She hardly looked fatigued and was hiding SU’s offensive deficiencies.
But things began spiraling in the fourth.
Following Poeck’s single that moved Molly Conner to third, Poeck stole second base successfully after Grace Weaver’s errant throw. Not only did Weaver airmail the ball into center field, but it allowed Conner to score the go-ahead run — a lead ND wouldn’t relinquish.
Down 2-1, the bottom of the fourth inning was more of the same for SU, as it again failed to hit with runners in scoring position. Even with Kaimi Tulua’s single and Gabby Lantier’s walk, Knight’s lineout halted the rally.
“I think we could do a much better job of being the aggressors,” Doepking told CitrusTV.
After another quiet inning by Syracuse in the fifth, everything unraveled in the sixth.
With only one out and the bases full, Houlihan’s fielder’s choice plated Lily Hagan to extend ND’s lead to 3-1. The Fighting Irish still had two runners on, but perhaps Notre Dame electing for a pinch hitter instead of Tenley Sweet would get Verni through the inning.
Wrong. Off the bench, Caitlyn Early laced a single deep into the center field gap. SU’s outfield lost track of the ball, and Houlihan and Christina Willemssen scored. Just like that, it was 5-1.
Verni still couldn’t stop the bleeding, and Doepking left her in the circle. An O’Brien single made it 6-1, and any hope of an SU comeback continued to shrink.
Relative to how successful her last few outings were, Friday was an unfamiliar feeling for Verni. Whenever she was close to putting batters away, ND’s offense came through.
Knight’s single scored Weaver to make it 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth, but the Orange wasted the bases loaded opportunity with two outs. Same old story for Syracuse.
Notre Dame reliever Kami Kamzik retired the side in the seventh, and SU left Friday with more questions than answers again. Friday’s nine hits were tied for a season-high in ACC play for Syracuse, but it didn’t matter.
“We know exactly where we’re at,” Doepking told CitrusTV. “If we want any chance to get into the ACC Tournament, we’re going to have to figure out how to win some ballgames.”
