Syracuse falls 9-5 to Notre Dame in Game 2 of 3-game set
Syracuse catcher Taylor Davison applies a tag on a Notre Dame player at home plate. The Orange fell to ND 9-5, further separating them from the ACC Tournament. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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On Friday, Syracuse knew its precarious position.
It was 3-11 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, with fast-fading hopes of an ACC Tournament bid. It sported a .237 batting average, dead last in the conference. And after losing to Notre Dame Friday, a win Saturday was dire.
Yet while it felt like SU was in fight-or-flight mode in Game 2 of the three-game set, it couldn’t pull out a victory.
Inconsistent. Unfocused. Maybe just not enough. Those are the only ways to describe Syracuse’s performance Saturday. Without typical leadoff hitter Jadyn Burney, SU (16-19, 3-12 ACC) dropped its second straight game to Notre Dame (19-26, 8-12 ACC), falling 9-5 to put it another step further from ACC Tournament play.
The first inning began rocky. Madison Knight, in the circle for SU, started by walking Notre Dame’s Mickey Winchell on four pitches. Ava Zachary struck out swinging, but a dropped third strike by SU catcher Grace Weaver advanced Zachary to first. Hayden Kyne then reached first and quickly advanced to second as Weaver’s throw soared into the outfield, bringing Zachary home to make it 1-0.
“We were really, really slow out of the gates,” head coach Shannon Doepking told CitrusTV postgame. “You can’t hang out for the first four innings and expect to win a ballgame against a team that comes out swinging pretty quickly.”
Things only got worse. SU allowed four runs in the second inning. It was Syracuse’s 15th time surrendering four-plus runs in a frame this season. Winchell laced a line drive past Erika Zamora up the middle to make it 2-0. Caroline O’Brien then doubled to the wall and Winchell scored from first base.
Zachary followed with a single down the left-field line, skirting underneath Cano’s glove before Kyne reached on another fielding error by Cano. SU’s third baseman bobbled the transfer, bringing Zachary home.
Syracuse’s response at the plate was meager. It had only logged two hits to the Fighting Irish’s five at that point.
“At the end of the day, offensively, we need to have a better approach,” Doepking said.
Knight disposed of three batters in the top of the third, and it seemed like the tide might turn in the Orange’s favor. They held ND scoreless over the next inning and a half, and Kaimi Tulua slugged a solo home run — her fifth of the season — to give SU life.
Yet Tulua’s run was only Syracuse’s second hit of the day. While the Orange seemingly turned a page and showcased clean fielding in the fourth after a disastrous first two innings, they ended the day outhit 11-5. Nothing seemed to click, and when SU was gelling offensively, it crumbled defensively.
“I definitely don’t think it was great,” Doepking said when asked about SU’s defense.
Notre Dame answered Tulua’s homer with an Avery Houlihan RBI single. Knight then concluded the inning by striking out Tenley Sweet and stranding two runners on base. Knight churned out 126 pitches through 5.2 innings, and Sydney Jackson, her replacement, allowed the next two runs.
In the bottom of the fifth, it seemed SU had finally found its groove. Harmony Jackson, with a team-best .564 on-base percentage, was walked. Madelyn Lopez singled to right, Vanessa Flores walked and suddenly, the bases were loaded.
For once, Notre Dame was making the errors, and Syracuse was in a rhythm. Kaylee Eubanks, pinch running for Jackson, scored on an errant pickoff attempt. Kendall Gaunt then doubled to deep left center, plating Lopez and Sophia Taliaferro — pinch running for Flores. It seemed like a comeback might be within reach for the Orange.
But it wasn’t enough. The Fighting Irish fought back. Zachary’s two-run homer in the top of the sixth and Houlihan’s solo homer in the seventh put the nail in the coffin. Peyton Schemmer scored in the seventh on a Flores flyout, but it was too little, too late, as the Orange lost again.
SU has a conference-worst 135 runs. North Carolina has 364. The Orange have made 43 errors. Florida State has 19. Syracuse is clearly far from competing with the best. It might’ve been Burney’s absence from the lineup that made a difference. It might’ve been something else entirely.
Whatever the case, the Orange still have yet to connect the dots on how to beat conference foes.
“Again, we can’t hang out for four innings and expect to be able to beat a team like this,” Doepking said.
