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For the last four years of her career, it’s been impossible for Madison Knight to ignore the influence of her dad, Jason, when she steps onto the field at Skytop Softball Stadium. It’s not because of an overly loud presence in the stands.

It’s because he picks Knight’s walk-up song before each season.

In 2026, the choice was “Go Big or Go Home” by American Authors. He’d been listening to it frequently at the start of the season and knew it was the perfect song for his daughter.

“It’s your last year,” Knight recalled him texting her. “Go big or go home. What do you have to lose?”

Jason hit the nail on the head. Because Knight has gone big. She entered the Notre Dame series with a career-high 10 homers and tacked on two Sunday. Her two-run homer in the fifth closed the gap between the two sides before her walkoff long ball lifted the Orange (17-19, 4-12 Atlantic Coast) to a 3-2 victory over the Fighting Irish (19-27, 8-13 ACC).

The blast — SU’s first walkoff homer since May 8, 2022 — capped a series finale where Syracuse tied Notre Dame 5-5 on hits but won the power battle. The Orange had a pair of doubles in addition to Knight’s homers, compared to Notre Dame’s lone solo home run.

Although Knight stole the show, the early frames were headlined by SU starter Julianna Verni. She last took the circle in Game 1 against the Fighting Irish, when she held ND to two runs until a sixth-inning rally pushed the game out of reach. In Game 3, it initially seemed to be more of the same.

Notre Dame struck first. Mickey Winchell, on second thanks to a leadoff walk and a fielder’s choice, reached third after shortstop Erika Zamora’s errant throw. Winchell capitalized and took home.

It was SU’s only error of the day. Verni forced ND’s Hayden Kyne into a groundout and dispatched Lily Hagan, her first of five strikeouts, to shut the inning.

Notre Dame’s pitcher, Micaela Kastor, followed suit. She logged a 1-2-3 bottom of first and held SU without a hit until the third. In the timeframe, the only runners Kastor allowed were due to a fielding error and walk.

Verni blanked Notre Dame’s Avery Houlihan to close an efficient top of the second before allowing an infield single in the top of the third.

The game was shaping up to be a pitcher’s duel until Madelyn Lopez threatened to blow the contest open. With two outs in the bottom of the third, Lopez’s flyball down the right field line fell inches past ND right fielder Christina Willemssen’s diving attempt, falling dead in the waterlogged grass.

The miss allowed Lopez to reach second. Vanessa Flores walked on the subsequent plate appearance, but Kastor struck out Gaunt, ending the inning before SU could score.

Notre Dame was quick to respond to the scare. Verni threw a riser a bit too high, and Kyne smoked her fourth homer of the season past the left field wall, doubling the Fighting Irish’s lead.

Verni, though, remained unfazed. She forced Hagan into a groundout and Olivia Levitt into a flyout to close the top of the fourth. Verni faced four batters in the fifth frame and let off a Sydny Poeck infield single. Her performance bought just enough time for SU to gain momentum.

It started with Kaimi Tulua. Pinch-hitting for Gabby Lantier, Tulua led off the bottom of the fifth with a single past a diving Ava Zachary at third base. Then, it was Knight’s turn.

You know the walk-up song, the routine, the wipe of the dirt with her hand before she hits. Knight was ready.

“(I saw) something fat,” Knight said, referring to Kastor’s pitch. “My first two at-bats, I fouled off the balls I should’ve put on the field. My third at-bat, I saw the changer that was belt-high and went with it.”

Knight smacked a homer over the left-center wall. It gave life to the Orange.

When SU’s infield took the diamond for the top of the sixth, singles from Zachary and Kyne put Notre Dame in scoring position. Verni hit Hagan with a pitch, and the Fighting Irish loaded the bases. It looked like déjà vu for the Orange, another Notre Dame sixth-inning rally.

But it wasn’t. Syracuse initiated a meeting, and it cut a potential Notre Dame rally short by inducing a double play from Caitlyn Early.

Syracuse didn’t look back. Milija Seaton doubled in the bottom of the sixth. Notre Dame responded by bringing in closer Kami Kamzik, who forced Peyton Schemmer to foul out and struck out Zamora before SU could plate a runner.

Notre Dame’s final hope was Houlihan. The sophomore, sporting a .224 batting average, led off the final frame with a deep drive into center. But Lopez tracked back, arrived at the fence, reached her glove over and snagged Houlihan’s bomb back from home run territory.

Kamzik began the bottom of the seventh by striking out Lantier, but next up was Knight, and Kamzik faced the same fate as Kastor two innings before. Knight had her introduction, the music making her intentions at the plate clear.

The pitch was a bit wide, but Knight took a hack at it. She connected late, just in time to send the ball deep over the right field wall.

“The last at-bat was exactly what my walk-up song is,” Knight said. “‘Go Big or Go Home.’”

Published on April 19, 2026 at 8:53 pm
Contact Peter: peterhradosh@gmail.com | @PeterRadosh