Grading Syracuse softball’s lackluster 2026 campaign by position
Madison Knight speaks to a group of Syracuse players. In her senior season, Knight led SU with 15 home runs and 38 runs batted in. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
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The nightmare is finally over.
Syracuse’s 2026 season came to an end after its 12-1 run-rule loss to No. 17 Virginia Tech Sunday. SU finished a woeful 4-18 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, 0-13 against ranked opponents and missed the conference tournament for the second straight year.
It’s difficult to pinpoint one primary reason for Syracuse’s failures. Its .234 batting average and 261 hits both ranked last in the conference. Even with two-way phenom Madison Knight, the Orange’s 5.55 ERA was 12th.
The feeling was all too familiar for head coach Shannon Doepking. Across her eight-year tenure, Syracuse hasn’t reached the NCAA Tournament or beaten a top-10 team. It’s also finished above .500 in ACC play just once, in a shortened 2020 season.
With program cornerstones like Knight, Vanessa Flores and Julianna Verni graduating, 2027 ushers in a new era for the Orange. But if the last decade is any indication, it’ll likely yield more of the same.
Here are positional grades for Syracuse’s (18-26, 4-18 ACC) 2026 campaign:
Hitting: C
Syracuse’s offense had its moments this season.
The Orange scored 19 runs across two games against Winthrop in February, behind four hits from both Madelyn Lopez and Flores. Then, in the Terrapin Invitational against UMBC and Providence a few weeks later, SU scored 11 and eight runs, respectively. Even when it was swept by then-No. 25 Louisville two weekends ago, Syracuse scored 13 runs.
Many players had spectacular individual seasons. Knight, who hit just 14 homers over her first three years with Syracuse, blasted 15 in 2026. Flores, a model of consistency since 2024, hit a career-high .278. Freshman Kendall Gaunt also provided pop with 20 hits and four homers.
So, why did Syracuse go 18-26? Its offense was far too inconsistent and couldn’t produce against ranked or ACC foes.
In its series against then-No. 10 Florida State, Syracuse mustered two runs across the first two games, getting run-ruled in both. The Orange couldn’t match any FSU rally.
Against NC State two weeks later, Syracuse put up another dud, scoring one run over two games. Doepking didn’t hesitate to call her team out after the second game, saying Burney was its only consistent contributor and Lopez was a “sleeping giant.”
SU’s offense was top-heavy and lacked depth. Its .235 batting average speaks for itself, and Burney, Flores and Knight often carried the load. Rose Cano hit just .205, Gabby Lantier slashed .211 and even with power, Kaimi Tulua hit a measly .210.
Rose Cano swings at a pitch. Cano struggled in 2026, hitting just .205 with one homer. Charlie Hynes | Staff Photographer
Lackluster situational hitting also doomed the Orange. In its 9-0 loss to Ohio State on Feb. 15, SU went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position despite taking 31 plate appearances. Although Syracuse outhit Notre Dame 9-8 on April 17, it was 2-for-9 with RISP in a 6-2 loss.
Syracuse’s hitting was somehow its strong suit this season. But duds against conference rivals and a lack of depth prevent this grade from rising above a C.
Pitching: D+
Even in an underwhelming 2025 season, Syracuse’s pitching was its saving grace. SU’s 3.64 full-season ERA ranked fifth relative to the ACC, and four of the Orange’s five pitchers had ERA’s under 3.80.
This season was an entirely different story.
SU’s team-ERA plunged to 5.55, and only Knight finished below 5.00. Verni’s mark dipped from 3.78 to 5.70, while Jackie Pengel regressed from 2.07 to 5.36.
Syracuse’s pitching struggles were on display from the get-go. In the second game of its season against then-No. 14 South Carolina, SU’s pitching staff surrendered 15 runs. Meanwhile, its offense only registered two. Knight only lasted two-and-a-third innings and gave up 10 runs before Sydney Jackson entered in relief and gave up five more.
Knight had a career-worst year in the circle. Her 4.96 ERA was SU’s best, but it didn’t touch her standards. She squandered six-plus runs seven times, allowed a career-high 20 homers and struck out just 81 batters, 32 fewer than last season.
But Verni’s regression was even more detrimental. After a consistent 2025 campaign, the senior made a fool of herself various times this season. She didn’t secure an out and allowed six runs in SU’s 11-6 loss to Florida State on March 15. Against NC State on March 29, she conceded seven runs in three innings.
Similar to SU’s offense, Verni and Knight had their moments. Verni struck out a career-high 13 batters in a win over Boston College on April 10 and was outs away from a no-hitter against Colgate on April 15. Knight recorded eight complete games.
Julianna Verni tosses a pitch against No. 17 Virginia Tech. Verni couldn’t replicate her 2025 success this year, posting a 5.70 ERA. Keenan Sawada | Contributing Photographer
Yet, just like its offense, Syracuse didn’t have enough depth. It felt like, whenever Knight started, Verni was the only reliable bullpen option available and vice versa. That wasn’t a recipe for success.
Defense: D-
Miscommunications. Overthrows. Mental lapses. Syracuse’s defense resembled a middle school’s this season.
Even though it played the fewest games in the ACC due to cancellations, SU’s 58 errors were the fourth-most in the conference. The Orange’s 95.5% fielding percentage also ranked next to last in the ACC.
Erika Zamora had a notably poor fielding season with a team-high nine errors and an 88% fielding percentage. Wichita State transfer Milija Seaton also struggled defensively, posting a team-low 82.9% fielding percentage and seven errors.
After Taylor Davison and Laila Morales-Alves helmed SU behind the plate in 2025, Grace Weaver joined Davison behind the dish in 2026. While she only committed two errors, she still suffered eight passed balls.
SU had two or more errors in 19 games and three-plus three times. And in its 15-2 loss to South Carolina, it committed four.
Syracuse looked destined to capture its first-ranked win of the year against Louisville on April 24. It led 5-0 in the fifth inning, and its offense was in sync. But after allowing 10 runs in the bottom of the frame, and making three careless errors, the Cardinals clinched a 13-5 win in the sixth.
In their 13-2 loss to Virginia Tech Saturday, the Orange trailed 4-2 in the top of the third. VT’s Gaby Mizelle smacked a grounder to second baseman Lauren Fox, who knelt to make a play. Instead of handling it and throwing to first, the ball hit her shin and trickled into the outfield, allowing a runner to score.
“Virginia Tech was Virginia Tech,” Doepking told CitrusTV after Saturday’s loss. “A lot of freebies, a lot of miscues. When you shoot yourself in the foot against a team like that, it compounds quickly.”
