Syracuse mercy-ruled 12-1 by No. 17 Virginia Tech for 4th straight loss
Syracuse pitcher Julianna Verni delivers a pitch in Syracuse's 12-1 loss to No. 17 Virginia Tech Friday. The loss drops SU to 4-16 in ACC play this season. Keenan Sawada | Contributing Photographer
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It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the season slipped out of Syracuse’s grasp.
Perhaps it was over from the beginning, when Syracuse went 1-9 to open Atlantic Coast Conference play. Maybe it was a singular game, either of the one-run losses to Pitt or the four-run seventh inning collapse against Boston College.
Whenever it was, it weighed on Madison Knight’s mind Friday.
“I have now two games left in my career,” Knight said. “I’ve played softball my entire life, and I don’t want to have any regrets when I walk off this field.”
Knight has embodied her words. She blasted two home runs in SU’s last game, and her third-inning solo bomb was Syracuse’s (18-24, 4-16 ACC) only run as it fell 12-1 to No. 17 Virginia Tech (42-9, 16-6 ACC) in five innings Friday. It marked her 15th on the year, surpassing her previous three seasons combined.
Nonetheless, the loss takes SU one step closer to missing the ACC Tournament for the second consecutive year. Another loss eliminates Syracuse from postseason contention entirely. VT notched 11 hits in SU’s seventh mercy-ruling, and scored in every inning. The Orange mustered three. Two came from Knight.
“(The) kid would do anything for this program, one of the most coachable kids,” head coach Shannon Doepking told CitrusTV. “While she’s unbelievably talented, I would give a lot to have nine Madison Knights on this team.”
Entering Friday, the difference in the pitching circle was stark. VT’s Bree Carrico paced the ACC with a 1.70 earned run average, while SU pitcher Julianna Verni’s 5.28 placed 36th.
But from the first inning alone, it seemed the matchup would be more even.
The Hokies’ offense quickly introduced itself to Verni. After a Knight error and Verni walk, Nora Abromavage smoked a double to the left field wall, bringing one runner in. Michelle Chatfield’s subsequent sacrifice fly doubled the lead.
The Orange responded by loading the bases. Knight and Kendall Gaunt both knocked singles, while Kaimi Tulua walked. But with two outs, Carrico escaped the inning when VT’s Addison Foster wrapped up Lauren Fox’s fly to right center. That was it. That was the longest SU seemed to be able to compete with the Hokies.
Annika Rohs walked and Foster singled to open the second, setting the table for Jordan Lynch. Lynch fouled one off before smacking a three-run homer. The scores prompted head coach Doepking to turn to Sydney Jackson in the circle.
“They were on time pretty quickly,” Doepking told CitrusTV. “We missed a couple spots, and just trying to go to a different look, something more offspeed.”
Jackson did just that. She frequently used the slider, her pitches breaking from the batter’s left to their right. But it couldn’t stop the bleeding. She hit Abromavage with a pitch right out of the gate, and although it was her only blip of the second, Jackson wouldn’t get much of a rest.
Because Carrico turned into her old self. She struck out Kiara Bellido, Rose Cano and Gabby Lantier in order, bringing Jackson back to the circle within five minutes.
Virginia Tech piled on. Jackson walked Kylie Aldridge, her first of four total. Gaby Mizelle singled through the infield’s left. With two runners on, Foster doubled, plating two and increasing the Hokies lead to seven. Jackson forced Lynch into a groundout to end the frame, giving Knight a chance to shine.
Knight led off the bottom of the third with her aforementioned solo home run to center field. But the blast did nothing for SU’s chances. Carrico quickly responded. The ND ace forced consecutive groundouts and flyouts from Jadyn Burney, Vanessa Flores and Gaunt.
The fourth frame followed the same story. Two walks and a Michelle Chatfield single put two Hokie runners on base. A double play provided a silver lining, but just like the inning before, Virginia Tech capitalized before the Orange could get both feet out the door.
This time, it came courtesy of Rachel Castine. The senior, who entered Friday sporting a .352 batting average, smacked Jackson’s pitch high and deep past left field.
“We could handle the solo shots,” Doepking told CitrusTV. “The three-run shots are killer.”
SU had no retort. Despite being gifted two free bases by Avery Layton, who relieved Carrico, the Orange left both on. Tulua, Bellido and Lantier all grounded out.
You can guess how the fifth frame went. Rohs and Lynch both infield singled, but the latter was retired on the next play when trying to reach second. That, along with a prior Foster strikeout, quickly gave the Orange two outs.
But just like both innings before, Syracuse couldn’t escape unscathed. Abromavage walked and stole second before a Chatfield single drove both Rohs and Abromavage in. Jackson forced a Zoe Yaeger flyout on the next at-bat, but it was over.
Layton walked Knight before retiring the heart of the order. The umpires called the game after the fifth.
“We came out flat,” Knight said. “You can’t really win a game with three hits, you really can’t win a game with 12 runs being put up on the board.”
