Kaia Oliver allowed a season-high six runs, three of them earned, in Syracuse’s 8-2 loss to No. 14 Duke. The Orange (6-9, 2-6 Atlantic Coast) entered the weekend series below .500, dropping both games in Saturday’s doubleheader and extending the Blue Devil’s (24-1, 12-1) winning streak to 18 games.

Oliver escaped the first inning without giving up a run, but the inning exposed early struggles. On her second pitch, Oliver gave up her first hit on a Deja Davis single. Following a groundout, Davis then stole second and Oliver walked Duke’s Jameson Kavel. Oliver retired the next two batters, escaping a 19 pitch inning, the only scoreless inning the Orange managed all game.

Syracuse regained its momentum in the second inning as the Orange secured their first lead of the weekend with a line drive RBI. Maxine Barnes reached first base on an error by Gisele Tapia, she was then moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout to Duke pitcher Shelby Walters, respectively. Toni Martin’s line drive into right field allowed Barnes to easily score off her team-leading seventh RBI of the season.

That lead, however, was short lived. Oliver allowed her second consecutive leadoff batter to get on base after hitting Tapia on a 1-2 pitch count. Kelly Torres’ single put Oliver in a similar situation as the first — two runners on base but this time without any outs to work with.

Syracuse managed to get the first out, preventing Tapia from reaching third on a fielder’s choice, as Kamryn Jackson took over first base. Duke then took the lead on a pinch hitting double by Francesca Frelik that brought both runners in.

The Blue Devils’ trend of attacking Oliver early on continued in the third inning. Kavel singled and a Calista Almer error at first base allowed Duke’s Kristina Foreman to safely reach the bag, with Kavel moving to third base. With Foreman attempting to steal second base, Barnes’ throw from behind the plate was too high for second baseman Gabby Teran to fully secure the pick-off throw, allowing the steal to be completed and for Kavel to make it 3-1.

Foreman reached home after advancing the bases on a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly which allowed Caroline Jacobsen, who had previously walked, to advance to third base. Four pitches later, and Duke’s lead increased to 6-1 as Jackson hit a home run to right field. That would end up being Oliver’s last pitch, as Alexa Romero was called in to make her second appearance of the series.

Romero held Duke to just two hits through the remainder of the game, allowed no extra base hits and struck out four batters.

She allowed two more leadoff batters to reach a base, which ended up being the two innings that propelled Duke to victory. A sequence consisting of a leadoff hit by pitch, a walk, a wild pitch all allowed Foreman to score Duke’s seventh run in the fifth inning. The Blue Devils’ eighth run stemmed from a Sarah Goddard triple who advanced home from a Romero passed ball in the sixth inning.

Despite causing many unearned runs, Syracuse’s infielders made several plays to stop leadoff runners from advancing. In the fifth inning, with Jacobsen at third base, shortstop Neli Casares-Maher collected a ground ball before instinctively throwing the ball to the plate with Barnes perfectly positioned to prevent the eighth run from scoring at the time.

Syracuse returns to ACC play next weekend to face Pittsburgh on the road.

Published on March 21, 2021 at 9:27 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu