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Syracuse was firing on all cylinders.

Ahead by eight runs, Madelyn Lopez and Rebecca Clyde stood on first and second base. Angel Jasso stepped up to the plate for SU with two outs in the fourth. On the first offering from Mimi Gooden, Jasso launched the ball into the right field gap.

Jahni Kerr dove for the ball, but it fell to the grass just out of her reach. Lopez and Clyde sprinted home on the play as the Orange grew their lead to 13-5 and put themselves in position to hand the Seminoles their third run-rule loss of the season.

“When we’re locked in, having a good time and playing for each other we can compete with anyone,” Olivia Pess said postgame.

In Syracuse’s (28-22, 9-15 Atlantic Coast Conference) rubber match against No. 14 Florida State (41-13, 19-5 ACC), the Orange were fueled by their offensive outburst early in the contest. SU recorded eight runs on just four hits in the second inning, giving it a lead it never relinquished. Syracuse’s series win over FSU punched a ticket to the ACC Tournament.

After winning game two the day prior, Florida State’s offense wasted no time jumping ahead in game three. Kaley Mudge reached first after Madison Knight couldn’t corral the ball in her glove for the out and Jaysoni Beachum added on with a single right up the middle.

With the two base runners aboard, Michaela Edenfield slammed a no-doubt home run over the center field wall to put the Seminoles up 3-0. The Orange responded in the bottom of the frame with an RBI from Taylor Posner, but that was all SU could muster in the first inning offensively.

“That was 100% on me, I missed my spot,” Lindsey Hendrix told ACC Network postgame on surrendering the three early runs to FSU. “(But) just being able to know that I can trust my offense and that they have my back is just amazing.”

And Hendrix was right. Syracuse backed up its pitcher in the following inning with its most productive frame of the season.

Back-to-back singles from Kelly Breen and Pess and a Clyde walk filled the bases for the Orange to start the inning. Lopez bounced one to first and a fielding error allowed her to get on base easily while Gabby Lantier ran for home to cut the deficit to one. The ensuing batter Jasso smacked the ball for a line drive into the right field gap which sent Pess home to tie the game. The surge from SU forced Seminoles head coach Lonni Alameda to make a pitching change, the first of many that afternoon.

But the substitution did not phase the Orange. Posner stepped up to the dish and chopped the ball off the dirt and into the glove of Allison Royalty. She tossed the ball to first but it bounced off Amaya Ross’ glove and behind her. As she stood dumbfounded on the base, Hallie Wacaser scooped up the ball and threw it to FSU catcher Edenfield at home to attempt any sort of a tag out.

But the damage had already been done. A simple chop of the ball by Posner had brought in three runs as the Orange jumped ahead 6-3 in the blink of an eye. With Posner waiting at third, Knight walked on a full count. This brought Laila Morales-Alves to the plate, who hammered a three-run shot deep over the right field wall for her fifth homer of 2024.

“I think (it was) just putting balls in play,” Pess said regarding what led to SU’s success in the second. “As long as we just stick to our plan and play our game then good things are going to happen”.

By the end of the second, SU held a commanding 9-3 advantage. Bringing in eight runs on just four hits, the frame marked Syracuse’s most runs scored in an inning against an ACC opponent since it plated nine against Virginia on March 16, 2018.

The Seminoles showed flashes of a comeback in the fourth inning by scoring two runs off a fielding error and making it a 9-5 ballgame, but the Orange struck right back in the bottom of the frame. Consecutive singles from Clyde and Lopez with two base runners aboard extended the lead to 11-5. SU continued to pour it on with a double from Jasso to balloon Syracuse’s edge to eight runs. With the hit, Jasso had recorded her 64th of the season and tied Alexis Switenko (2006) for the most hits by a senior in program history.

While Syracuse may have never been an AP-ranked team during the 2024 season, it proved against Florida State that it can compete with and even defeat some of the top programs in the country.

“I think some of this is this program learning how to win,” SU head coach Shannon Doepking told ACC Network postgame. “You’re starting to see some glimmers of what it really takes to be a program that can compete and I think that this (series win) was another step in the right direction.”

Published on May 4, 2024 at 7:13 pm

Contact Matthew: mgray06@syr.edu