Story, Photo, and Video by Julia Morris
Syracuse, N.Y. – Senior Mary Dombrowski came into Syracuse's season finale hitting .176. In her team's doubleheader victory over Virginia (16-40, 4-20 ACC) on Saturday, she was 0-for-6 and had a combined four strikeouts. But on Sunday afternoon the four-year utility player got the big hit for Syracuse (20-26, 4-13 ACC) in the last college softball game of her career. In the bottom of the third inning, she launched a grand slam that gave her team a 7-0 lead and Syracuse cruised to an 11-2 win to complete a three game sweep of the Cavaliers.
“I’m speechless,” Dombrowski said. “I’ve been struggling a
lot lately especially striking out left and right but for that moment to be so
special, my very last softball game of my entire life...I’ll be talking about this forever.”
Cater Comes Out
Strong
Syracuse ace Jocelyn Cater started on the mound for the Orange, making
her third appearance in as many games.
She threw a combined 214 pitches on Saturday but if she felt fatigued,
she showed no signs of it in the beginning of the game. She was perfect through the first three
innings with three strikeouts.
“I think today I was a little bit slower just because of so
much throwing yesterday,” Cater said. “So I was really trying to spin it and
trick them because seeing them for the fifth or sixth time in a row I think you have
to trick them at that point.”
And while the Virginia offense struggled to get going
against Cater, Syracuse’s bats picked up where they left off on Saturday
when the team scored a combined 21 runs in two games.
The Orange got the first run of the game in the bottom of
the first when Corinne Ozanne lined a base hit to left field to put Syracuse up
1-0. Syracuse added another run in the bottom of the second when Danielle
Chitkowski led off the inning with a homer to left to increase the Orange
lead to 2-0.
“Everyone just came with their A-game and we fed off of each
other,” Ozanne said.
Syracuse Offense
Erupts
Syracuse continued to get big hits in the third and fourth
innings. Virginia starting pitcher Aimee
Chapdelaine was taken out after loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of
the third. Her replacement, freshman
Alex Fomby, could not get the Cavaliers out of the jam. The first batter Fomby faced was Rachel
Burkhardt, who hit an RBI single to left field that scored Sydney O’Hara and
made it 3-0 Syracuse. The next batter
was Dombrowski and her grand slam put the game out of reach for the Cavaliers.
“It
just feels good to contribute in such a fantastic manner,” Dombrowski said.
Syracuse added four more runs in the bottom of the fourth
when the Orange’s number nine hitter, Alyssa Dewes, hit her second home
run of the season. Her two run shot to
left made it 9-0 Syracuse.
“That’s what she has in her,” Coach Leigh Ross said. “Got her pitch, drove it hard and that’s what
happens.”
Then, with the bases loaded and two outs, Sydney O’Hara
hit a 2 RBI single up the middle to give the Orange an 11-0 lead.
Virginia did manage to get two runs off Cater in the top of
the 5th, but only one was earned. Katie Park reached first after
Cater dropped a pop up that would have been the first out of the inning. The next batter for the Cavaliers, Megan
Harris, homered to right to cut the Syracuse lead to nine.
“I’m just trying to think about the next pitch,” Cater
said. “I’m frustrated with myself more
than anything because I threw a bad pitch but I try to focus on the next pitch.”
Cater bounced back to retire the next three Cavalier batters
in order and Syracuse secured the 11-2 victory.
Thoughts on the
Season
Syracuse finishes the season with a 20-26 record and 4-13
record in the ACC. The Orange do not qualify for post-season play. Ross said after the game that although
Syracuse ended the season on a high note with the three game sweep, she thought
the team was capable of playing the way it did against the Cavaliers
throughout the season.
“I told the girls all season this is the team we were
expecting to see,” Ross said. “Just to compete game in and game out but a
little too late but a great weekend.”
The Orange expects to return several key players next season,
including Cater, who put up 14 wins and a 3.79 ERA this year.
“Joce has grown so
much as a pitcher this year,” Ross said.
“I think earlier in the season she had doubts but she started gaining
her confidence as the season went on.”
Syracuse’s best offensive player, Ozanne, also is to return
next year. The rising senior finished
the season with a .344 average and 13 home runs.
Virginia will also miss postseason play. Syracuse’s doubleheader victories Saturday
denied the Cavaliers a shot at extending their season.
Postgame Videos
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