Final Comeback Falls Short, SU Drops Series Finale to UNC

Story and Photos by Aubrie Tolliver

Syracuse, N.Y. — It's always something.

After a nearly complete season plagued by bad weather—playing alongside snow piles on the outskirts of the field and throwing softballs dampened from the rain-soaked outfield—the sun finally shined at Skytop Softball Stadium on an Orange game day, Sunday.

It wasn’t however, as bright a day for the Syracuse softball team as SU fell to the University of North Carolina 11-10 Sunday morning.

A doubleheader was scheduled for Sunday when game one of the series on Friday couldn’t be played because of the rain. But, UNC had to catch a flight back to Chapel Hill, so game two had to end at 2:30 p.m.

Game one went into extras innings, killing the chances of the second game being completed in time. It was called after two and a half innings with UNC leading 3-1  before it was an official game.

In that first game, North Carolina had a steady stream of runs scoring throughout—what eventually would be—nine innings.

Syracuse’s output came in spurts. But, those runs did come just at the right moments.

The Beginning

In the top of the first, an Orange error led into the first Tar Heels run. Leah Murray led off the game with a double to center field. Third baseman Hannah Dossett fielded a sacrifice bunt but botched the throw. Murray went on to score on a fielder’s choice to the shortstop.

Three more blue runs came in before the first Orange one. That happened in the fifth.

Comeback No. 1

The score was 4-0 when Sammy Fernandez drove in that first run for SU with a single. But Kelsey Johnson was gunned down at third trying to advance on the play.

The next batter was Alicia Hansen. With a runner on second, she blasted her second homer of the season to straightaway center.

Faith Cain completed the comeback three batters later with a line drive that smacked the left field fence at full force. The double brought home Sydney O’Hara.

It was knotted up at four after five innings and remained tied going into the seventh. The Tar Heels put three runs on the board in that top half. A home run apiece from Kendra Lynch and Katelyn Shifflett did the damage. 

Comeback No. 2

But, SU counterattacked in the bottom of the inning, also scoring three runs. Dossett, who came to the plate with runners on second and third, drove home the tying run with one swing of the bat—a single to left. The hit propelled the two teams into extra innings with the game tied at seven.

In the ninth, Syracuse tried to do the same thing it had done two innings earlier: rally back after UNC had put up four runs in the top of the inning.

The Orange almost did it.

Comeback No. 3 Falls Short

They drove in three runs when the top three batters singled, tripled and doubled. But the fourth batter of the inning, Cain, who had played hero earlier in the game, grounded into a double play. A run scored but the play left the bases empty and the Orange with two outs.

The next batter was the final batter for SU. Dossett grounded out to short, which sealed the Tar Heels victory, 11-10.

Brittany West knocked in four runs for UNC on two hits, including a double.

Both teams’ starters, Alexa Romero for SU and Brittany Pickett for UNC, gave up seven runs. Although six of Romero’s were earned.

AnnaMarie Gatti was charged with the loss for the allowing the Heels’ offensive rally in the ninth. She is now 7-6 while Lynch, UNC’s reliever, improved to 10-4.

After beating the Tar Heels 3-1 on Saturday, Syracuse wound up with a split in what turned out to be the two-game series.

What's Next?

Next up, Syracuse softball is set to take on Colgate Wednesday for a nighttime doubleheader in Hamilton, N.Y. before returning home for the team’s final ACC series against Virginia Tech.