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When left fielder Olivia Pess made her way to the plate in the top of the ninth against Iona, Laila Alves stood over second base as Syracuse’s automatic runner.

In her two at bats of the day, Pess had struck out swinging both times. But on her third attempt, Pess cracked a ball deep to left center field that flew over the fence. Her homer put the Orange up two, a lead that they wouldn’t surrender for the rest of the game.

Syracuse (17-9, 1-5 Atlantic Coast) extended its win streak to seven games after beating Iona (5-12, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic) and Hofstra (4-15, 0-0 Colonial Athletic) on Sunday in tightly contested, low-scoring games. The Orange went to extra innings with the Gaels for the second time this weekend but edged them out 4-3 in nine innings. The team defeated the Pride 4-1 later in the day, fending them off after getting out to a lead in the first inning.

The Orange got on the scoreboard right out of the gates against Iona. In the second at bat, Angel Jasso hit a rocket deep to left center that Iona outfielders couldn’t track down. Then, she ran to third after Gael catcher Jamie Sheeran let a pitch go by her and Kelly Breen hit a single to send Jasso home.

But pitcher Kaia Oliver struggled in the bottom of the inning. She walked Iona’s Haley Weaver and then threw a wild pitch that let her take second. Weaver stole third and then ran home on another wild pitch just two at bats later. Although Oliver had struck out three batters that inning, her inaccurate pitches tied the game at 1-1.

The following inning, Oliver walked three out of four batters and head coach Shannon Doepking pulled her for Lindsey Hendrix. Oliver had struck out five batters in less than two innings and hadn’t given up a hit, but she still had to be subbed out.

Both teams kept leaving runners on base throughout the next few innings and the score sat at 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth. A pair of singles to the outfield and a walk loaded up the bases, which put the pressure on Hendrix. Iona’s Natalia Meray hit a high-arcing ball to center field and Emma Capuano scored to give Iona its first lead of the morning. Still, Syracuse immediately responded in the top of the sixth as Laila Alves singled to shallow center and was sent home after Taylor Posner hit a monster double over the center fielder’s head.

A scoreless seventh inning then sent the game into extra innings. Gael pitcher Kara Zazzaro had Syracuse’s number in the eighth, throwing a 1-2-3 inning. Ariana Adams pitched for the Orange and she picked off the Gaels’ automatic runner to kick off the bottom of the eighth. She then walked a batter and put out the next two to send the game to the ninth.

Besides Pess’ homer to left center that put the Orange up 4-2, Syracuse didn’t get a hit in the top of the ninth. But it didn’t end up needing more. Even though a double to open the bottom of the ninth shaved the lead down to 4-3, Adams took care of business the rest of the inning and the Orange emerged victorious.

This momentum at the plate shifted over to the start of the afternoon against Hofstra. Neli Casares-Maher was hit in the shoulder with a pitch to start the game. Then, Jasso hit a rope that landed just inside the left-field line, which put two runners in scoring position.

Pride pitcher Annabella Pisapia couldn’t get a hold of a direct hit by Breen and Casares-Maher scored. And Jasso ran home on a Rebecca Clyde sacrifice fly to center field. Pess then kept her success going with a single straight down the right-field line that let Breen score.

Up 3-0, pitcher Summer Clark got off to a great start. She struck out the first batter and put out another on a weak ground out. But she hit Hofstra’s Angelina Ioppolo with a pitch and walked three batters, which let Meghan Giordano stroll to home plate. She caught Kayla Wilson swinging on the next at bat to retire the side.

Between the second and sixth innings, the two teams combined for only seven hits. Breen made Hofstra’s potential seventh inning comeback a little bit harder after smashing a homer to left center for her second RBI of the day. Hendrix, who subbed in again in this game, closed out the Pride in four batters to end the day for the Orange.

In relief, Hendrix pitched seven innings, recorded nine strikeouts and gave up just seven hits, but she didn’t receive credit for either win. After starting Sunday with two strikeouts, Pess hit the winning home run in extra innings and batted in three runners throughout the day.

Published on March 20, 2022 at 5:27 pm

Contact Matthew: mahassan@syr.edu