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Angel Jasso and head coach Shannon Doepking have a deal. If Jasso steals 25 bases this year, she gets a pair of shoes, the sophomore outfielder said.

Jasso was aggressive on the basepaths against Notre Dame, even as the game went down to the final out. Syracuse trailed by three runs at that point, but Jasso kept Notre Dame catcher Shelby Grimm on her heels. With her white uniform already smothered in dirt from her two previous steals of second base, Jasso sped toward third base and slid in feet first to secure her third steal of the afternoon.

She initially appeared to be injured, but after walking down the third base line with Doepking, she returned to the game quickly.

Jasso scored both of Syracuse’s (19-13, 3-9 Atlantic Coast) runs in its 5-2 loss to Notre Dame (29-7, 8-3 ACC) in its series opener. On Friday, Jasso hit two doubles, tied a career-high three stolen bases and scored two runs as she accounted for two of the Orange’s five hits on the afternoon.

The Fighting Irish ended the sixth inning with a failed double steal, but their runner on third scored before their second steal attempt was thrown out at first, giving Notre Dame the lead. The following inning, Notre Dame pitcher Payton Tidd led off with a home run, and Leea Hanks hit an RBI triple to seal the lead at 5-2.

After the game, Jasso said she was seeing “beach balls” at the plate. Heading into Friday’s game, Jasso led the team with 10 doubles but added two more to her tally, pushing her to fifth in the ACC with 12. She now leads the team in extra-base hits.

Jasso caused problems for the Fighting Irish each time she got on base. She reached base four times, stole a base three of those times, and nearly scored a third run after she was thrown out at the plate. Jasso now has 16 stolen bases, more than double the next closest Syracuse player. She ranks third in the ACC in steals.

“I was looking to be very aggressive,” Jasso said about her base running after the game.

In her first at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, Jasso lined a pitch into the left-centerfield gap and legged it out for a stand-up double. Then, Tessa Galipeau lined a ball right above second baseman Miranda Johnson’s head. Johnson reached her glove up to grab the ball, but it deflected off her glove and into right field. Jasso sped home from second base to tie the game at one run apiece.

In the third inning, Jasso’s speed factored in once again. She barely beat the throw to first on a misplay by Notre Dame shortstop Brooke Marquez. Two pitches later, Jasso stole second base, her first steal of the day. She advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on an error by Tidd. Without a hit in the inning, the Orange tied the game at two, which was largely due to Jasso’s speed and base-running ability.

Two innings later, Jasso got to first on a walk and repeated her routine from the third inning. On the second pitch of Galipeau’s at-bat, Jasso easily stole second. She advanced to third on a Galipeau groundout and tried to score when Kelly Breen grounded a pitch towards Marquez, but Marquez threw her out at the plate.

In her final at-bat in the top of the seventh inning with one out and the Orange down 5-2, Jasso rocketed Shannon Becker’s offering into left field. After initially starting to move forward, Notre Dame left fielder Carlli Kloss quickly realized her mistake and darted back, but it was too late. The ball sailed over her head and landed in the deep outfield grass for Jasso’s second double of the afternoon. Even though Jasso stole third, the Orange could not advance her home as Breen struck out, keeping Jasso on third base.

With 16 games remaining and 16 steals already, Doepking might have to order those shoes soon.

Published on April 8, 2022 at 8:55 pm

Contact Connor: cpignate@syr.edu