Syracuse pitching struggles continue in doubleheader sweep by Virginia Tech
Will Fudge | Staff Photographer
Miranda Hearn pitched two 1-2-3 innings and gave up a 3-run home run in Syracuse s 11-1 loss against Virginia Tech.
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Kaia Oliver threw 21 pitches in game one as a starter. Nineteen of them were balls, two were strikes and two of them were wild pitches. Oliver surrendered four runs and pitched just 0.1 of an inning before being replaced following a career-low of just one out.
First, Oliver allowed Virginia Tech’s fastest player, Kelsey Brown, to walk on just five pitches. Brown then stole second and remained in the game despite being hit on her left leg on Maxine Barnes’ throw home. In the same at-bat Oliver threw her first wild pitch, allowing Brown to take over third before walking Cameron Fagan on the very next pitch on four straight balls.
Syracuse concedes 1st no-hitter since 2013 to No. 20 Virginia Tech
Gavin Liddell | Staff Photographer
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Gabby Teran went up to bat in the bottom of the seventh inning and Syracuse trailed 8-0. There were two outs and no one on base, but the graduate student’s at bat had a lot on her plate. The Orange were on the verge of conceding a no-hitter.
Teran went down 0-2 on two swinging strikes, and then took two balls with help from the home plate umpire who called Virginia Tech pitcher Keely Rochard’s outside corner pitch to Teran’s liking. Teran then crushed a ball down the left field line mere feet left of the foul pole for Syracuse’s best contact of the game. But a pitch later, Teran was called out on strikes on Rochard’s changeup to secure Virginia Tech’s no-hitter.
Season-high 5 Syracuse errors leads to 8-0 loss to No. 20 Virginia Tech
Will Fudge | Staff Photographer
Syracuse made five errors in its defensive collapse that caused an 8-0 loss to No. 20 Virginia Tech.
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Lindsey Hendrix had just forced a groundout to Virginia Tech’s Kelsey Brown, dropping the .426 hitter to 0-for-4 on the afternoon. Syracuse still trailed by five, but it looked like Hendrix was calming down after giving up two runs in the fourth inning.
After a single up the middle, catcher Grace Chavez grounded to Neli Casares-Maher at shortstop. Casares-Maher’s parents who traveled from California for the first game they could attend sat behind home plate, huddled together under a blanket and holding a Syracuse stuffed animal.
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In its final road game of the season, Syracuse (19, 16, 11-13 Atlantic Coast) defeated Albany (16-17, 6-6 America East) 10-6. The Orange took advantage of three Great Dane errors and four hit by pitches for a season-high 10 runs, though just two were earned runs.
Albany took an early lead in the first inning after Kaia Oliver allowed two leadoff singles that left Alexis Phillips and Katie Falotico on first and second base, respectively. The Albany players advanced a base each on a fielder’s choice but were quickly brought home on two consecutive singles. That created an early 2-0 deficit for SU with two more runners on base and just an out.