COLLEGE PARK, Md. Oklahoma second baseman Amber Flores couldn’t help but smirk as Syracuse’s Lisaira Daniels stood on first base in the top of the fourth inning.

Daniels reached first on a bunt-single that proved to be the only blemish in the Sooners’ box score.  One slow roller away from making their shortened blowout win over the Orange a perfect game.

‘(We) played just like (we) have the last two weeks very dominating and a very complete game,’ Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso said.

In Syracuse’s first-ever NCAA tournament game, the Orange was clobbered, 10-0, in the opening game of the College Park NCAA Regional by the red hot Sooners (44-10) at Robert E. Taylor Stadium Friday. The No. 14 seeded Sooners notched its 11th consecutive win with at least one run in every inning. Oklahoma also only allowed one SU (32-25) hitter (Daniels) to reach base. It was the most lopsided game of the season for the Orange and only the second time all year that it has been beaten in a shortened game.

The Orange will take on the regional host in Maryland at 2 p.m. Saturday. The loser will be eliminated from tournament competition.

Just minutes after the game started, Syracuse faced a major obstacle. For the third consecutive game, umpires called sophomore pitcher Jenna Caira for a series of illegal pitches. This time four illegal pitches in the top of the first led to a pair of runs for the Sooners, and SU head coach Leigh Ross quickly made a change to bring in freshman Stacy Kuwik.

‘We’re here to win, and I don’t want to jeopardize that with all the illegal pitches,’ Caira said. ‘And if that means me not playing, then I’ll do it.’

The last time Kuwik came in to relieve Caira she threw the game of her life: one run allowed in seven innings to beat DePaul in the semi-finals of the Big East tournament.

The setting was the same Friday. The results were completely different.

Oklahoma pummeled SU’s freshman over her three innings of work. Every Sooner with an at-bat reached base safely, and OU scored eight runs off of Kuwik.

‘Every opportunity, for the most part, that we had a chance to get something done, we got it done,’ Gasso said.

This included intelligence on the base paths. With runners on the corners in the bottom of the second, the Sooners executed a perfect double steal. As soon as Syracuse catcher Lacey Kohl threw down to try and nail the runner at second, Oklahoma’s Karolyne Long stole home. This pushed the lead to 5-0 and deflated the Orange even further.

Especially considering how outmatched the SU batters looked at the plate. Oklahoma’s 6-foot-2 freshman pitcher Keilani Ricketts fired pitch after pitch pass the Orange. She retired the first ten batters she faced and only two balls left the infield all game long.

‘I think when you’re 6-foot-2 and you’re right on top of them (at 43 feet away on the pitching mound), it’s like she is handing the ball to you,’ Ross said. ‘She threw hard, the fastest pitcher that we faced this year.’

Friday marked the sixth game this year in which Ricketts has thrown at least four innings and allowed just one hit. Ricketts and reliever Michelle Gascoigne combined to record 10 of the 15 outs via strikeout.

Despite allowing the most runs of the season, Ross and Daniels both said it was important that the team avoid a perfect game or no-hitter. Because the Regionals are a double-elimination format, there is still softball left to be played and the team can’t get hung up on the past.

‘From every pitch, every strike, every hit they had and every play we have to learn from it,’ Daniels said. ‘That’s the only way we are going to get better. We can’t dwell on it.’

 

Mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on May 21, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13