Leigh Ross maintains a poker face even when her nerves are all over the place.

And that’s especially been the case this year with all the late-inning drama Syracuse has faced.

‘Honestly, I know that I’m really good at not showing it, but there are times where I am so sick during the games,’ the SU head coach said, ‘and it’s just staying calm because that’s what I want the girls to do, but at the same time,

I’m like, ‘OK, let’s start scoring here in a minute.”

And in five of SU’s six extra-inning games this year, Ross has been able to take a deep sigh of relief by the end of the game. With a nearly perfect 5-1 record in extra frames going into Tuesday’s doubleheader against Niagara, the Orange has displayed an uncanny ability to stay calm and push on, eventually willing its way to victory in airtight games.

Syracuse showed off its aptitude for handling late-inning stress this past weekend. Going into the 10th inning of Sunday’s game against Connecticut, the Orange had already missed an opportunity to push across a potentially winning run earlier in extras. Senior second baseman Stephanie Watts decided she’d put an end to it.

‘When they came off the field, I heard Steph say, ‘Alright, I’ve had enough of this. Let’s get this done right now,” Ross said. ‘ … It’s not just getting in the huddle, talking about ‘let’s get it done.’ It’s getting up there and being determined.’

Watts smacked a triple and scored shortly after, leading to a big road win. It sums up the drama the Orange has grown accustomed to.

Senior pitcher Jenna Caira, who picked up the win in the extra-inning game against UConn, said games like that are what competitors like the Orange players live for. While blowing a team out is nice to have under your belt, the close, intense games are the ones Caira thrives on.

It’s in those moments that Caira said SU raises its game to another level.

‘I think we do a good job of just staying calm and confident in our abilities,’ Caira said. ‘We try not to look too far into extra innings. I think that kind of shows the maturity of our team and how we’ve grown immensely throughout the years.’

Ross said all the national competition her team played to start the year contributed to that. The Orange was put in difficult situations well before it reached Big East conference play. SU’s non-conference schedule was one of the toughest the Orange has dealt with in Ross’ tenure at Syracuse.

It also helps to have a veteran squad, plus underclassmen who have played beyond their years, senior catcher Lacey Kohl said. That mix has made for a perfect storm in rocky spots.

‘It’s nice for the underclassmen to look up to the upperclassmen who have been through those situations,’ Kohl said. ‘But it’s even better for us upperclassmen to be able to count on (under)classmen to be right there along with us.’

And when things begin to unravel, Kohl said either Ross or another player on the team does a good job of ‘slowing down’ the game and keeping others focused.

With only five regular season games remaining, including two of them Tuesday and three of them next weekend, the postseason should guarantee more games that might come down to the last inning, or even extra innings.

Ross might feel sick in close games, but ultimately, there’s nothing like coming away with wins after nail-biting contests. And with the experience and success her team has had this year, she knows the confidence is there to win in the toughest moments.

‘You start believing it’s not over until that last out in the seventh inning or the eighth inning or the ninth inning or the 10th inning,’ Ross said. ‘It’s not over until it’s over, until the very last pitch.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

Published on May 1, 2012 at 12:00 pm