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Softball

Freshman catcher Lundstrom impresses at bat, behind plate

After Syracuse’s season opener last Friday, all the buzz surrounded freshman pitcher Sydney O’Hara, who tossed a no-hitter against Austin Peay in her first-ever collegiate appearance.

The praise was well deserved, but O’Hara wasn’t the only freshman who was successful in the first weekend of play.

Catcher and fellow first-year starter Nicole Lundstrom, impressed both behind the plate and at it. After the Orange’s first five games, Lundstrom has a .939 fielding percentage and is the only player to reach base safely in each contest.

Lundstrom will look to continue her early-season success in this weekend’s Kickin’ Chicken Classic in Conway, S.C., where Syracuse (2-3) will take on Purdue twice, Coastal Carolina, Towson and La Salle.

“Usually you’re going to have a catcher that’s so good defensively that they may struggle offensively,” SU head coach Leigh Ross said, “and you take it because they’re so good defensively.”



“I feel like with Nicole, we have both.”

On Friday, in the same game she caught O’Hara’s no-hitter, Lundstrom went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Two hours later, she hit her first collegiate home run in the top of the seventh inning against No. 22 South Alabama.

Lundstrom is no stranger to producing at the plate. She batted better than .600 with 23 home runs and 99 RBIs in her high school career with the Dighton-Rehoboth Falcons (Mass.). In her senior year, she batted .656 with nine home runs, 35 RBIs and a .747 on-base percentage.

“I know I can hit, and I believe in myself,” Lundstrom said. “I like being able to work both sides and being confident in both aspects of the game.”

On Saturday against No. 25 University of Alabama-Birmingham, Lundstrom only went 1-for-4, but that one hit couldn’t have come at a better time. In the bottom of the ninth inning with the game knotted at one, Lundstrom singled to right field, driving in Alyssa Dewes to give Syracuse the walk-off win.

Ross noted that she feels freshmen never know what to expect from themselves, so they just go out and play because that’s the “freshman mentality.”

That, however, doesn’t apply to Lundstrom.

“I know that I’ve got her for four years behind the plate,” Ross said.” She’s hitting in the five or six spot for us, and to know she’ll contribute that way is like a dream.”
As a catcher, Lundstrom also calls the pitches, something Ross said she does well because she’s extremely intelligent. She also does her own research before each game and communicates with the coaching staff to find out each hitter’s tendencies at the plate.

O’Hara mentioned how coming into the season, her pitcher-catcher relationship with Lundstrom was a little shaky, but that it’s seen a vast improvement in a short span of time.

“(Nicole) has definitely done a lot better behind the plate calling pitches and blocking,” O’Hara said. “She’s really focused on every single pitch and knows how to calm me down because we’re both still a little nervous.”

O’Hara added that during the first game against South Alabama, Lundstrom was infuriated that she couldn’t hit starting pitcher Hannah Campbell. After hitting the home run off of her in the seventh inning, Lundstrom was still fuming even after she rounded third base.

Despite the tenacity on the field, Lundstrom doesn’t seem at all stressed, even for a freshman assuming a full-time starting role right off the bat.

“It’s pretty cool,” Lundstrom said through laughter. “It’s intense and a big change, but it’s a lot of fun.”





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