Between two stints of rain, 93 pitches and seven shutout innings, it was business as usual for Syracuse ace Sydney O’Hara.

O’Hara’s dominance on the mound for Syracuse (21-22, 10-11 Atlantic Coast) was backed by two home runs in a 5-0 win over Niagara (13-24) at SU Softball Stadium on Tuesday night in front of 74 fans.

Senior Jasmine Watson, playing catcher in the game, and sophomore shortstop Corinne Ozanne each went deep. Watson collected another RBI on a double and O’Hara helped herself out by driving in the other two runs with a double.

And while O’Hara dazzled Niagara hitters throughout the night, head coach Leigh Ross was especially perplexed after the game.

“I mean that was as hard as I’ve seen her throw all season,” Ross said. “I think pitchers tend to throw a little harder under the lights, and she came out tonight ready to get this done.”

From the moment she stepped on the mound in the first inning she was in the driver’s seat, striking out four of the first five hitters she faced.

A runner did not reach base until Niagara slapped two consecutive two-strike hits to the outfield in the fourth inning. But as a threat loomed and the tying run stepped to the plate, O’Hara’s dominance persisted.

“My goal after that point was just to shut them out the rest of the game,” O’Hara said.

Another runner wouldn’t reach base until the seventh inning. O’Hara notched nine strikeouts on the day, and recorded one in every inning except the fourth.

Every player on the field had to struggle to come to grips with the blustery and rainy conditions.

O’Hara, however, was adamant after the game that weather didn’t really have an affect on her. The pitcher said she’s even partaken in pitching lessons with a soaked ball so she’s ready no matter the conditions.

O’Hara refused to be rattled by the inclement weather, and didn’t issue a walk the entire night. Her intense focus took over so much she didn’t even know if it was her coach or catcher who was calling pitches for her.

Watson confirmed after the game that it was her calling the pitches for O’Hara. Watson raved about O’Hara’s ability to hit her spots, and Watson added that the freshman stuck perfectly to the game plan all night.

“Based on our scouting reports,” Watson said, “we were trying to keep all of our pitches away until they proved we should do otherwise.

“They never really got to Sydney, so we just stuck to it.”

O’Hara created her own scouting report on each hitter throughout the game, and pitched where she thought a hitter’s weakness was after facing her once.

And while that approach allowed her to cruise through the Purple Eagle’s lineup almost three full times, her lineup provided all the runs she’d need.

Ozanne hit a home run after getting ahold of an outside pitch, and Watson hit her team-leading 13th homer of the year in the next at-bat. Then in Watson’s next at-bat, she hit a fly ball to left that dropped in after the left fielder appeared to lose sight of it, allowing Lundstrom to score and pushing Syracuse lead to 3-0.

Five of the seven hits tonight for Syracuse went for extra-bases, including O’Hara’s two-RBI double in the fifth inning.

Her superb play on the mound and at the plate didn’t have Ross surprised once the game started, because she could see it from O’Hara’s first few pitches.

“From the moment she got out there,” Ross said, “she was like, ‘Give me the ball and let’s get this team out of our way.’”

Published on April 22, 2014 at 11:05 pm

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman