Alyssa Dewes, Mary Dombrowski and Danielle Chitkowski — three fixtures at the bottom of Syracuse’s lineup — combined for 35 hits in the team’s first 32 games. The Orange was forced to rely primarily on its top five hitters.

But since the first game of a doubleheader with North Carolina on March 3, the trio is hitting .487 with four home runs and 18 RBIs.

“When you have the bottom of the lineup hitting, it’s really helpful for the middle of the lineup,” said Corinne Ozanne, the team’s usual No. 3 hitter. “… It’s nice to have your six-seven-eight (hitters) being able to hit and drive those runs in.”

The bottom of SU’s (15-22, 1-10 Atlantic Coast) lineup helped spark improved offensive performances in the last two weeks, though the team earned only one win since beating North Carolina in the first game of the doubleheader on April 3.

The trio will look to continue its strong hitting Wednesday when Syracuse takes on Niagara (1-25, 1-7 Metro Atlantic Athletic) in a nonconference doubleheader starting at 3 p.m. at SU Softball Stadium.

Dombrowski and Dewes have been working with hitting coach Matt Nandin to improve their hitting after slow starts.

“(I’ve been) using my lower body more instead of all upper body,” Dewes said.

To work on that muscle memory, Nandin placed padding under her back foot in batting practice to help Dewes drive through her right leg in her swing. Now, during games, the righty starts her swing with her right foot slightly raised.

Dombrowski said after SU’s 10-7 loss to Pittsburgh on Sunday that she’s been working on getting her hands in front of the ball to time it better.

Dewes, too, has had to search for answers after hitting .307 her freshman year.

“(Head coach Leigh Ross will) remind me to relax and have fun and that gets in my head,” Dewes said. “I should be doing this; there’s no point in stressing out and having a bad attitude.”

The sophomore reached a mental breaking point in the last few weeks as she struggled to get her batting average over .150. When she realized it couldn’t get any worse, she was able to put less pressure on herself and start to improve her confidence.

Dewes, a catcher and outfielder, leads Syracuse in steals and Ross said she is the fastest player on the team. However, she hasn’t been able to run as much since she hasn’t been on base much.

In turn, Syracuse is last in the ACC in steal attempts.

“You get speed like that and then whoever’s behind her, if they get a double, she can score on a double from first base,” Ross said.

Outside of Dewes, SU has just three players who have attempted to or stolen multiple bases.

Any manufactured run counts for a team that has lost 13 games by two runs or fewer. And more runs will come with improved hitting from the bottom half, especially for a team with only three hitters batting above .250.

“It’s hard when the bottom of the lineup’s not hitting, then you only have your first five hitters that are getting on,” Ozanne said. “It’s frustrating for them especially because they’re pressing super hard and then you’re pressing because they’re pressing.”

Published on April 14, 2015 at 9:54 pm