Syracuse (2-1) defeated Michigan State (0-4) on Sunday afternoon to wrap up SU’s first road trip of the season. At the Felsberg Invitational in Miami, The Orange’s four-run outburst in the top half of the fifth inning gave SU a comfortable lead, one it wouldn’t relent. 

The first two innings went quietly as southpaws Alexa Romero and Michigan State’s Sarah Ladd had no troubles early on.

Syracuse got on the board in the top of the third courtesy of a sacrifice fly from Alexis Kaiser, who drove home Jaime Barta to give the Orange a 1-0 lead. Michigan State answered in the bottom of the third as leadoff hitter Camryn Wincher walked and eventually scored on an RBI double from Caitie Ladd. 

The game got dicey in the fifth as Barta and Jamie Gregg got on base for Kaiser, who drove them both in with an RBI single to give the Orange a 3-1 lead. Neli Casares-Maher tacked on another with an RBI bunt single, followed by a sacrifice fly from Toni Martin. It wound up being a four-run inning for Syracuse.

The Spartans looked to answer in the fifth, mounting a potential rally. Romero had been cruising in the circle up to that point, but Michigan State proceeded to load the bases with nobody out. Kaia Oliver, a freshman, relieved Romero and managed to escape the inning unscathed. She put out the threat with a strikeout, fielder’s choice and a groundout. 

The Orange failed to register a hit the rest of the game, but Oliver shut down the Michigan State offense as well. Kaiser finished 1-for-2 with three RBIs and one strikeout. 

Syracuse registered seven hits to Michigan State’s five and didn’t commit an error, whereas the Spartans had a pair of costly miscues. 

The win has Syracuse leaving Miami on a high note in a 2-1 opening weekend for the Orange. The Big 10/ACC challenge looms ahead next weekend as Syracuse will take on Rutgers, Friday afternoon to open a four-game weekend.

Published on February 9, 2020 at 3:41 pm

Contact Cameron: cbmckeon@syr.edu