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With Syracuse clinging to a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning, Francesca Frelick ripped a double into the left center field gap, just beyond the reach of a diving Carli Campbell. Paris Woods fired the ball to third base, but it got by Rebecca Clyde, allowing Claire Davidson to reach safely. With only one out, the Blue Devils had runners on second and third, and seemed primed to score their first runs of the day.

Kaia Oliver quickly got two strikes on the next batter, Caroline Jacobsen, before three straight balls brought it to a full count. Her next pitch, an outside fastball, evaded Jacobsen’s swing for the second out of the inning.

And on the first pitch of the next at-bat, Kamryn Jackson hit a blooper over third base that was chased down by Clyde to end the inning. For the fourth time in the game, Syracuse’s pitching had escaped a jam entirely unscathed, and it helped lead to the Orange’s (21-19, 4-14 Atlantic Coast) 1-0 win over the Blue Devils (35-7, 15-3 ACC) on Saturday afternoon.

The first time Duke has been shutout all season came in SU’s best pitching performance of the year. It began with Ariana Adams making her second start of the weekend, and continued with Lindsey Hendrix and Oliver out of the bullpen. Each recorded exactly seven outs, and when ultimately combined, the trio produced a zero-run, four-hit masterpiece over seven innings of work against the ACC’s best offense.

“Our pitchers stepped up for us tremendously,” Woods said postgame. “Kaia came in throwing great, Lindsey, Ari — they all knew it was going to be a team effort and I think they just all took their roles and really held it down for us.”

After picking up the loss Friday, Adams posted her sixth win of the season on Saturday, allowing two hits and no runs. She started the game with a perfect first inning before loading the bases in the top of the second. Kristina Foreman singled, Ana Gold walked on a full count and Frelick bunted for another single to give Duke its first scoring opportunity of the game. But Kyla Morris hit a hard ground ball back at Adams, who converted the force play at home for the second out, before a Jackson groundout to first ended the inning.

Hendrix was forced out of Friday’s game early after she was hit in the leg with a line drive, but she returned to action in the third inning on Saturday after Adams hit Deja Davis with a pitch. Davis moved into scoring position by stealing second, but Hendrix struck out the first three batters she faced — neutralizing the third-inning scoring threat.

The sophomore made it through the fourth inning in four batters, and retired the first two hitters of the fifth before an error by Tessa Galipeau and a Gisele Tapia single gave the Blue Devils another scoring opportunity. Oliver then replaced Hendrix and went onto force a groundout to end the inning.

Against Duke pitcher Jala Wright, whose 1.66 ERA is top five in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Orange needed perfection from their pitchers in order to pull out the win. With the offense struggling, it was crucial for the pitching staff to put together a strong performance, Woods said.

Oliver headed out to the pitcher’s circle for the seventh inning looking to secure the Orange’s biggest win of the season. Jameson Kavel led off with a groundout to Neli Casares-Maher, and Oliver quickly got off to an 0-2 count on Davis. The third pitch barely missed the strike zone, but Davis grounded out to first base on the next pitch, forcing Duke to its final out.

After taking a ball, Tapia hit a hard ground ball directly at Galipeau, who fielded it and stepped up to the bag, securing the shutout win. Oliver immediately threw her glove into the air as the team formed a huddle around her, celebrating SU’s first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 13 Clemson last May.

Duke entered the game leading the conference in runs (314), home runs (77) and batting average (.340). Syracuse’s pitching, on the other hand, came into Saturday ranking 10th of 13 ACC teams in ERA (3.97) and eighth in opponent batting average (.250). But on Saturday, it didn’t matter, even with an SU team entering as losers of seven of its last eight games.

“(The win) is huge, we get to build off that in the upcoming weeks and hopefully have a shot at the ACC Tournament, so that’s all we can ask for,” Woods said.

Published on April 23, 2022 at 6:01 pm

Contact Spencer: spgoldst@syr.edu