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For the first time since opening day, Syracuse scored in the first inning. 

With Taylor Posner on second base, Kelly Breen stepped up to the plate facing an 0-2 count. NC State’s Madison Inscoe gave Breen a difficult pitch to hit — low and outside — but the infielder wasn’t phased and roped a double into left field, scoring Posner and giving the Orange a 1-0 lead. 

Syracuse’s (11-17-1, 2-9-1 Atlantic Coast) timely offense did just enough to support its strong defense, outlasting NC State (13-25, 4-9 ACC) 4-2 and picking up its first home win of the year. Breen was the leading run producer for the Orange, registering a game-high two RBIs. Madison Knight had a dominant performance in the circle, pitching six innings and striking out seven with just one earned run.

“It’s nice to get back in the win column,” head coach Shannon Doepking told CitrusTV. “I think it’s a step in the right direction.”

After the first inning score, SU’s offense hit a rough spell. It only had one baserunner in the second and third innings combined, and was already down two outs in the fourth after just two pitches were thrown.

Catcher Laila Alves broke the cold stretch, as she laced a double into the right field corner. On the very next pitch, Angie Ramos hit a double over the head of Ellie Goins in right and brought Alves home to increase the Syracuse lead to 2-0. 

Simply getting runners on base has been a difficult task this season for the Orange, as their team on-base percentage of .293 is a stark difference to their .393 OBP allowed. They found some consistency in that area against the Wolfpack with Madelyn Lopez in the leadoff spot. She finished the day 3-for-3, and was the prime catalyst for her team getting action on the basepaths. 

In the fifth inning, Lopez led off by smacking the first pitch of the at-bat into center field. She advanced to third after Angel Jasso reached first base off an errant throw by Wolfpack catcher Amanda Hasler, and Syracuse had runners on the corners. 

Breen was back at the dish and laid down a bunt that trickled down the third base line, while Lopez was just a few steps off third, anticipating when to take off toward home. Once Hannah Goodwin picked up the ball and threw it to first, Lopez took off and crossed home with ease, giving the Orange a 3-0 lead. Despite making it look easy, Lopez said that it was the first time she’s ever batted leadoff in her career. 

“I knew that getting on (base) was a good way to get the bats going and score runs,” Lopez said. 

In the next at-bat, Tessa Galipeau hit a line drive to center field and brought Jasso around for an RBI single. The fifth inning was SU’s only multi-run inning of the game, and 4-0 would be its largest lead of the contest. The timely offensive production took a lot of pressure off of Knight in the circle, who was pitching a shutout up to that point. 

“We had a lot of insurance, it made me feel a lot better as a pitcher,” Knight said. “Just knowing that I have a little wiggle room in there (helps).”

Knight was given a heavy workload against NC State, finishing the game with 126 pitches thrown. A lot of that was due to her facing nine full counts, but she stayed consistent in high-stress situations. 

“If you lose focus for one second, you’re going to lose (the at-bat),” Knight said. “You got to stay locked in.”

With one out in the top of the fourth, a mishandled ball from Galipeau took away a double-play opportunity to end the inning. Instead, the Wolfpack had runners on first and second and Knight was caught in a jam. 

Whittaker was at the plate for NC State, and engaged in an 11-pitch battle against Knight, which she fouled off six balls. Knight stayed resilient throughout the at-bat. When she finally rang Whittaker up on an inside breaking ball, Knight was fired up.

Needing one more out to end the frame, Knight faced yet another full count, this time to Kaylee Lambrecht. She struck out the pinch-hitter looking and once the home-plate umpire signaled for the out.. 

The Wolfpack had plenty of their own chances to create offense, but couldn’t capitalize. In the second inning, MaKayla Marbury was on third and Taylor Ensley was on first with just one out. 

Libby Whittaker stepped up in the box looking to kickstart the offense, but she struck out swinging on an outside 2-2 pitch. The early lack of success at the plate led NC State to become desperate with its in-game strategy. In the next at-bat, Ensley tried to steal second base, but Alves gunned her down by a mile, ending one of the Wolfpack’s best scoring chances while Knight was in the circle. 

The next inning, Rebecca Murray hit a screaming line drive toward Ramos. She began sprinting to her left, extending her arm to reach the ball and she made the difficult grab, saving what could have been an extra-base hit.

Published on April 6, 2023 at 11:06 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews