To say that this weekend will be the most pivotal pair of doubleheaders in the Syracuse softball program’s young tenure would be putting it lightly.

Following a weekend where the Orange split with the then-No. 1 team in the Big East, Louisville, the squad will face DePaul and Notre Dame, the current top two teams in the Big East, respectively.

The Orange (28-14, 11-5 Big East) travels to Chicago for a doubleheader with No. 19 DePaul Saturday, then returns home for a pair of games with Notre Dame the following day.

By the end of the weekend, the Orange will have a chance to be atop the Big East standings, or sinking right back into the pack.

In Syracuse head coach Leigh Ross’ mind, words like ‘pressure’ and ‘pivotal’ don’t register when thinking about this weekend.

‘This might be our most exciting weekend of the year,’ Ross said. ‘Above and beyond the others, this could be the most exciting, because we will get a chance to prove ourselves against the top two teams in the Big East. And to be honest, they haven’t seen us, they haven’t seen Syracuse.’

Despite Ross’ association of these games with ‘excitement,’ there is obvious pressure that comes with a weekend of this nature. Yet, freshman Lacey Kohl and the rest of the Orange are approaching the weekend with confidence and clear-cut goals in mind.

‘In all reality, we want to sweep this weekend,’ Kohl said. ‘And we think we can do it after last weekend, so that’s what we are looking towards.’

For a Syracuse squad that faced chemistry issues last year, only to respond this year with a record well above .500 and a renewed attitude and focus thanks to an influx of eight freshmen, this is the weekend they have been awaiting all year.

Perhaps too much, as the Orange admittedly overlooked Wednesday’s opponent in Siena.

Despite winning both games of the doubleheader, the Orange played well below par in the field and in the batters box.

‘We were on our heels a little bit,’ freshman Gaby Torzilli said. ‘We were ready for Siena, but we were looking ahead to the better teams we want to face. We are pumped for this weekend.’

With the season winding down, the team’s NCAA tournament prospects are becoming more and more of a reality. As of Tuesday, the Orange is 59th in the RPI and looking to sew up an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.

A solid showing this weekend against the top two teams in the Big East would go a long way toward helping that cause and winning a Big East championship.

‘We have felt that we could become Big East champs from day one,’ Kohl said. ‘But recently, we have been taking it game by game until we get there.’

And the first game on Syracuse’s plate this weekend is against first-place DePaul (32-10, 16-3). According to Ross, when the team steps on the diamond, it will be focused on a number of things.

‘We have to play clean defense, and we will need some key hits and runs,’ Ross said. ‘Our pitchers are going to have to nail down a few of their specific hitters as well.’

As Saturday’s matchup against the Blue Demons and Sunday’s game versus the Fighting Irish (32-14, 13-3) draw nearer, there is only one question that remains for the squad: Will they be ready for the most pivotal weekend of the season?

Ross said there is no debate with regards to the answer. Her squad is prepared.

‘Oh, they’re going to be ready,’ Ross said. ‘I feel like I know this team better than any team I’ve coached, and I think their hearts and minds are in the right place.’

aolivero@syr.edu

Published on April 24, 2009 at 12:00 pm