It was the top of the sixth in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Pittsburgh. Syracuse had just scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a commanding five-run lead, but Erin Downey, the Orange’s ace, was in danger of giving it right back.

With one Panther run already scored and the margin trimmed to four, SU head coach Mary Jo Firnbach called for an intentional walk to Pitt slugger Christa Hunter, which loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate.

‘Those are never my decisions. I hate walking batters,’ Downey said.

Downey delivered four pitches out of the zone to Hunter, who homered off Downey in the previous inning, but induced a Jessica Thomas groundball to first baseman Heather Kim, escaping the jam. SU eventually won game one, 8-4. The Orange dropped the second game to the Panthers, 6-5.

‘I’ve done it before; it’s just a gut feeling,’ Firnbach said. ‘Sometimes I’ve let Erin go at hitters and they hit a home run. I guess that’s why I make the big bucks.’

The Orange survived the scrappy Panthers by winning its only game of the twin-bill without Downey’s best stuff, a situation it has not been faced with often this season.

Downey pitched a complete game, scattering seven hits, two walks and a hit batter. The four runs she gave up were all earned. She brought a 12-inning scoreless streak coming into the game.

Battling a season-long back injury, swirling winds and an inconsistent strike zone from the umpire, her catcher couldn’t blame Downey for the shaky start.

‘It wasn’t her best game,’ freshman Kim Weinstein said. ‘Erin’s back is hurting us, but we’re doing fine. We’re able to pick her up because we have such a good offensive team.’

Coming off complete game efforts against weak non-conference opponents Niagara and Hofstra during the week, Downey survived the hurdles of a Big East team without good control. After hitting Morgan Howard with a pitch in the third inning, Downey threw a first-pitch ball to nine of the next 10 hitters.

The SU single-season leader in strikeouts only managed to whiff four Pitt batters, mostly because she was behind in the count for the majority of the game. With the blazing team speed Pitt brings to the table, Downey was hardly fazed by putting so many runners on.

‘Half their team, if they put it in play, there’s a good chance they’re going to get on,’ Downey said. ‘But one thing I am really good at is focusing on the batter and not worrying about the runners on base.’

Weinstein said SU was well aware of Pitt’s speed before the doubleheader even started. She expected the Panthers to be extremely aggressive on the base paths, but it would not affect the Orange’s game at all.

Downey’s struggles continued into game two when she was forced into a relief role for starter Alexis Switenko. Downey inherited two runners and a 1-0 deficit. She gave up a single to the first batter she faced and two batters later surrendered a grand slam to Sheena Hellon, which made it 6-0.

‘The grand slam, it was a good pitch; she just reached out and got it,’ Downey said.

In reality, Downey may have thrown more good pitches than the box score indicates. Perhaps one of the causes for Downey’s lack of control was the home plate umpire’s moving strike zone. Both teams had gripes about the inconsistent calls, and Downey was no exception.

‘Inconsistent umpires really throw a curveball into your game,’ Downey said. ‘You throw the same pitch twice and you’re never sure if it’s going to be a strike or not.

‘I’d rather have a consistent umpire with a bad strike zone than an inconsistent umpire.’

For Firnbach, the poor umpiring was just another way for her team to learn by experience.

‘It’s a part of our sport,’ she said. ‘You have to learn how to adjust to it.’

Downey has pitched in 189.1 innings, the most in the Big East. With only a midweek series against Cornell until next weekend’s showdowns with Louisville and South Florida, the rest should benefit Downey’s lingering back problems.

Firnbach remains steadfast in her support for both her ace and complement, Switenko.

‘I’m confident with either one of them,’ Firnbach said. ‘It’s pretty obvious looking at our staff that you have to be ready to come in short relief, long relief, whatever the situation.’

Published on April 17, 2006 at 12:00 pm