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In the bottom of the seventh inning, Syracuse was down 6-0 with only one out left in the game. Head coach Shannon Doepking made a lineup change, bringing senior Alex Acevedo in to pinch hit for freshman Angel Jasso. Acevedo hadn’t recorded a hit since she recorded three hits against Georgia Tech on April 27, 2019.

In just her tenth at-bat of the season, Acevedo did not swing at the first four pitches, resulting in a 2-2 count. With Yellow Jacket pitcher Blake Neleman one strike away from no-hitting SU, Acevedo called time, stepping out of the batter’s box before resetting her stance to face her fifth pitch. Neleman’s offspeed pitch caught the outside corner of the strike zone and the Orange’s season came to an end.

No. 8 seed Syracuse (20-24, 12-21 Atlantic Coast) extended its six-game winless streak in the ACC Tournament as the Orange fell 6-0 to No.9 seed Georgia Tech (20-25, 12-19). Syracuse conceded its second no-hitter of the season, SU’s first being an 8-0 defeat to Virginia Tech on April 30th.

The Yellow Jackets were an error and a hit by pitch away from conceding a perfect game. Neleman did not walk any of Syracuse’s batters, striking out nine. After the Virginia Tech no-hitter on April 30, Doepking believed that Syracuse would become more comfortable when facing the conference’s top-tier pitchers later in the season.

“We need to trust that the more we see a really talented pitcher, the better we’re going to get,” Doepking said.

But on Wednesday, Syracuse faced a pitcher in Neleman who relies on her high rising pitches, seeking to attack the upper corners of the strike zone. This left Syracuse’s batters swinging more often early in the count. All of Neleman’s strikeouts came with her ahead or even in her respective counts.

On the first at-bat of the game, Nelemen struck out Paris Woods, which provided a glimpse of SU’s struggles for the rest of the afternoon. Woods had already taken a mix of low and high pitches that left her count at 2-2. Then, Woods made a large hack at the fifth pitch, which went too high and outside of the zone.

If Woods had let that ball go by her, she would have faced a full-count which Syracuse had only faced once all game. On the very next at-bat, Lailoni Mayfield flew a strike out into deep center that would’ve surely advanced Woods to second.

But with Neleman consistently forcing Syracuse to swing, she continued to find herself ahead in the count. The only time she trailed was with a 3-1 count in the fourth inning, which resulted in the Orange’s Gabby Teran hitting a ground ball to third baseman Mallorie Black who bobbled it, allowing the senior to safely reach first.

Despite committing her eighth error of the season, Black was Georgia Tech’s best fielder Wednesday afternoon, securing three of the Yellow Jackets’ eight flyouts. Just before the error, Neli Casares-Maher drilled a line drive that forced Black to make an alert leap for the innings leadoff out.

But the no-hitter could have been stumped early in the seventh inning as Syracuse was able to get strikes off. Casares-Maher, the leadoff batter in the inning, drove a ball straight to Black, nearly identical to the fourth inning line out.

One at-bat later, Teran mirrored Casares-Maher’s hit directly towards Black’s glove, giving Neleman two outs to work before Acevedo’s at-bat. Whether it was Black’s fielding or Neleman’s pitching, Syracuse never found offensive success.

Published on May 12, 2021 at 6:09 pm

Contact Alex: ahcirino@syr.edu