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Lindsey Hendrix walked Iowa’s Nia Carter and surrendered a base hit to Tatiana Roman to lead off the bottom of the first inning. Then, Tory Bennett stepped up to the plate and roped a double allowing Carter to score and Roman to advance to third. With two runners in scoring position and no outs, Denial Loecker singled up the middle driving in both, giving Iowa an early 3-0 lead.

In its second game against Purdue, Syracuse got off to a similarly slow start. The Boilermakers immediately had two runners in scoring position with no outs after Jackie Pengel walked Kiersen Geroge and the ensuing batter, Alex Echazarreta, hit a double.

Pengal bore down, striking out Jade Moy, but Anna Lonchor hit into a fielder’s choice giving Purdue a 1-0 lead with outs and a runner on third. Looking to get out of the inning only surrendering one run, Pengel faced Tyrina Jones, who hit an RBI single to extend the Boilermakers’ lead.

In both games, SU’s first inning struggles set the groundwork for big losses. Syracuse (2-4, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) lost 7-0 to Iowa in its first game (6-1, 0-0 Big Ten) and lost 7-0 to Purdue (4-2, 0-0 Big Ten). Across both games, the Orange were shutout, only tallied six hits and left 13 runners on base.

Geana Torrens and Kelly Breen were both hit by pitches to lead off the second inning, giving Syracuse an opportunity to cut into the Hawkeyes’ lead. However, Ryan Starr hit into a fielder’s choice, Laila Alves popped out, Rebecca Clyde grounded out and the Orange didn’t score.

After holding Iowa scoreless in the second and third innings, the Orange’s last chance to get back in the game came in the fourth. Madison Knight and Torrens were retired to start the inning, but Breen and Starr singled, starting a two-out rally. However, Alves popped up for the second consecutive at-bat, keeping Syracuse off the board.

In the fourth inning, Iowa added an insurance run, but the rest of its damage came in the fifth. With runners on first and second and one out, Avery Jackson tripled to right field scoring both runners on base. On the ensuing at bat, Jackson scored on an Echo Mattielo groundout, extending the Hawkeyes’ lead to 7-0.

Against Purdue, Syracuse looked to bounce back, but the second game was like deja vu.

In the third inning, Purdue exploded, scoring three runs all with two outs. Pengel retired George and Echazarreta back-to-back to start the inning, then things went awry. Moy singled and then Anna Lonchar was hit by a pitch.

With two runners on and two outs, Jones singled; Moy scored and Lonchar advanced to third base and Moy advanced to second base on an errant throw. With both runners in scoring position, Becca Edwards hit a two-RBI single giving the Boilermakers a 5-0 lead.

With SU down by five in the fourth inning, it hadn’t had a runner on base until Knight singled in the fourth inning with two outs, but the inning quickly ended after Breen flew out.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, consecutive doubles by Kiara Dillon and Kiersen George scored a run, then a single by Echazarreta gave Purdue a 7-0 lead, which was the final score.

Published on February 18, 2023 at 8:12 pm

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon