For the fans that remained bundled under heavy jackets and fuzzy blankets in sub-freezing temperatures for Syracuse’s doubleheader, the lasting image will be Sydney O’Hara celebrating with her teammates after hitting a walk-off single to cap a three-run rally in the seventh inning.

But had it not been for a gutsy pitching performance in which O’Hara battled a rising pitch count and the blistering cold, she would have never had the chance to be the hero.

“I’m just used to coming back in,” O’Hara said. “… I’ve just got to battle through whatever happens.”

After throwing seven full innings in Syracuse’s 2-0 loss to Boston College in game one, O’Hara was asked to come in once again and stop the bleeding as Syracuse saw a six-run lead completely disintegrate in the second game. She threw 2 1/3 more frames before the Orange rallied for a 13-12 win at SU Softball Stadium in front of 87 fans on Wednesday.

With the sunlight quickly fading on a day in which temperatures dipped into the 20’s, the burden was on O’Hara to finish out game two after Cristina Clermont gave up eight runs in 3 1/3 innings, and Lindsey Larkin allowed the game-tying score in just 1 1/3.

“She said she’d rather have a break then come back and throw,” SU head coach Leigh Ross said. “So we decided to do that and let Christina start.

“We knew we were going to go back to her in the second game.”

In the first game, O’Hara had a no-hitter through the first 3 2/3 innings. She was breezing past the Boston College hitters with ease.

But then with two outs in the fourth, she started to unravel. The same high and seemingly unhittable pitches started to fall in the zone and the Eagles capitalized.

The first hit was a sharp double grounded past third basemen Danielle Chitkowski. Two pitches later, a single put BC on the board, and the pitch after that hit off the base of the outfield wall for a double.

In a matter of moments, the Orange had lost control of the game.

“They hit,” O’Hara said. “They’re a good hitting team. You get at this level and they can hit. For the rest of the game, I really focused on hitting my spots, and it just happens.”

It took O’Hara 126 pitches to get through the seven-inning game. As the innings wore on, she struggled with command because of the cold weather.

She had hand warmers in her back pocket that she kept grasping. And in between pitches, she regularly blew on her hands.

“It was awful,” O’Hara said of the weather. “It just comes to trusting your defense and getting the defense to get the outs for you.”

But even after laboring through a full game, she was approached by pitching coach Jenna Caira, who said that she should be ready to go in game two if needed.

And when the floodgates opened with some poor pitching and shoddy defense, there was no one else to turn to but O’Hara, who had been stationed at first base for the first 4 2/3 innings.

She allowed three runs to come across, but kept Syracuse within striking distance, and it was her walk-off hit that eventually proved to be the difference.

“Especially her being a freshman,” outfielder Shirley Daniels said, “especially in the cold right now, it showed a lot of heart, a lot of integrity and determination to come back out there and finish it off for us.

“I think it shows what kind of player she is.”

After the game, O’Hara stood with her jacket bundled over her body, her cheeks red from the cold.

She’d pitched in back-to-back games this season, but hadn’t faced anything quite like that.

In the box score, it’s O’Hara’s hit that defined one of the most wild games of the season, but it was her work on the mound that defined the type of player she is.

Said O’Hara: “I’m just doing my job.”

Published on April 17, 2014 at 9:35 am

Contact Sam: sblum@syr.edu | @SamBlum3