Jenna Caira couldn’t hold back a smile. As she jogged back to the Syracuse dugout, she stuck out her tongue and laughed. She’d just gotten a taste of her own medicine.

Caira had struck out looking on a changeup, the same pitch she has perfected as SU’s ace. The same pitch she uses to torment opposing batters.

‘Karma,’ Caira said laughing. ‘Hitting a changeup right now, eh — I’ll work on it with Coach (Wally) King.’

But that one strikeout was the only thing Caira, a junior pitcher, and her teammates did wrong Friday, as they dominated crosstown rival Le Moyne 10-0 to wrap up their fall ball season. Caira and sophomore Stacy Kuwik combined for a two-hit shutout. The overpowering pitching was complemented by a balanced offense in which seven players registered a hit and four drove in at least one run.

SU head coach Leigh Ross kept her projected starters out on the field for the first four innings before moving personnel around. That gave fans a brief taste of what to expect come spring, and the lineup already looked to be in good form.

Caira continued right where she left off playing for Team Canada over the summer. Her changeup fooled the Dolphins’ hitters consistently, and five of her six strikeouts came on that pitch.

Kuwik replaced her in the top of the fifth and retired all nine batters she faced.

‘They did fantastic,’ Ross said. ‘They have just made huge strides, even from last year. Caira’s experience this summer was fantastic. And (Kuwik) is just even more sharp. I think she’s starting to grow, too, and mature a little bit more.’

The only two hits Le Moyne managed came against Caira, and both were bloopers. One lobbed softly over first baseman Jasmine Watson’s head. The other was an infield single that traveled fewer than 10 feet from home plate.

When outfielder Lisaira Daniels was asked about Caira and Kuwik’s performances, her only response was ‘amazing.’

The offense wasn’t far behind, either. The Orange jumped out in front early, with three runs in the top of the first and two more in the top of the second. SU sent eight batters to the plate in each inning. In all, Syracuse sent seven or more batters to the plate in four of its six plate appearances.

‘I think it’s going to be one of our strengths this year is our lineup all the way through,’ Ross said. ‘Good power mixed with speed.’

A good sign for the Orange is that its offensive contributions came from a mix of youth and experience. The four players who drove in runs represented four different classes — from freshman all the way up to senior.

Senior Hallie Gibbs and junior Stephanie Watts drove in three runs each. Gibbs reached base in all three of her at-bats, and Watts’ two-run home run to left field put an exclamation point on the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.

‘I think (we did a good job) just hitting the ball solidly,’ Caira said. ‘Getting hits when needed so when there are runners on base, we cash them in.’

That will be something the Orange looks to continue once the regular season rolls around in February. SU is the defending Big East tournament champion and looks to return to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history.

With that goal in mind, Ross has used the fall ball season as a chance to develop some of the younger players who could make important contributions in the spring. Freshman Shirley Daniels, the sister of Lisaira, will most likely start in right field this season. The aforementioned Watson, who drove in a run on Friday, has a powerful bat and can fill at both first and third.

‘They just fit so well with this team,’ Lisaira Daniels said. ‘They came here wanting to play, and they came with the college mindset already. It’s like we’ve been playing with them for years.’

Once again, Ross will take her squad to a bevy of tournaments to start the season against some of the best teams in the country. Five tournaments will bring the team to Georgia, Alabama, California, Florida and Virginia beginning in mid-February.

And after Friday’s blowout win, the Orange will have to try and pick up where it leaves off this fall.

‘We said with this game, we want to set the tone for how we go in the spring,’ Caira said. ‘And I think we did that.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on October 3, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13