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After a fly-out from Laila Morales-Alves, Kelly Breen walked to advance Taylor Posner to second. Facing Sophia Voyles, Syracuse second baseman Makenzie Foster blasted a single to the right side. The Orange’s offensive prowess brought Posner home.

In its home opener, Syracuse (14-14, 2-8, Atlantic Coast Conference) fell 5-1 to Georgia Tech (24-12, 10-4, ACC). The Orange recorded just four hits to the Seminoles’ eight. Despite beating Boston College 10-1 in its last game, Syracuse remained scoreless in the first three innings. The Yellow Jackets matchup was another replica of its recent game which revealed the Orange’s difficulty starting quickly in conference play.

“I think we’re overcompensating in the box right now (in this season),” Syracuse starting pitcher Madison Knight said. “If we can just hit one side of the plate, it makes it so much more simple for us.”

In the first two innings, Syracuse held strong when Georgia Tech actively sought chances to score. With two outs in the top of the first, Madelyn Lopez sprinted to the right edge of the outfield and ran down a fly ball from Mallorie Black.

After walking Sara Beth Allen, Knight faced a full count against Jin Sileo. She hit the ball hard but Knight collected it in the circle, throwing it to the first baseman to hold the Yellow Jackets scoreless.

Knight then struck out Abby Hughes on three pitches in the third inning, but she then walked Gracie Hillman. GT’s Madison Dobbins hit a single, then moved to second due to a throwing error by Breen. She then drove in Hillman.

Black drove a double to right field that brought Dobbins home.

“When a dink and dunk goes in and (GT) scores two runs of it, (I) haven’t had to brush those off because they didn’t hit it hard. So, I think (I) have to brush those off and focus on the next pitch (and next batter from there,” Knight said.

Despite marking its second hit of the game by Posner in the fourth inning, Georgia Tech then fought back with one run in the fifth to maintain its advantage. In the top of the frame, Yellow Jackets’ center fielder Ella Edgmon blasted a double to the left side while Posner couldn’t turn her body around to catch the ball in the air.

Following a fly out from Black, Edgmon advanced to third. Knight committed another error on a pitch that the catcher Morales-Alves had to step back and collect, giving time for Edgmon to reach home.

After allowing a walk to Vanessa Flores, GT’s relief pitcher Makayla Coffield struck out Rebecca Clyde. Tessa Galipeau and Angel Jasso popped out to continue Syracuse’s scoring drought.

In the sixth, GT tallied one more run and expanded its lead to four. Reese Hunter knocked a double to the right field before being substituted by pinch runner Brionna Condon. Sileo then drove a single through the middle, scoring Condon and putting the Orange away for good.

“There’s nowhere to go but up from here. I think just using this game as the motivation for the next (game),” Knight said.

Published on March 28, 2024 at 11:45 pm