Alexa Romero holds Binghamton to 1 run in Syracuse’s 13-1 victory

Binghamton sent 18 batters to the plate Wednesday night. Fifteen times, Alexa Romero sent them back to the dugout. While Syracuse smacked Binghamton starter Allison Pritchard, Romero pitched like an ace. Three Bearcats reached base in five innings and only one scored.

“She’s always coming in strong,” junior shortstop Sammy Fernandez said. “She usually always shuts down the opposing player. We can always expect her to make that big pitch.”

When Romero joined SU’s rotation, Syracuse players and coaches knew she had the potential to be dominant. In Syracuse’s (19-12, 3-6 Atlantic Coast) 13-1 rout of Binghamton (9-16, 2-2 America East), the left-handed Romero pitched five innings. She gave up two runs or fewer for the eighth time this season when pitching at least five innings, and she lowered her earned run average to 2.38, breezing through the Bearcats lineup.

On Tuesday, Romero had a hunch she would have a stellar outing. The Aurora, Colorado, native felt like she had her pitches moving well and hitting their spots in practice this week. One day later, pitching in her first game at SU Softball Stadium, Romero kept it rolling.

Romero pitched with efficiency. The freshman threw 75 pitches through five innings, notching her seventh win of the year. Her counterpart gave up seven runs, walked six batters and threw 76 pitches in 2 2/3 innings.

Jumping ahead in the count allowed Romero to utilize her movement pitches. Pop-ups and weak groundouts were products of Binghamton not getting the barrel of the bat on the ball.

“I felt really good today,” Romero said. “I felt loose and relaxed.”

In the bottom of the fourth, Stephanie Bielec’s bloop single to shallow left field gave Binghamton its first hit. One batter later, Romero made her only mistake of the game. A pitch to Kate Richard that caught too much of the plate resulted in an RBI double. When Romero could have surrendered more, her change up caused Bridget Hunt’s knees to buckle as she looked at strike three.

“She’s just been doing her thing,” Syracuse head coach Mike Bosch said. “She’s been really consistent all season. She does a lot of things you really wouldn’t expect from a freshman.”

This marks the second time Romero faced the Bearcats this season. The first encounter, a fall scrimmage in October, Romero said she pitched OK, but she didn’t elaborate. She instead reinforced that she has improved since then with her 75-pitch, three-strikeout victory on Wednesday night.