Syracuse reaches double-figures for 1st time in doubleheader sweep at Patriot Classic

Syracuse (10-6) won both its games on the last day of the Patriot Classic on Sunday, beating Monmouth (4-3) and tournament host George Mason (4-7). The 6-1 win against the Hawks served as revenge after the Orange fell to the New Jersey school in eight innings on Saturday, while the 11-6 victory over the Patriots was the second in as many days for SU.

Alexa Romero started Sunday’s opener against Monmouth, her third appearance this weekend, and showed no signs of fatigue. The sophomore opened the game with six shutout innings before giving up the lone run in the seventh inning, finishing the complete game with eight strikeouts and her seventh win of the year.

The Orange provided her with an early lead thanks to a Hawks error on a fly ball that allowed Sammy Fernandez to score in the top of the first. Syracuse was held scoreless the next three innings before breaking the game open in the fifth. Toni Martin, who had a team-high two RBI, earned both on a triple to push SU’s lead to 3-0. She scored on the next at-bat thanks to a Fernandez single up the middle, one of the shortstop’s three hits in the game.

Two more players tallied RBI in the final inning, as back-to-back base hits by Alicia Hansen and Bryce Holmgren drove in the final runs of the game for the Orange.

Syracuse kept its offense rolling against George Mason in the second game of the doubleheader, scoring seven runs in the first four innings. The scoring began in the first, when two errors on a Gabby Teran ground ball resulted in Fernandez scoring from first base. SU kept it up in the following inning, as back-to-back-to-back hits by Hansen, Holmgren and Teran brought the Orange’s run total to five. Another error by the Patriots on a Neli Casares-Maher single in the fourth inning scored Teran and Holmgren, but the SU scoring streak was halted there.

AnnaMarie Gatti began in the circle for Syracuse, pitching three scoreless innings before the Orange unraveled in the bottom of the fourth. Four hits and an error resulted in four runs (one earned) and George Mason cut the SU lead to 7-4. The Patriots loaded the bases with two outs, but Baylee Douglass’ strikeout in relief of Gatti got the Orange out of the inning.

An RBI single by Martin gave Syracuse an insurance run in the top of the fifth, but it was the following inning that SU iced the game for good. Designated hitter Lailoni Mayfield’s bases-clearing triple upped the Orange’s lead to seven and it was nearly more, if not for Mayfield being thrown out at home attempting to go for an inside-the-park home run. The Patriots scored two runs and loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half of the inning in one last comeback attempt, but Miranda Hearn got three-straight outs to end the threat.

Syracuse begins conference play next weekend when it travels to Blacksburg, Virginia, to face Virginia Tech for a three-game series.