Syracuse adjusts to changeup and explodes in 5th and 6th innings of 9-1 win over Notre Dame

Syracuse shouldn’t have been surprised when Notre Dame freshman Payton Tidd relied on her sinking changeup. Head coach Shannon Doepking even admitted that Tidd was “going to changeup us to death.”

Yet, the off-speed pitch befuddled the Orange batters early on, as SU struck out five times in the first four innings.

But then, the Orange adjusted. The batters moved slightly forward in the box to get better timing on the slower pitches. SU also looked for changeups when Tidd faced counts with two or three balls, sophomore Alex Acevedo said.

That adjustment sparked a 9-1 Syracuse (13-18, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) win over Notre Dame (19-11, 4-3) in six innings. The Orange scored two runs in the fifth inning after senior Alicia Hansen tripled home sophomore Gabby Teran and junior Toni Martin used a sacrifice bunt to bring in Hansen. In the sixth, SU erupted for seven more.

“We just knew that whenever she was ahead or needed a strike, she would throw us a changeup, so we were expecting it,” Acevedo said. “After that, the momentum started to build and we just fed off each other.”

Seeing Teran standing on first base in the bottom of the fifth inning, Hansen was motivated to get a hit, she said.

As Tidd released the off-speed pitch, Hansen was patient, expecting an off-speed pitch. She smacked the ball down the third base line and towards the wall. Teran sprinted home from first base, tying the game at one.

Two batters later, Acevedo tapped the third pitch of the at-bat a few feet in front of the mound. UND catcher Shelby Grimm picked the ball up and fired it towards first base. But just as she turned away from Hansen on third base, the senior took off. She dashed home and tapped the plate just before Grimm could turn around and tag her. Home plate umpire Alex Leap screamed, “safe!” as the Orange took their first lead.

“I think it just fired everyone up,” Doepking said. “Alicia’s just an emotional leader for this team, and she brings a lot of fire, a lot of grit.”

The Orange didn’t relent in the sixth inning. When Acevedo stepped to the plate for the eighth at-bat of the inning, the Orange had already scored three runs.

Acevedo, standing outside the batter’s box, thought about how assistant coach Vanessa Shippy told the Orange to “shock everyone who was watching,” Acevedo said.

“In my last at bat, I was 0-for-3 and I was like, ‘I know I can produce. I know I can do something. Coach Shippy told me I can do it,” Acevedo said.

This was a game that SU, who was 2-4 in conference play with two losses to a struggling Boston College team, was not supposed to win. Its opponent had won 13 of its last 15 games, including a win over No. 3 Florida State.

Acevedo used that as motivation. She smashed a double to the right field wall, bringing home Martin and Hansen. As she stood up, she bobbed her head and swung her shoulders to sophomore Lailoni Mayfield’s walk-up song: “Get Like Me” by David Banner.

The very next at-bat, Mayfield drove Acevedo home with a walk-off double to the right field wall.

“I think that, like we always said, this team is super talented, but we just haven’t been able to put the puzzle pieces together from an offensive, defensive and pitching standpoint yet,” Doepking said. “And I think what you got to see today is some of the pieces coming together.”