Syracuse’s offense struggles throughout 3-2 defeat to NC State
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Down 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Syracuse got its spark. To open the final frame, pinch-hitter Gianna Torres was hit on the arm with a pitch. “Let’s go!” Torres shouted at the dugout, trying to give any sort of encouragement to create a last-minute rally.
The Orange proceeded to load the bases and had Madelyn Lopez at the plate with one out. Lopez took a walk, scoring Taylor Posner, lowering the deficit to just two runs. Tessa Galipeau followed up with a fly ball into center field that was caught by NC State’s Rebecca Murray but Ryan Starr tagged up from third base and scored. Just like that, Syracuse had runners on second and third.
Then, Angel Jasso ripped a line drive into left field and NC State’s Katlyn Pavlick only had to shuffle a few steps forward to make a play on the ball, closing out the late-game rally attempt. Early on, Syracuse’s (11-18-1, 2-10-1 Atlantic Coast) offense couldn’t get going quick enough, and fell 3-2 to NC State (14-25, 5-9 ACC) in the second of a three-game series. Lindsey Hendrix was in the circle for SU and pitched a complete game, as all three of her runs were allowed off of solo home runs. Help was limited for Hendrix, as Wolfpack starting pitcher Aisha Weixlmann had the Orange on their toes for most of the contest, tossing a scoreless outing through the first six innings and only allowing four hits prior to the last inning.
“We’d like to get on time a little bit sooner, rather than in the seventh inning,” head coach Shannon Doepking told CitrusTV.
SU’s offense was lifeless for nearly the entire game. The Orange only had five total baserunners through the first six innings, and Galipeau counted for three of those five. It wasn’t even until the sixth inning when an SU player third base, as RBI chances were slim-to-none. Down 2-0 in the middle of the sixth, Doepking huddled her team together with the coaching staff to talk things over.
“This isn’t a timing thing,” Doepking said to her team. “This is learning how to sit in some of these moments and not make them bigger than they need to be.”
Galipeau was the first to respond to her coach, lacing a single into center field. After, Jasso grounded into a fielder’s choice, Kelly Breen hit a rocket to the left field corner for a stand-up double and the Orange had runners on second and third — their best scoring opportunity of the day at that point.
Yamila Evans was at the dish, even in the count at 2-2. On the fifth pitch of the at-bat, Evans unleashed a liner to the left side, directly toward MaKayla Marbury who gloved the ball and ended the inning. Syracuse couldn’t convert.
“If we would’ve had that team that we had in the seventh inning (for the whole game), I think this would have been a different ballgame,” Doepking said.
Breen led off the fourth inning after the Orange’s previous two frames included zero hits. The infielder came out aggressive, swinging and missing at the first pitch and then knocking a soft fly ball into shallow left field on the second pitch. Pavlick charged in from left and as she dove at the ball, ultimately allowing it to go under her glove and roll further into the outfield.
Breen rounded first and bolted for second base, thinking that she had a shot at a double. Luckily for NC State, Murray went from center to left field, backing up Pavlick’s missed diving attempt and promptly threw Breen out at second.
Having little success, Syracuse began to try new ways to get baserunners on. It began the fifth inning by playing small ball. Angie Ramos laid down a bunt, that dribbled a couple of inches past home plate, and was thrown out by Wolfpack catcher Amanda Hasler with ease.
All afternoon long, Weixlmann utilized SU’s weak contact to her advantage, forcing 10 fly outs and five groundouts. She kept her pitches in and around the zone, only issuing two walks and striking out five batters.
On the other hand, Hendrix had similar success dealing with contact and got 11 of her 21 outs from ground balls. The Syracuse infield was sharp all game long and didn’t make a single error.
Hendrix’s downfall, however, was through the long ball. Hannah Goodwin stepped into the box in the first inning as the second batter of the game. Hendrix evened the count with Goodwin after firing a fastball past the third baseman, yet on that 2-2 pitch, Goodwin hit a towering home run blast that went over the left field scoreboard and set the tone for the Wolfpack.
Later in the third inning, Hendrix was down in the count 3-1 to Gracie Roberts. Not careful enough with her location, she gave Roberts the perfect pitch to hit — right at the knees. Roberts cranked a solo shot into center field, which gave the Wolfpack a 2-0 lead.
Just three mistakes from Hendrix took a major toll on the outcome for Syracuse, especially with the bats failing to come alive until the latest possible moment.
“Honestly, we knew they were going to hit home runs,” Doepking said. “Lindsey did a great job of responding (to them).”
