Syracuse’s inaugural D-I softball team forged its own culture despite limited resources

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Becky Cookson arrived at her first Division I softball practice as one of five walk-ons on Syracuse’s inaugural softball roster. She made the team through a series of tryouts, conducted to fill the last spots of the squad.

Yet, the excitement that could, and perhaps should, have overwhelmed her in the moment was absent. Something was off. She and the four other walk-ons didn’t quite fit in.

They stared at 11 new teammates, all of whom were recruited to the team by head coach Mary Jo Firnbach. The recruits sported matching practice uniforms and stood in one cohesive unit. Meanwhile, Cookson and the other walk-ons donned street clothes. It didn’t seem like they were equal at all.

Despite differing statuses, everyone had one monumental thing in common: they were the first group to play D-I softball for Syracuse University.

In the late 1990s, SU added three new women’s sports — soccer, lacrosse and softball as a result of Title IX. Though, softball was the most behind because there was no men’s equivalent in place to provide them with basic necessities like a field or equipment. The program had little to work with and needed to build from the ground up, celebrating its 25th anniversary as a D-I program this year.

Firnbach helmed SU’s first season and six afterward. She was only 29 when she decided to throw her hat in the ring for the head coaching job after being an assistant at Southern Illinois, Michigan, and Illinois State.

“I’m like, oh I probably won’t get it,” Firnbach said, “I don’t have any head coaching experience.”

But her connections with Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse’s then-Athletic Director, and Janet Kittell, the former Associate Director of Athletics for Operations, helped her get an interview. To her surprise, she got the job. Yet, she faced a steep mountain to climb.

“When I was hired, there was no field,” Firnbach said, “there was no equipment, there were no players. There was nothing there.”

Syracuse’s softball team poses outside head coach Maryjo Firnbach’s house for the first time. Over time, gathering at the house became a tradition that helped the team bond. Courtesy of Rachel Park

Firnbach was hired in 1998 and from there, she worked to acquire the necessary tools to create a D-I program.

Once pitcher Tara DiMaggio, a New York native, signed with the Orange, Firnbach got the ball rolling. But the recruiting process was unorthodox due to the limited resources. DiMaggio stayed with a player on the women’s lacrosse team and Rachel Park, another recruit, stayed with a volleyball player.

Still, DiMaggio and Park were sold on Syracuse. Firnbach brought in nine other players to complete SU’s first recruiting class. The 11-player group was mostly made of freshmen along with some JUCO transfers.

To deepen her roster, Firnbach turned to open tryouts. These players weren’t novices to the game, as SU already housed a co-ed club softball team. Firnbach drilled the 30-plus women trying out for hours, searching for hidden gems to add to the club.

“I was definitely nervous,” Cookson said. “Because I knew I wanted to be (on the team).”

Following the tryouts, Cookson and four other walk-ons’ had been selected for the team. Firnbach knew they belonged, even if they weren’t the most talented.

“The people that we brought in were phenomenal,” Firnbach said. “(They were) people passionate about the university and excited to be there.”

It wasn’t just Firnbach who saw the recruiting class’s potential.

“They just did it because of the love of the game and the sport and just wanting to be a part of the team, so that was a really special group,” DiMaggio said.

With a full roster, some equipment and a field, the plan was in motion. The only thing missing was a stable foundation. But Firnbach knew the right way to familiarize the group with one another. The girls, from all different regions of the country and Canada, came together at Firnbach’s house to bond.

It became a tradition to head over to the house on Cumberland Avenue for dinners and holiday parties. Despite the discrepancies between the recruits and walk-ons in the beginning, status didn’t matter anymore. They became a team.

“We spent a ton, probably an unhealthy amount of time together,” DiMaggio said. “We liked spending time with each other just as much off the field as we did on.”

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Practicing for the season wasn’t easy without many of the necessary resources at their disposal. Harsh Syracuse winters forced them to practice in the then-Carrier Dome on the half not being used by SU’s basketball team. But the team grew resourceful, setting up batting cages in the Dome’s top-level concourse.

They also found ways to make cleaning the field enjoyable when they moved outside in the spring. Each player constructed a snowman in the outfield, and when they were finished with their masterpieces, threw it over the fence to get rid of the snow.

That described the 2000 squad. Whatever they were doing, they created their own entertainment. Once the season arrived, the fun was still active, but the internal expectations were remarkably high for a new D-I team.

“There was an inherent pressure to do well, we wanted it to matter and we wanted to win,” Park said.

Syracuse began its first-ever season in Monroe, Louisiana, for the Mardi Gras Classic. In their first game in program history, the Orange were stomped 8-0 by Wisconsin. Despite a difficult start, Syracuse responded the next day. In the latter game of a doubleheader, Firnbach’s team defeated Louisiana Tech 6-2, marking the first win in program history.

The Orange had a successful season for a brand-new team, clinching a 24-23-1 record with an 8-2 win over Canisius in their final game of the campaign.

“That was our goal,” Firnbach said of posting a winning record.

It was a season of many firsts: the first hit, stolen base and even a perfect game from DiMaggio. On April 25, 2000, she waltzed through Buffalo’s batting order for all five innings, striking out 10 in the first of just two perfect games in Syracuse history.

In the six seasons that followed with Firnbach at the helm, the Orange put together three winning seasons. Leigh Ross took over in 2007, and led Syracuse to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2010-12, as well as two Big East Championships in 2010 and 2011.

SU has boasted three all-American players, including pitcher Jenna Caira, who was a member of the Canadian National Team and has her No. 29 retired by Syracuse.

Now, the Orange are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference — one of the most competitive conferences in the country — with the likes of Clemson, Florida State and Duke annually penciled on their schedule. But Syracuse wouldn’t be where it is today without the first batch of women who established the program.

“To think that Syracuse (softball) has only been around for 25 years and they’re doing the things they’re doing now, it’s just phenomenal,” Cookson said.