Alyssa Dewes excels in ninth spot in Syracuse’s batting order

Alyssa Dewes, Syracuse’s ninth batter in the order, is breaking the stigma of being the worst hitter on the team.

Out of the nine spot, the junior outfielder leads the Orange in batting average (.351), slugging percentage (.649) and on-base percentage (.406). She’s five for her last 12 and has Syracuse (17-16, 4-7 Atlantic Coast) set for its upcoming weekend series at Virginia (12-25, 2-7).

“I’m comfortable being there, I’m happy being there,” Dewes said of the nine hole. “Sometimes when you get moved around in the order, you get nervous. I’m just more confident, more comfortable there.”

Before she became the everyday ninth batter on March 12, Dewes moved around the order fairly often. From Feb. 12 to March 5, she hit in the five, six, seven, eight and nine spots.

Head coach Mike Bosch tried Dewes higher up in the lineup to give her more at-bats, but the offense wasn’t working as well. When not hitting ninth, Dewes is hitless in 10 at-bats. In the ninth spot, where she gets better pitches to drive, she has all of her 20 hits. In 47 at-bats there, she’s hitting .426.

Bosch has since penciled Dewes in the nine hole, where Dewes has been a model of consistency. With the exception of one 0-for-8 stretch, she hasn’t gone more than three consecutive games without a hit.

“She gets in the confidence and she takes her hacks,” assistant coach Alisa Goler said. “When we saw her in the fall, she didn’t necessarily look like she always was just gearin’ to go. I think now when she gets up there, she feels like when she takes a hack at the ball she’s going to have a good chance.”

Dewes’ 1.055 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging) also leads the team. She’s hit three home runs, four doubles and three triples on the year. She’s also tied for second on the team in stolen bases, with four.

“I like her speed, she’s thrived there,” Bosch said. “Honestly, if she gets on base, we know we have people if we flip the lineup over, that will be able to drive her in.”

As a freshman in 2014, Dewes hit .307 with four home runs. Last year she hit .220 with two home runs. This year, though, she’s been more comfortable out of the nine spot.

“From a mental standpoint, she’s just a — I hate to say it — much happier kid this year,” Bosch said. “She just feels more relaxed at the plate.”

Bosch and Goler also credit Dewes’ has quick bat speed for her success at the plate. This leads to high bat-exit speeds and hard hits off the bat. Her ability to stretch singles into doubles and doubles into triples has also helped her produce from the the last spot in the batting order.

“For Dewes, that’s just her niche,” Goler said. “She owns it.”