Syracuse will rely on multiple players’ contributions to replace All-American Sydney O’Hara this season

UPDATED: Feb. 5, 2018 at 9:51 p.m.

Over the past four years, Sydney O’Hara’s name became synonymous with Syracuse softball. Between a four-homer game last season and being SU’s all-time leader in saves, O’Hara’s graduation leaves gaps in effectively two spots in the Orange’s lineup card.

In her freshman year, the Cicero native earned First Team All-ACC honors, which she earned again as a senior. O’Hara allowed 41 home runs and a .219 opposing batting average while recording 31 wins and a 3.28 ERA during her time at Syracuse.

Now, head coach Mike Bosch and Syracuse must find ways to fill the void left by their former star. Bosch said that while it’s impossible to immediately replace a player of O’Hara’s caliber, he feels that multiple players, including freshmen, will compensate for the former star’s departure.

“What you do is take parts of different areas and expect them to improve, or two people to do that one role,” Bosch said. “I don’t think you ever replace somebody that had the year that she had.”

Last season, O’Hara hit almost one-third of the team’s home runs and batted at least .100 points higher than any teammate. Bosch and his team know it’s unrealistic for a player to match those numbers, so he asked them to hone in on hitting the way they always have, rather than swinging for the fences during each at bat.

For the Orange, getting runners on base will be of utmost importance, and it all starts at the top of the lineup with Sammy Fernandez. Last year, Fernandez boasted a .358 batting average and led the team in hits (72). Now, the senior intends to be even more aggressive at the plate than in the past, knowing that this year, runs will have to come more from singles and doubles instead of home runs.

“Without (O’Hara) in the lineup, we all might have to change our approach a little bit,” Fernandez said. “We really have to focus on getting on base.”

Once players get on base, they need to continue being aggressive, Fernandez said. Last season, she led the team in stolen bases with 16, while the rest of the team registered 26. Without a power-hitting identity, the Orange will need to rely on getting runners in scoring position to generate runs. Syracuse will look to juniors Alicia Hansen and Bryce Holmgren, second and fourth in batting average on last year’s team, respectively, to tally RBIs.

While SU has a number of experienced hitters who will carry the load on offense, there remains some uncertainty around its pitching rotation. The Orange are returning sophomore Alexa Romero — the wins leader from last season — and junior AnnaMarie Gatti to the staff, but injuries and inexperience will keep Bosch from filling out the rest of the rotation quite yet.

Bosch said he hopes to utilize junior Baylee Douglass, who made four appearances last season before a right-elbow injury kept her out for the rest of the year. Romero and Bosch said they also expect freshman Miranda Hearn to act as SU’s closer — O’Hara’s former role.

“We have four pitchers who are all very capable of doing different things,” Bosch said. “It’s a pitch by committee thing, we’re going to have to see who the best matchup is for that particular day.”

With O’Hara gone, Romero will solidify herself as the top pitcher in SU’s rotation. In doing so, the sophomore will use some of the pitching nuances she learned from O’Hara last season. The All-American taught Romero all about the mental game of pitching, such as how to set the pace of the game and compose herself, Romero said.

Losing O’Hara has forced Syracuse to restructure its approach in both hitting and pitching. As long as the experienced players stay aggressive and the newcomers continue to improve throughout the season, the team will be just fine, Bosch said.

“We lost a lot of spots, we’re doing a lot of shifting,” Romero said. “I think right now, everyone’s holding their own. Every day we’re getting better.”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, two statistics regarding Sydney O’Hara’s pitching career at Syracuse were misstated. At SU, O’Hara allowed 41 home runs and a .219 opposing batting average. The Daily Orange regrets these errors.