Syracuse suffers dramatic walk-off loss, 9-8, to Virginia in 11 innings

Syracuse (14-8, 3-2 Atlantic Coast) fell to Virginia (9-18, 1-4 Atlantic Coast), 9-8, in 11 innings on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, Virginia. After taking a four-run lead in the 10th inning, SU gave up four runs in the bottom of the inning before the Cavaliers’ Lacy Smith hit a walk-off homerun in the 11th. It was the Orange’s longest game of the season, outlasting its 10-inning victory over Grand Canyon on Feb. 18.

Syracuse got on the board in the first inning when Bryce Holmgren singled to drive in Alicia Hansen from second base. After suffering her first hitless game in nine games the day before, Holmgren rediscovered her form with an early RBI-single. The Orange added to its lead in the second inning when Lailoni Mayfield doubled to put Hannah Dossett on third base. A batter later, Dossett and Mayfield scored on a wild pitch and fielding error, respectively.

After tallying another run through a Mayfield RBI single in the top of the third, SU held a 4-0 advantage. In the bottom of the inning, Virginia’s Molly Keshin tripled down the right-field line and scored on a groundout to second base. UVA pitcher Erika Osherow held SU hitless for the next two innings while her team mounted a three-run fifth inning to tie the game at four.

Syracuse pitcher AnnaMarie Gatti started in the circle and held the Cavaliers to two hits in the first four innings. In the fifth, Virginia’s bats woke up, and Gatti was replaced with Alexa Romero after allowing runners to reach second and third. Romero gave up three runs on a sac fly and two hits, and the score was knotted at four.

Over the next four innings, the two teams combined for just four hits, as Romero and Osherow remained steady as the game went into extra innings. In the top of the tenth, three walks loaded the bases for Syracuse before Hansen hit a bases-clearing triple to give SU a three-run lead. A batter later, Holmgren singled, giving the Orange its eighth run of the game.

Facing a four-run deficit in the bottom of the tenth, Virginia’s offense went to work. The Cavaliers registered five hits in six batters to make it a one-run game. With runners on second and third, Madi Traver hit a ground ball that was fielded cleanly, thrown home and mishandled by SU catcher Gianna Carideo. The error scored Ashlee Davis to even the score at eight. Romero went on to retire the next two batters, and the game carried into the 11th inning.

After giving up four runs in the 10th, Osherow shut down the Orange in the 11th, allowing just one hit. With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Smith won the game on a walk-off solo home run to left center.

Syracuse will wrap up its three-game series with Virginia on Sunday at noon.