Syracuse records 5 hits in sweep against No. 20 Virginia Tech

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Down 3-0 with two outs and two runners on base for Syracuse, Gabby Teran faced an 0-2 count against Virginia Tech’s ace Keely Rochard. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Teran rolled over on a changeup, softly grounding out to Hokies’ third baseman Cameron Fagan to end the inning. After failing to beat out the throw, Teran pointed her head toward the Syracuse sky in despair and ripped off her arm guard, knowing that she had just missed the Orange’s best opportunity all game to score off Rochard.

A day after Syracuse’s offense mustered no hits — the first time since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2014 — SU (19-19, 11-16 ACC) was outscored 14-1 over two games on Saturday against No. 20 Virginia Tech (31-12, 22-11), managing only five combined hits over the two games. Rochard pitched 10 of the 12 innings in the doubleheader, allowing just one run and striking out 16 batters.

“Where we’re at as a program, I don’t think we believe we stack up well with a team like that,” head coach Shannon Doepking said. “I’m not sure … we can believe we can hit a pitcher like that.”

In the top of the first inning in the opening game, sophomore Kaia Oliver walked three of the first four hitters, loading the bases. After a wild pitch and a two-RBI knock by Kelsey Bennett, Oliver was pulled for Jolie Gustave after throwing just one strike and recording only one out. By the time SU went to bat in the bottom half of the inning, it already trailed 4-0.

A seven-run top of the third, in which Virginia Tech hit two homers and sent 11 hitters to the plate, put the game already well out of reach for Syracuse. By the end of the fifth inning, the mercy rule was implemented.

“We just didn’t have a chance that game,” Doepking said. “Those are the types of games where you just got to let it go.”

The two wild pitches that got by catcher Maxine Barnes were a result of her poor body positioning, Doepking said postgame. The third-year head coach said everything was under Barnes and told the sophomore transfer to “keep your butt down, keep your body in position.” Barnes didn’t to do either, and she was quickly pulled for Geana Torres before even getting a chance to bat.

With Syracuse’s offense hitting at a historically bad clip this season, Doepking told the team on Saturday that they needed to emphasize the “small victories,” ones such as taking a changeup instead of flailing at it, like the Orange had done so many times throughout the season.

In the bottom of the fourth inning in the first game, when Teran lifted a high fly ball into center field, Calista Almer tagged from third base to easily score the Orange’s first run of the weekend to make the score 11-1. Hokies’ center fielder Darby Trull didn’t even attempt a throw home, knowing the game was well out of reach. As Almer touched home plate, Syracuse’s dugout cheered wildly, happy to have achieved one of the small victories their coach had described.

After striking out eight hitters in the first three innings of game one, Rochard returned to the pitcher’s circle for game two. The NCAA’s strikeout leader continued her dominance over the Orange, carrying a no-hitter into the sixth inning. When Syracuse’s Angel Jasso hit a slow-rolling ground ball in between first and second base, second baseman Addy Greene fielded it, but her throw to first was too late. SU had its first hit of the game and third of the series.

The next batter, Toni Martin, notched another infield single after first baseman Jayme Bailey’s foot came off the bag. After both hits, the Orange’s dugout and parents cheered. Even with two runners on, Teran’s soft groundout to third ended the inning, putting Syracuse’s best scoring opportunity of the game to rest.

In the second game, Bailey drilled a homer into dead center field, and the ball landed just over Martin’s glove and the fence, putting the Hokies up 1-0 in the fourth. Two innings later, the right-handed Bennett hit a two-run opposite-field home run. Syracuse ace Alexa Romero kept the game within reach, but the offense couldn’t provide needed run support.

Syracuse knew it would have a better chance in the second game with Romero in the circle, Doepking said. But without an offense that could manufacture runs, it didn’t matter who was pitching. In the fifth inning of the first game, Doepking said the Orange’s hitters started choking up on the bat after seeing so many “long and loopy” swings go under the ball. SU also emphasized swinging early in the count against Rochard, which Virginia Tech countered by throwing more changeups early in at-bats.

After starting Rochard in each of the first three games of the series, Hokies’ head coach Pete D’Amour told Doepking postgame that he is preparing Rochard for the regional section of the NCAA Softball Tournament, where she would be pitching in every game. Doepking said that, while going to regionals is a goal for the program, Syracuse is currently “just hoping for the next day at this point.”

“It’s tough to face a pitcher like that and struggle as much as we’ve struggled the past two games,” Doepking said. “Hopefully there’s going to be some growth opportunities for us as a program.”