Lindsey Hendrix’s no-hitter highlights doubleheader sweep of Cornell
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With one out to go, Syracuse starter Lindsey Hendrix fired a fastball that Lily Travieso chopped to second. Kelly Breen charged in, fielding the ball cleanly, and threw a strike to first base for the final out. With that, Hendrix recorded the 12th no-hitter in program history.
Syracuse (20-22-1, 4-12-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) stifled Cornell’s (11-25, 4-11 Ivy League) batters all afternoon in its doubleheader. The Orange held the Big Red to just three hits across both games. Freshman Madison Knight tossed a three-hit shutout in game one, then junior Hendrix followed up with a no-hitter in game two. SU has now won five straight games for the first time this season.
In game one, Cornell lefty Gabrielle Maday started in the circle and retired the Orange in order in the first inning. Knight got the ball for Syracuse and struck out two Big Red batters after allowing a hit and a walk, keeping the game scoreless after the first.
SU broke through in the top of the second with timely hitting by Taylor Posner. After Angel Jasso singled and Laila Alves reached base on a fielding error, Posner stepped up with runners at the corners. On a 1-1 count, the left fielder ripped an off-speed pitch down the left-field line. Both runners came across to score giving Syracuse an early 2-0 lead.
Knight continued to shut down the Big Red, retiring six straight batters. In the fourth, Jasso put pressure on Cornell when she blooped a leadoff single to right field, her second hit of the game. With Knight at the plate, Jasso took off for second and dodged a tag to steal her ninth base of the season. Then, Knight grounded an outside fastball into center field for a single, scoring Jasso to make it 3-0 SU.
Knight struck out two more batters in the bottom of the fourth, racking up seven strikeouts to that point. The freshman ran into some trouble in the fifth when two Cornell runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch with one out. Knight worked out of the jam, forcing leadoff hitter Kate Callaway to ground out, then retired Maicie Levitt on a grounder to first.
Syracuse extended its lead with a fourth run in the sixth. With no one on and two outs, Posner started another rally by drawing a walk. Ryan Starr stepped up and slammed a liner past diving right-fielder Julie Hilcken, which rolled to the wall.
Knight kept the Big Red off the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth. After retiring the first two batters, the freshman froze Hilcken with a 3-2 fastball on the outside corner for a called third strike.
Maxine McCraw entered in relief for Cornell, and pinch-hitter Olivia Pess greeted her by blasting a 1-1 high fastball over the center field fence. The junior’s first home run of the season put the Orange on top 5-0.
Down to their final out with a runner on first against Knight, Ella Harrod cracked a ground ball off the pitcher’s glove. The ball ricocheted right to Breen at second, who stepped on the bag for the final out. Knight put the finishing touches on a three-hit shutout, the second complete game shutout of her career.
In the second game, neither team cracked the score column in the first. Syracuse grabbed an early second-inning lead. Facing Cornell’s starter, Mia Burd, Jasso and Madelyn Lopez began the frame with singles. Jasso came home on an error to score the game’s first run.
Hendrix started in the circle for the Orange and dominated from the start. After hitting and walking a batter in the first, the junior responded by retiring eight straight batters through the third inning.
After Knight’s sac fly in the third doubled SU’s lead, Jude Padilla launched her first home run of the season in the fourth on a 3-2 curveball to left field. In the bottom of the frame, Hendrix forced Travieso to ground into an inning-end 6-4-3 double play, keeping the Orange in front 5-0.
Following a scoreless fifth, Syracuse continued its onslaught by scoring three more times in the sixth. Tess Galipeau’s RBI single scored Starr, who reached on a bunt single. Then, an error by Cornell plated two additional runners.
All eyes turned to Hendrix, who had a no-hitter through five innings. The junior retired the Big Red in order at the bottom of the sixth as her pitch count increased to 100. In the seventh, Hendrix caught Lauren Holt looking for the first out. Hilcken bounced a routine ground ball to Starr at shortstop for the second out, then Travieso grounded out to Breen at second, sealing the no-hitter.
