Syracuse seeks to finish games stronger in Diamond 9 Citrus Classic this weekend

Syracuse was two outs from victory against No. 11 Stanford. Two hours later, it was one out from defeating Long Beach State.

The Orange was unable to close out either game, and what could’ve been a 4-1 weekend at the Mary Nutter Classic saw the Orange finish 2-3.

“It was one of those days where the ball kept dropping in for the other team and not for us,” SU head coach Leigh Ross said of her team’s two late losses Sunday. “We are young and inexperienced as a team.

“Being on the bottom half of the score happens sometimes.”

This weekend, Syracuse (4-6) looks to rectify its late-game struggles when it travels to Orlando, Fla. for the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic. The Orange will face Nebraska-Omaha and Missouri on Friday, Auburn and Bradley on Saturday and finish the stretch against Fordham on Sunday.

In the first game of the doubleheader Sunday, SU led Stanford 5-2 heading into the final inning.

After freshman Christina Clermont pitched five impressive innings, Ross planned to bring in freshman Sydney O’Hara. Because of the lead, she opted for junior Lindsay Taylor instead.

A Taylor error in the seventh allowed Stanford to tie, and after Taylor experienced tightness in her throwing arm, O’Hara came in two innings later than originally planned.

Stanford piled on six runs in the extra frame, going on to win 11-5.

“The injury kind of threw a wrench in everything, so we had to blow out our pitchers for that first game,” Ross said. “They did what they could do because they had used all their energy.”

Two days after pitching a perfect seventh for the first save of her career against California Polytechnic, O’Hara was on the opposite end of the result against the Cardinal.

Despite the result, the freshman still had a positive outlook on her outing.

“I was pretty on point, but Stanford is a really good team,” O’Hara said. “I think I did a pretty good job of attacking each batter. You just have to work through it no matter what happens.”

Even though Ross’ initial plan didn’t go accordingly, she said she feels confident with each pitcher on the mound no matter the situation.

Clermont, O’Hara, Taylor or sophomore Lindsey Larkin can be brought in at any time depending on the opponent’s weakness, and the coaching staff trusts that all four can get the job done.

Against Long Beach State later in the day, Larkin entered a tie game with one out and a runner on first in the bottom of the fourth.

She went on to retire nine of the next 11 batters before Hannah De Gaetano doubled in the bottom of the seventh. After Larkin got the next batter to ground out, Long Beach State recorded three straight hits, including a walk-off double, to win 7-6.

Despite the final result, Ross was extremely pleased with the sophomore’s first outing of the season.

“She did exactly what she was told, so I was really proud of her, “ Ross said. “We don’t really care about the loss right now in the season. We’ll get to that later.”

It’s no secret that the Orange lacks experience on the mound.

Larkin mentioned how big situations can sometimes get the better of the young pitchers, something that she said needs to be fixed.

“I think that if the pitching staff focuses more on ‘one pitch at a time’ it will help us keep late-game leads,” Larkin said via email. “I know many of us can get caught up in the big picture when in reality that is not the best thing.”

Larkin added how she thoroughly believes that each pitcher can handle big-time situations, and that late-game success will simply come with more experience and confidence as the season progresses.

“We just have to stay focused the whole entire game,” O’Hara said. “Each time, just attack the batters, get outs, trust your defense and just work through anything.”