Syracuse Finishes Strong in Michele Smith Spring Break Tournament

The Syracuse softball team saw a lot of action this past week in Clearwater, FL. They played three games prior on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by the five games of the actual tournament. There were highs and lows, but mostly highs, as the team ended on a three-game winning streak.

Here's a recap of all eight games:

Pennsylvania 0, Syracuse 2

This game was the epitome of a pitchers' duel between Jocelyn Cater and Alexis Borden, up until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Syracuse finally broke through. Borden gave up only three hits, the biggest to Cater herself that scored the lone two runs of the game. Cater allowed only four the entire game.

On the offensive side, Danielle Chitkowski and Jurie Joyner both had multi-hit games, the only ones to do so.

Yale 1, Syracuse 5

The Orange got on the board first with Sydney O'Hara scoring on a two-out hit by left fielder Annie Toczynski in the bottom of the second inning. But, the Bulldogs would tie it up their next time at-bat off of a single by Glover. From there, Syracuse took off. They scored two runs in the bottom of the third from a blast by O'Hara, and two more in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a triple by Maddi Doane. Cater was pretty much lights-out from the third inning on, before Lindsey Taylor was given the ball to close things out.

Seven players had at least one hit for the Orange. O'Hara and Toczynski each had two. Cater gave up five hits and two walks, while striking out five batters out of the 25 she faced.

For Yale, pitcher Lindsay Efflandt let up all five runs on eight hits, striking out two. In relief, Francesca Casalino gave up one hit and struck out three, preventing Syracuse from adding to their four-run lead.

Syracuse 8, Penn 10

Syracuse wasted no time scoring in the second game of their double-header on Wednesday. Corinne Ozanne and Julie Wambold go on base with two outs, and O'Hara crushed one over the wall giving the Orange a three-run lead in the top of the first inning. The Quakers would answer right back with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, also off of a three-run home run.

The Orange would explode for five more runs in the top of the second. Sami Fernandez scored Toczynski on a single to first base, Alyssa Dewes scored on a wild pitch, Wambold doubled-in Doane and Fernandez, and O'Hara singled-in Wambold, capping a four-hit inning for the offense. That would be all from the "visiting" side. Unfortunately for them, Penn was far from finished.

The Crusaders added a run in the bottom of the second on a walk issued by O'Hara. They added another run on an error by Mary Dombrowski at second. In the bottom of the sixth, Penn's bats really came alive, for five runs, with a two-run double, a two-run single, and a one-run single. Alexis Borden shut the Orange's bats down in the top of the seventh to seal the victory.

In the circle, O'Hara gave up five runs on seven hits and five walks, striking out three in five innings of work. Cater gave up five runs on five hits. Lindsey Larkin came to Cater's aid, getting all three outs to end the sixth. On offense, O'Hara and Wambold each had multi-hit games. Wambold ended the day with two hits and two RBI's in four at-bats, while O'Hara had three hits and four RBI's in the same number of at-bats.

For the Crusaders, Courtney Cuzick gave up all eight runs on five hits and one walk. Mason Spichiger and Borden didn't allow another Syracuse player to cross the plate for the remainder of the game. Left fielder Sydney Turchin, third baseman Lauren Li, and designated hitter Alexis Sargent each had two hits, and center fielder Kanani Datan had three. Sargent also ended with five RBI's.

What started off as a strong day for the Orange, ended in a victory for Penn.

Syracuse 0, Maine 4

The Black Bears got things rolling, after two and half scoreless innings, in the bottom of the third with two runs off of a triple followed by a single. The only other scoring came an inning later off of a two-run home run by catcher Janelle Bouchard. Neither team was really all that successful crossing the plate, except for the two innings that Maine scored their runs.

Black Bears pitcher Alexis Bogdanovich only let up three hits, with 16 strikeouts. Bouchard had the only multi-hit game, but six others had a hit ton contribute the the offense.

Ozanne, Cater, and Toczynski provided the only offense for the Orange. In the circle, O'Hara gave up all four runs on four hits and two walks, whil striking out six batters over three innings of work. Larkin then took the reins, giving up four hits and striking out one over three innings of work.

Syracuse 0, Toledo 2

Cater and Emily Anderson were locked in a pitchers' duel until the bottom of the sixth. This was the breakthrough inning for the Rockets. Designated hitter Celeste Fidge scored center fielder Ashley Rausch for the firstrun of the game. Second baseman Chandler Rice then reached on a fielder's choice, scoring short-stop Nicole Toven. Anderson allowed one single in the top of the seventh, but that would be all that Syracuse could muster in their effort for a potential comeback.

The pitchers for both teams only allowed three hits each, all three for Cater, unfortunately, coming in that big inning for Toledo. Cater had seven strikeouts and three walks.

Chatanooga 2, Syracuse 4

The third game of the actual tournament was a back-and-forth contest on offense. Syracuse scored first, in the bottom of the first, on a double by Wambold that scored Doane from first base. Chatanooga answered with two consecutive runs in the top of the fourth on a walk and a passed ball.

The Orange were not about to lose another game. Using "small ball" tactics, Chitkowski and Toczynski worked their way on base for Dewes to single them both in, taking back the lead. Two batters later, Doane doubled Dewes in, adding an insurance run. Cater would allow only three more hits for the final three innings, sealing the victory for Syracuse.

Doane ended the game with three hits and one RBI. Cater finished with two runs on five hits and eight walks, striking out 16.

For the Mocs, second baseman Cricket Blanco had the lone multi-hit game with two hits and one walk in her three at-bats. Cori Jennings and Kailey Palazzolo split time in the circle with Jennings giving up four runs on five hits and three walks over her 3 1/3 innings, while Palazzolo gave up a hit and a walk over her 2 2/3 innings.

Hartford 1, Syracuse 2

Syracuse won their second straight game of the tournament, riding the bats of Chitkowski and Dewes. Hartford got on the board first, in the top of the second, on an error by Chitkowski. The Orange answered right back with their two runs in the bottom half of the inning on two RBI singles.

Taylor worked two innings for Syracuse, giving up one run on three hits and one walk. Larkin finished the job, going five innings and surrendering one hit over her five innings in the circle. Dewes had a multi-hit game, with two hits and one walk in two at-bats. Five others, including Chitkowski, had one hit.

Bianca Ross gave up two runs on seven hits over her six innings of work for the Hawks.

Syracuse 3, Towson 0

The Orange continued their winning ways in their last game of the tournament. O'Hara had all three RBI's for Syracuse, starting with a two-run homer in the top of the second, followed by a single in the top of the third.

Cater pitched a complete game shutout, surrendering only two hits and three walks, with 15 strikeouts.

For the Tigers, pitcher Missy McCormick gave up three runs on four hits and two walks, striking out 10 batters.

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All-in-all, the Orange won five of the eight games that they played in Clearwater. Their offensive explosion against both Yale and Penn showed that this team is capable of scoring a lot of runs in a short amount of time.

Up Next...

Syracuse is now set to really get into the meat of their schedule, starting with a three game series against Boston College this coming weekend. From now until the end of the season, they'll be playing three game sets against ACC teams on the weekends, followed by a double-header against a non-conference opponent sometime during the middle of the week.