:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49426177/Softball_Louisville_PinkDay.0.0.jpg)
From high school through her first two years of college, Sydney O'Hara had been a starting pitcher. This season, after being diagnosed with golfer's elbow and rehabbing during the offseason, O'Hara has become a very effective relief pitcher. In his piece for The Daily Orange, Matt Feldman details O'Hara's transition from freshman standout to quiet success two years later.
O'Hara earned a first-team All-ACC selection in 2014 after a 16-win season with a 3.83 ERA as a freshman, one of the best performances in school history. This year, she has a conference-best 1.30 ERA in 22 games coming in from the bullpen. She has also only allowed 0.6 hits per inning.
"The injury really tore me apart, but when I came back, I worked twice as hard. I knew I had to do something to help the team - even if it was going in one or two innings at the end of the game." -- O'Hara in an interview with the D.O.
The role reversal has allowed her to contribute in a big way to a team that has seen a lot of success this season. O'Hara isn't itching to get back to starting games, either. She's very comfortable with her new part.
* * *
Syracuse Looks to Secure A Spot in the ACC Tournament This Weekend
When we last checked-in with the softball team, they had just come off of a weekend series against Virginia where they took two of the three games. The team now sits at 27-21 (9-11 ACC) with a chance to make the ACC Tournament for the second time in three years.
Yesterday afternoon, they swept Siena (21-18, 6-6 MAAC) in a non-conference doubleheader before hosting Boston College (25-21, 7-8 ACC) for the final weekend series, and conference games, of the regular season tomorrow and Sunday. The Orange then heads out to Binghamton (28-12, 10-2 America East) to finish things out.
The team sits in seventh place right now behind BC and in front of Pittsburgh. Eight teams make the conference tournament, making it imperative that Syracuse has a successful weekend.
First pitch of Game 1 today is slated for 3:00 pm ET.
G'Orange!