Syracuse softball hangs tight with North Carolina in 1-1 split

The Syracuse Orange softball team went into the weekend needing at least one win against the top-five North Carolina Tar Heels. Lucky for them, they pulled it off, earning a 3-1 victory on Saturday at Skytop Softabll Stadium.

In the second game of the series on Sunday, SU fell 11-10. As a result of the longer first game, the second game of the scheduled doubleheader was cancelled -- the third cancelled game for Syracuse last week (along with two vs. Siena on Wednesday).

Saturday’s contest saw the Orange start strong with two runs in the first inning (by way of Sydney O’Hara and Faith Cain, respectively). Bryce Holmgren would single in an insurance run in the fifth to lock up the two-run victory. AnnaMaria Gatti picked up her seventh win of the season, pitching six and two-thirds innings, striking out four while also giving up four hits and an earned run.

The second game was a far more lively affair, as North Carolina scored four runs over the first four innings. Syracuse tied things up during a busy fifth, then chased the Heels again in the seventh to tie it up at seven apiece. SU would go down by as much as four, and they’d battle back to within one in the ninth, but fell just short.

Hannah Dossett and Alicia Hansen managed two RBIs apiece for Syracuse, and Hansen also had the team’s only home run.

After a week of four games, the Orange are now 26-17 (7-10 in the ACC) with seven scheduled games to play -- and just three conference games remaining. They’re currently in seventh place in the ACC, and a game up on Virginia in eighth place. As long as SU can stay clear of Pitt and Georgia Tech, both currently tied for ninth at 6-15, they’ll make the ACC Tournament.

Syracuse’s next games are a doubleheader at Colgate this Wednesday.