Syracuse softball to face Virginia in first round of ACC Championship

Women’s Lacrosse wasn’t the only sport on the hill to learn their postseason seed this weekend.

The 9th-seeded Syracuse Orange softball squad will take on 8-seed Virginia this Wednesday at 1 in the opening game of the 2023 ACC Softball Championship. The Orange clinched a postseason spot during their series against the Cavaliers two weeks ago.

SU finished the regular season 23-25-1 after a surprise sweep at home by the Boston College Eagles, a team that failed to qualify for the tournament this year. Before that, the Orange were riding an eight-game winning streak, with series sweeps over Lafayette (PA) and Virginia and a doubleheader sweep over Cornell.

Two-way freshman star Madison Knight will likely get the nod to start the single-elimination game. The Baltimore native has lived up to the hype as MaxPrep’s No. 1 Maryland recruit from the Class of 2022, leading the team in ERA (3.04), strikeouts (124), and opponents’ batting average (.212). Those numbers look even better in conference play - ACC batters are hitting just .188 against Knight.

After taking the first game of last year’s tournament against Louisville, SU will look to build off that success with at least one more postseason victory here. If they do beat UVA, the Orange will have to face nationally ranked Florida State next. The No. 3 Seminoles outscored Syracuse 23-1 in a three-game series back in March.

The full Championship schedule is below. How far do you think SU Softball will make it this season?