Syracuse University
Virginia Tech
Orangewomen Softball Takes Two From Virginia Tech
4/7/2002 5:24:52 PM | Softball
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The pitching tandem of senior Heather Brown (Farmington, N.M./Farmington) and junior Tara DiMaggio (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) held the Virginia Tech Hokies scoreless to lead the Syracuse softball team to a 5-0, 3-0 doubleheader sweep on Sunday, April 7 at the Syracuse Softball Stadium. The Orangewomen have now won four consecutive games to improve to 14-10 overall and 4-0 in the BIG EAST. Virginia Tech is now 25-10 overall and 4-2 in the league.
Brown and DiMaggio limited the BIG EAST's top offense (.335 batting average) to only seven hits in 14 innings. Brown started the twin bill with a complete-game two-hitter. She struck out eight batters, including a stretch of seven consecutive Hokies. Brown has thrown two consecutive complete-game shutouts and is now 4-5 on the season.
DiMaggio compiled 11 strikeouts in her third complete-game shutout of the season. She scattered five hits and did not allow a runner past second base. DiMaggio has won five of her last seven starts and is now 6-5 on the season. Brown and DiMaggio have not allowed an earned run in their last 28 innings pitched.
The Orangewomen broke open the opener with all five of their runs in the fourth inning. Redshirt sophomore Cheryl Julicher (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville North) ignited the rally with a single to center. She moved to third on a double by freshman Tanya Rose (Milwaukie, Ore./Rex Putnam), and then scored when junior Julie Dunn (Springfield, Ill./Springfield) put down a squeeze bunt. Sophomore Nikki Lincoln (Baton Rouge, La./Episcopal) drove in a run with a single and freshman catcher Katie Kaempfer (Las Vegas, Nev./Bonanza) plated two more runs with a single to right field. SU also scored a run on a wild pitch by the Hokies' Clarisa Crowell. Brown made the lead stand up, retiring nine of the final 11 batters she faced. Crowell suffered the loss, dropping her record to 6-2 in 2002.
Syracuse got all the offense it needed in the second inning of game two when Dunn hit her first career home run, a solo shot to center field. Dunn became the fifth Syracuse player to hit a home run this season. Kaempfer drove in SU's second run with a two-out single to right field in the third inning, and Lincoln had another two-out RBI in the fourth.
Virginia Tech threatened to tie the game in both the fifth and sixth innings. The Hokies put runners on first and second with nobody out in the fifth, but DiMaggio struck out the next two hitters and induced a ground ball to get out of the inning unscathed. In the sixth inning, Virginia Tech had a runner on first with two outs. Megan Evans struck out swinging, but reached base when the ball skipped away from Kaempfer and her throw to first went into right field. Kathleen Jones, representing the tying run, then flied deep to left, but Rose made the catch just before crashing into the fence. DiMaggio tossed a perfect seventh inning to preserve the shutout. Ashlee Dobbe was the losing pitcher. She is now 18-8 for the season.
Offensively for the Orangewomen, Kaempfer led the way with her second consecutive three-hit, three-RBI doubleheader. Rose also had three hits on the afternoon, all doubles, setting a school-record for two-base hits in a doubleheader. Lincoln went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and Dunn also drove in a pair. Junior outfielder Christina Holowich (Castro Valley, Calif./Moreau Catholic) and redshirt sophomore Rachel Park (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Friendship Christian) each had two hits on the afternoon.
Shanel Garofalo led Virginia Tech with two hits in the nightcap. Carmen Farmer, Mindi Wylie, Megan Evans, Kathleen Jones and Sarah Prosise also had hits on the day for the Hokies.
The Orangewomen are four games above .500 for the first time in school history, and are off to their best BIG EAST start at 4-0. SU has now won 11 of its last 14 games.
Syracuse will play a home non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 9 when they host Binghamton. The first game is scheduled for 4 p.m.
