Syracuse University
Pittsburgh
SU Clinches BIG EAST Tournament Berth with Sweep
5/6/2002 8:45:45 PM | Softball
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse softball team clinched its first-ever BIG EAST Tournament berth with a 10-2, 8-7 doubleheader sweep versus Pittsburgh on Monday, May 6 at the SU Softball Field. The Orangewomen will be the third seed in the four-team event with a 25-19 overall record and a 12-6 BIG EAST mark.
An RBI single by junior designated player Julie Dunn (Springfield, Ill/Springfield) in the top of the seventh inning gave Syracuse an 8-7 lead and the victory in the nightcap. It was SU's first lead of the game after falling behind 4-0 in the bottom of the first inning.
Despite playing at home, the Orangewomen were the visitors in the doubleheader. The games were originally scheduled for April 13 at Pittsburgh.
The Panthers (21-33, 6-14) scored four in the first on three hits, an error and a wild pitch. The Orangewomen scored at least one run from the second inning in to complete the come-from-behind victory. SU cut the lead to 4-3 in the third inning on RBI singles by sophomore Rachel Park (Mt. Juliet, Tenn./Friendship Christian) and freshman Tanya Rose (Milwaukie, Ore./Rex Putnam). The Panthers extended their lead to 6-3 in the third inning. Syracuse fought back to within 6-5, but a home run by the Panthers' Kelly Hulpa gave Pittsburgh a 7-5 lead in the fifth inning.
The Orangewomen tied the game in the sixth. Junior Christina Holowich (Castro Valley, Calif./Moreau Catholic) drove in the first run and then scored on a single by freshman Katie Kaempfer (Las Vegas, Nev./Bonanza).
Freshman Taylor Petersen (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) was the winning pitcher, throwing five innings of relief. She allowed only two hits and one run, improving her record to 6-2. It was her first career BIG EAST win. Janelle Pepe was the loser in relief, dropping to 2-4 this season.
Holowich and Rose capped off record-setting days with three hit games in the nightcap. They each had three hits in the opener, setting a SU doubleheader record for hits in a twin bill. Rose now has 54 hits on the season, setting the Syracuse single-season hit record. She also ranks first on the SU single-season batting average list, raising her average to .391.
Rose started the scoring in the first game with her third career home run, a solo shot in the second inning. The Panthers tied the score in the bottom of the inning, but SU plated a run in the third, two in the fourth and one in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead. After Pittsburgh cut the deficit to 5-2, the Orangewomen scored five more in the seventh. The big hit in the inning was a three-run home run by Dunn, her fifth long ball of the season.
Park and Dunn each had two hits for Syracuse in the first game. Rose and Dunn each drove in three runs in the contest, while Kaempfer picked up two RBI. Sophomore Cheryl Julicher (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville North) was 1-for-3 with two runs scored in the first game and played a key part in the game-two comeback with a solo home run in the fifth inning.
Senior Heather Brown (Farmington, N.M./Farmington) was the winning pitcher for SU. Brown is now 10-9 overall and 7-2 in BIG EAST play. She scattered eight hits and struck out four. Nikki Gasti was the loser, lowering her record to 10-17.
The Orangewomen's 18 tallies were a school record for runs in a doubleheader. SU's 25 victories is also a school record. The Orangewomen went 24-23-1 in their inaugural season of 2000.
Syracuse will play Villanova on Thursday, May 9 in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament at the James I. Moyer Sport Complex in Salem, Va. The tournament is a three-day, double-elimination format. Notre Dame won the conference regular-season championship, while Villanova is the second seed. Virginia Tech rounds out the field as the fourth seed. Syracuse is 3-3 this season versus the rest of the teams. They swept Virginia Tech, split a doubleheader with Notre Dame and were swept by Villanova.
