Orangewomen Softball Hosts Seton Hall
4/10/2003 3:02:20 PM | Softball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Syracuse softball team will make its 2003 home debut, hosting a BIG EAST doubleheader versus Seton Hall on Friday, April 11 at 12 p.m. The Orangewomen are 9-15 overall and 3-3 in the BIG EAST. The Pirates are 19-7 overall and 5-2 in the league.
The Pirates are currently tied with St. John’s, the Orangewomen’s opponent on Sunday, for first place in the league with 10 points (The BIG EAST standings are based on a point system. A team is awarded two points for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss.). The Orangewomen are in a four-way tie for third place with six points.
Syracuse is 2-1 in its previous three home openers, defeating Virginia Tech last season, 5-0, in the first game of a doubleheader sweep.
The games are SU’s first since playing at Providence last Sunday. The Orangewomen had a pair of non-conference doubleheaders scheduled for earlier in the week at Binghamton and home versus Penn State, but were unable to play due to inclement weather.
The Orangewomen swept a doubleheader at Providence in their last games with an unprecedented day at the plate. SU won 10-2 and 10-6, marking the first time in school history the Orangewomen scored at least 10 runs in consecutive games. tallies set a school record for runs in a doubleheader.
Freshman shortstop Alexis Switenko was named BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week and ECAC Division I Player of the Week for her efforts at Providence. The rookie right-hander went 4-for-6 with three home runs and eight driven in against the Friars. She tied the school single-game records for home runs (2 in game two) and runs batted in (4 in each game).
Freshman Jennifer Orpitelli leads the team and the BIG EAST in hitting with a .397 average. She had five hits, including two home runs, in the two games at Providence. Orpitelli went 4-for-4 in the first game to tie the Orangewomen single-game record for base hits. Orpitelli is on a team-best six-game hitting streak.
The first four hitters in the Syracuse lineup have sparked the offense. Leadoff hitter Tanya Rose, second-place hitter Rachel Park, Orpitelli and Switenko have combined to hit .325 (96-295) with 18 home runs and 47 runs driven in. The quartet has scored 46 of the Orangewomen's 78 runs this season.
Senior pitcher Tara DiMaggio has earned six of the Orangewomen's nine victories. DiMaggio has tossed two shutouts and is second on the team with a 2.32 earned run average. Earlier this season, she became the first SU pitcher to reach the 500-strikeout plateau. She is the Orangewomen's all-time leader with 526 K's.
The Pirates are led by pitcher Christina Shanko. Shanko owns a 12-2 record with a 1.23 ERA in 102.2 innings pitched. She has 102 strikeouts, the fifth-most in the BIG EAST. McKenzie Richards is the Pirates' leading hitter with a .337 average. Laura Taylor provides Seton Hall's power with nine home runs and 24 runs batted in.
The Orangewomen continue their extended homestand on Sunday, April 13 versus St. John's. That doubleheader begins at 12 p.m.
