Syracuse University
McNeese State (Mardi Gras Mambo))
Orangewomen Take Mardi Gras Mambo Title
2/22/2004 8:55:12 PM | Softball
THIBODAUX, La. – A sacrifice fly by freshman Dani Delgado in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Syracuse softball team a 3-2 win versus McNeese State and the Mardi Gras Mambo championship. The Orangewomen went 3-1 in the tournament hosted by Nicholls State, and are now 5-6 overall.
Delgado drove in two of SU’s three runs in the game. She recorded a career-high two hits, including her first career home run, a solo shot in the third inning. Junior Tanya Rose, sophomore Cassie Morales and senior Nikki Lincoln accounted for the Orangewomen’s other three hits.
Senior Haley Larsen threw all nine innings for the Orangewomen, allowing only two hits and two unearned runs. Larsen (2-3) struck out one and walked three in the longest outing of her career. In two games at the Mardi Gras Mambo, Larsen did not allow an earned run in 16 innings of work.
Syracuse led 1-0 through four innings following Delgado’s home run. The Cowgirls came back to to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the fifth, plating two unearned runs to cap a two-out rally.
The Orangewomen battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth. Lincoln doubled to start the inning and was sacrificed to third by junior Katie Kaempfer. She scored SU’s second run on a wild pitch.
The game was decided using the international tiebreaker. Starting in the eighth, the last batter of the previous inning was placed on second base to start the following frame. After holding the Cowgirls scoreless through two extra innings, the Orangewomen clinched the game in the ninth inning. Lincoln began the inning on second base and was sacrificed to third by Kaempfer. Delgado then hit a fly ball to right field, and Lincoln was safe at the plate when the throw skipped away from the McNeese State catcher.
The Orangewomen have now won three straight games and five of their last six outings. The squad has nearly two weeks off before traveling to San Diego, Calif. for a tournament hosted by San Diego State University on March 4-7.
