Orange Softball Faces Rutgers in Final Home Games of 2005
4/23/2005 7:13:16 PM | Softball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse's six seniors will make their final appearance at the SU Softball Stadium when the Orange hosts Rutgers at 12 p.m. on Sunday, April 24. The Orange split a doubleheader with Villanova on Friday and is now 24-15 overall and 9-3 in the BIG EAST. The Scarlet Knights had their two games at Boston College on Saturday postponed and come into the games at 3-35 overall and 1-9 in the conference.
Sunday's games will conclude the home schedule for six Orange seniors - Jaime Grillo, Katie Kaempfer, Melissa Kelly, Shawna Norris, Tiffany Robinson and Tanya Rose.
Grillo is in her fifth season with the Orange after missing the 2002 season with an injury. She has played in 108 games, starting 105 times. She ranks tied for ninth on the Orange’s career doubles list (12) and tied for eighth all-time at SU in sacrifices (16). She boasts a .985 career fielding percentage, the fifth-best in school history. Grillo has thrown out more base runners than any other catcher in school history (32) and ranks third in school history with 601 putouts. She graduated last May with a degree in sociology and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at SU in counseling education.
Kaempfer is in her fourth season at Syracuse. She has played in 128 games. Her 125 starts are the fifth-most in school history. She ranks eighth in Orange history in hits (71), fifth in doubles (17) and ninth in total bases (100). Kaempfer has a .984 fielding percentage behind the plate, the seventh-best in school history, and has recorded more putouts (677) than any other Orange player. She ranks second on the SU caught stealing by list (25) and has picked off a school-record 10 runners. She was a BIG EAST All-Rookie Team pick in 2002.
Kelly is in her second season at SU after transferring from West Valley Community College. She has played in 82 games, starting 78 of them. She has been used primarily on defense this season where she has excelled at first base. She has a career .985 fielding percentage, tied for fifth in school history. Her .989 fielding percentage this season is the highest of any Orange infielder. She set the single-season record for putouts last season with 463. Kelly was a BIG EAST Academic All-Star last season.
Norris is in her first year of participation with the Orange after transferring from the University of Georgia. She has had an immediate impact on the lineup, leading the team in home runs (7), slugging percentage (.525) and on-base percentage (.418). She is tied for second with 20 runs batted in. Norris has started 38 of the Orange’s 39 games at second base.
Robinson is in her second season with the Orange after arriving from Briarcliffe Community College. Robinson has played in 82 games, starting 77 of them. She has a career batting average of .326, including a team-best .351 average this season. Despite playing only two seasons, Robinson ranks ninth all-time at SU in runs scored (33), ninth in hits (70), 10th in total bases (82) and third in stolen bases (13).
Rose has simply been the Orange’s most productive player ever. She has not missed a game in her four years, starting a school-record 181 consecutive games. Rose is the only player in school history to be named All-BIG EAST three times and was the league’s freshman of the year in 2002. She is the Orange’s only two-time first-team all-region player. Rose is SU’s career leader in almost every statistical category, including batting average (.329), slugging percentage (.524), on-base percentage (.405), runs (121), hits (188), doubles (36), total bases (300), walks (64) and stolen bases (36). She is second in school history in at-bats (572), triples (5), home runs (22) and runs batted in (83) with a chance to set those school records as well. She was a first-team Academic All-District I pick last season and a three-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star.
Two more victories would break the SU single-season record for wins in a season. The 2002 team set the mark with a 25-21 slate, and the 2004 team tied it with a 25-29 record. Two wins versus the Scarlet Knights would put SU at 11-3 in BIG EAST play, just one short of the school record for league wins. The 2002 squad was 12-6 and earned the third-seed in the BIG EAST Tournament.
The Scarlet Knights come into today’s doubleheader with a 3-35 overall mark and a 1-9 BIG EAST record. Rutgers has been averaging more than four runs per game in its last eight games. Helen Smith leads the team with a .354 average, seven doubles, six home runs and 17 runs batted in. Jenny Card has belted four home runs and driven in 14, while Stephanie Johannsen has driven in 10 runs. As a team, Rutgers has a 8.20 ERA. Jessica Crosby has two of the team’s three wins (2-8) and a team-best 6.24 ERA.
SU owns a 7-2-1 record all-time against the Scarlet Knights. The teams split a doubleheader last season. The Orange is 4-0 all-time versus Rutgers at home.
The Orange has a chance to clinch a conference tournament berth on Sunday, but will also need some help. If Syracuse wins both games and Villanova wins its two games at Boston College, then the Orange are assured of a playoff spot.
Following Sunday's games, the Orange has three doubleheaders left on the regular-season schedule. SU will play at Canisius on Tuesday, April 26, at Pittsburgh on April 30 and at Notre Dame on May 1.
