Syracuse Defeats Minnesota; Loses in 11th Inning to Sacramento State

Saturday, March 18

Sacramento, Calif.

6:00 p.m. EST

Syracuse University

vs. Minnesota (Capital Classic)

Freshman Nicole Miller drove in two runs in SU's 4-2 win versus Minnesota.

Syracuse Defeats Minnesota; Loses in 11th Inning to Sacramento State

3/19/2006 12:44:27 AM | Softball

SSU 3, SU 1
SU 4, UM 2

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Orange (10-13) split its two games at the Capital Classic on Saturday, March 18 at the Sacramento Softball Complex. SU avenged a March 3 loss to Minnesota (11-13), defeating the Golden Gophers, 4-2, in its second game of the afternoon. The Orange lost an 11-inning marathon, 3-1, to tournament host Sacramento State (13-10) its first contest.

Against Minnesota, freshmen Nicole Miller (Simi Valley, Calif.) and Heather Kim (Boulder, Colo.) each went 2-for-2 at the plate. Miller drove in two runs and Kim also contributed an RBI.

The Golden Gophers went ahead 2-0 in the top of the third with the help of two Syracuse errors, but SU tied the game in the bottom of the frame on Miller’s two-run, bases-loaded single.

The Orange went ahead for good in its half of the fourth. Senior Cassie Morales (Whittier, Calif.) and rookie Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.) delivered back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. After a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Rachel Tilford (Birch Hills, Saskatchewan), junior Erin Gray (Katy, Texas) plated pinch runner Chanel Roehner (Simi Valley, Calif.) with a single and Kim knocked in McCorkle with a sacrifice fly to make the score 4-2.

That’s all the run support Orange hurler Erin Downey (San Rafael, Calif.) needed. She struck out nine, walked three and allowed five hits to earn the win, the 23^rd of her career.

Megan Higginbotham was 2-for-4 for at the plate for the Gophers.

In SU’s first game, Nikki Cinque broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 11^th with a two-run, walk-off homer off Downey. The blast ended the Orange’s first extra-inning contest of the season.

Both teams had numerous chances to take the lead or win the game in extra innings. SU advanced a runner to third in each of the four extra frames and Sacramento State moved a runner within 60 feet of scoring twice, before Cinque’s game-winning home run.

In the Orange ninth, it had runners on first and third with no outs and Hornets’ pitcher Cassie Cervantes got Morales to pop out and whiffed freshman Kim Weinstein (Tarzana, Calif.) and classmate Amy Kelley (Bend, Ore.) to end the inning. In the 11^th, senior Alexis Switenko (Blue Anchor, N.J.) singled to center, but freshman Dani Stuart (Centralia, Wash.) was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second, and Morales grounded out to keep the game tied at one run apiece.

The Hornets had an opportunity to win the contest in regulation, but Lindy Winkler just missed a home run when her line drive to right in the bottom of the seventh hit the top of the fence and bounced over for a ground-rule double. Downey, pitching in relief of Switenko, stranded Winkler on third, getting the final two outs to force extra innings.

The two teams combined to leave 22 runners on base in the game.

The Hornets scratched one run across the plate in the first with the help of two SU errors to grab the early lead.

Sacramento State starter Cassie Cervantes made the run hold up, no-hitting the Orange through the first four innings.

In the fifth, Weinstein drew a leadoff walk and pinch runner Lindsay Wasek (Newton, Pa.) advanced to second on a passed ball. She moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kelley, setting the stage for Tilford, who ended the no-no with a line drive double to center to tie the game at 1-1, which is how it remained until Cinque’s heroics in the 11^th.

Switenko pitched brilliantly for the Orange. She went 6.1 innings, did not walk a batter and struck out three. She worked out of bases-loaded jams in the second and fourth to keep SU within striking distance.

Downey pitched the final four innings, striking out six. She allowed just one hit, Cinque’s game-winning long ball. Downey’s 15 strikeouts in the two games, increased her career total to 315. She became the third SU pitcher to reach the 300-strikeout plateau.

Winkler finished the game 3-for-5. Ashley Dawson added two hits for the Hornets. Cervantes pitched all 11 innings and established a new school record with 19 strikeouts. She walked five and allowed four hits.

Syracuse entertains Big Ten opponent Iowa in its final game of the Capital Classic on Sunday, March 19 at 12:00 p.m. EST.