Switenko Breaks Single-Season Home Run Mark; Orange Sweeps Villanova

Saturday, April 1

Philadelphia, Pa.

12:00 p.m.

Syracuse University

Villanova

Senior Alexis Switenko set the SU season record for home runs (10) with two at Villanova.

Switenko Breaks Single-Season Home Run Mark; Orange Sweeps Villanova

4/1/2006 12:27:37 PM | Softball

SU 8, VU 2
SU 8, VU 1

VILLANOVA, Pa. – Senior Alexis Switenko (Blue Anchor, N.J.) became the Orange single-season home run record holder with a pair of long balls in SU’s (16-14, 5-1) doubleheader sweep of Villanova (6-21, 0-6) on Saturday, April 1 at the Villanova Softball Field. She crushed a two-run blast in the first inning of SU’s 8-2, game one victory and hit a solo shot in the sixth inning of the Orange’s 8-1 triumph in the nightcap.

Switenko leads the BIG EAST with 10 homers this season. She eclipsed the Orange season standard of nine she shared with Cheryl Julicher. Switenko hit nine long balls in 2003 and 2004 and Julicher went deep nine times in 2002.

Switenko was 2-for-2 in the opening contest and reached base all four times. Sophomore Chanel Roehner (Simi Valley, Calif.) and rookies Heather Kim (Boulder, Colo.) and Nicole Miller (Simi Valley, Calif.) also had multiple hits for SU in the first game. Roehner went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and tied her personal best with three runs scored. Kim was 2-for-4 and matched her career high with three driven in. Miller went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles in the contest.

Sophomore Erin Downey (San Rafael, Calif.) tossed her 18^th complete game of the year to get the win in the first game. She improved to 11-12 overall and took over sole possession of second place on SU’s career wins list (28). Downey struck out 11, walked one and gave up seven hits.

After Switenko’s two-run home run in the first, the Orange added two runs in the third inning to extend its lead to 4-0. Roehner and Kim each came through with consecutive RBI singles in the frame. Sophomore Rachel Tilford (Birch Hills, Saskatchewan) opened the inning by drawing a walk and scored on Roehner’s base hit. Kim followed with single down the right field line to drive in Roehner.

The Wildcats cut the Orange margin in half, 4-2, in the bottom of the inning on a one-out double by Meghan Morese. She knocked in Carolyn Brown and Sheri Donley who reached base on back-to-back singles.

Syracuse responded with three runs in the fourth to boost its margin to 7-2. All three runs came with two outs. With a runner on, freshman Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.) drew a walk and Roehner followed with an RBI single. Kim did the rest, driving in McCorkle and Roehner with a double to right center.

Senior Cassie Morales (Whittier, Calif.) tacked on an insurance run in the seventh with a solo homer, the 19^th long ball of her career, to produce the final score.

Morese was 2-for-3, including two doubles for the Wildcats. Donley also had two hits for the hosts.

In the second game, the Orange offense exploded for six runs in its half of the sixth to turn a 1-0 lead into a 7-0 advantage. The big blow was McCorkle’s first career grand slam with one out. It was the third slam for the Orange this season and the second long ball of the year for McCorkle. The Orange recorded four hits in the inning, including Switenko’s second homer of the day to lead off the frame.

SU pushed another run across in the seventh with the help of two Villanova errors. The Wildcats’ only run of the game came on a solo shot by Morese in the sixth.

McCorkle went 2-for-4 at the plate and tied her career high with four RBI.

Switenko earned the win to improve to 5-1 in the circle. She pitched seven innings and struck out a career-best 10 hitters. Her home run extended her hitting streak to seven games, the longest by an SU player this season.

Morese drove in all three runs for the Wildcats in the two games. She was 2-for-4 in the night cap and went 4-for-7 on the day.

The two victories increased SU’s all-time conference wins total to 50. The Orange is 50-52 in 102 league contests.

The Orange continues its road trip on Sunday, April 2 with a twinbill at Rutgers. Game one will begin at 12:00 p.m. at the RU Softball Complex.