Saturday, April 8
SU Softball Stadium
12:00 p.m.
Syracuse University
2
vs
1
Notre Dame
Senior Cassie Morales was one of two SU players with four hits in the two games against the Fighting Irish.
Orange Wins Home Opener Versus Notre Dame; Loses Game Two in 10 Innings
4/8/2006 6:19:55 PM | Softball
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Orange softball team (20-15, 8-2) split a pair of games versus Notre Dame (21-12, 5-1) at the SU Softball Stadium on Saturday, April 8. Syracuse earned its first home victory against the Irish with a 2-1 triumph in its 2006 home opener and Notre Dame’s Carissa Jaquish lifted the visitors to a 7-5 win in the second game with a two-run homer in the top of the 10th inning.
SU senior Alexis Switenko (Blue Anchor, N.J.) went 3-for-5 on the day and hit her BIG EAST leading 12th home run of the year in the second game. Switenko was 3-for-3 in game two and reached base in all six of her plate appearances She was intentionally walked three times.
Switenko finished the contest with two runs batted in to increase her team-leading total to 29 which ranks fourth on SU’s single-season RBI chart. She saw her 10-game hitting streak come to an end with an 0-for-2 showing at the plate in the first game.
Sophomore Erin Downey (San Rafael, Calif.) pitched a combined 14 innings in the twin bill. She went all seven innings in game one, allowing one run on four hits, while striking out seven to get the win. In game two, Downey came on in relief of Switenko in the fourth innings and pitched the final seven frames. She also whiffed seven hitters in the second game. Her 14 strikeouts on the day moved her into third on the SU season strikeout list. She has 184 in 161 and a third innings and she owns a record of 13-13 on the season.
Senior Cassie Morales (Whittier, Calif.) and freshman Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.) paced the Orange with four hits on the afternoon. Both players had three hits in game two. Morales whacked her 21st double in league play in the nightcap to move into third on the BIG EAST’s career doubles list.
Both teams scored a run in the first inning of game one. The Fighting Irish claimed the early lead on an RBI single by Meagan Ruthrauff. The Orange responded with a run in its half of the first when sophomore Chanel Roehner (Simi Valley, Calif.) came home from third when Irish second baseman Katie Laing dropped a line drive hit by Switenko.
SU pushed across what proved to be the winning run the following inning on a two-out, run-scoring single by McCorkle.
Downey and Notre Dame starter Heather Booth each posted zeros for their respective clubs the rest of the way as the two teams combined for just six hits in the contest. Booth allowed two hits, walked four and struck out two.
It was a different story in the second game as the two squads combined for 25 hits and 25 runners left on base. SU pounded 13 hits and stranded 15 runners. The Irish delivered 12 hits and left 10 on base. The 10-inning affair marked the second extra-inning contest of the year of the Orange. SU played 11 innings against Sacramento State on March 18.
Both teams had several opportunities to take the lead or win the game in extra innings, but it was Jaquish that gave the Irish the winning margin when she deposited a Downey offering over the fence in right center in the top of the 10th. The Orange put runners on first and third in the bottom of the inning, but failed to score.
Syracuse held the lead early, scoring three times in the first on four hits. Freshman Kim Weinstein (Tarzana, Calif.) picked up an RBI in the frame when she was hit by Irish starter Britteny Barger with the bases loaded. Morales knocked in the other two runs with a double.
Switenko, who started game two on the mound, cruised through the first two innings, but ran into trouble in the third. After getting the first two outs, she gave up consecutive singles to Stephanie Mola and Stephanie Brown. Sara Schoonaert followed with a two-run double to get the Irish within one, 3-2.
Notre Dame tied the game with a run in the fourth and took the lead on a solo homer by Ruthrauff in the sixth. The Irish extended its margin to 5-3 on an RBI double by Katie Laing later in the frame.
SU rallied to tie the game at 5-5 with two outs in the sixth on Switenko’s two-run, line-drive homer to left off Booth, who replaced Barger in the circle earlier in the inning. That’s the way the score remained until Jaquish’s game-winning blast in the 10th.
Both had opportunities to score in the eighth and ninth innings, but came up empty. The Fighting Irish left a pair of runners on in the eighth and one on in the ninth. Syracuse placed a runner on base in its half of the eighth and left the sacks loaded in the ninth. Booth escaped the one-out, ninth-inning jam by fanning pinch hitter Dani Stuart (Centralia, Wash.) and inducing an inning-ending ground ball by sophomore Rachel Tilford (Birch Hills, Saskatchewan).
McCorkle, freshman Heather Kim (Boulder, Colo.), Switenko and Morales each had three hits in game two and combined for 12 of SU’s 13 base knocks in the contest. Tilford had the other.
Brown, Schoonaert, Ruthrauff, Lang and Mola each had two hits for Notre Dame in the nightcap. Schoonaert and Jaquish each drove in two runs in the game. Booth tossed five innings of relief to get the victory. She allowed just two hits.
The Orange continues its homestand on Sunday, April 9 when it hosts a doubleheader versus No. 25 DePaul at the SU Softball Stadium. The first pitch of game one will be at 12:00 p.m. Fans can hear all the action live on suathletics.com via All-Access, SU's subscription based multi-media service.
Stanchion to Stanchion | Kiyan Anthony
Monday, March 09
Adrian Autry postgame vs. Pittsburgh
Sunday, March 08
Highlights | Syracuse vs. Pitt
Saturday, March 07
Postgame | #10 Syracuse at #11 Johns Hopkins
Saturday, March 07
