Saturday, March 29
Piscataway, N.J.
Noon
Syracuse University
7
at
2
Rutgers
Amy Kelley homered in both outings against Rutgers and leads the team with five long balls
Big Start: Orange Opens Conference With Sweep At Rutgers
3/29/2008 3:46:45 PM | Softball
Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The Syracuse softball squad (9-16, 2-0 BE) used 27 hits to start BIG EAST play with a bang defeating Rutgers, 7-2, in both of its outings on Saturday. Five student-athletes tallied four hits, while six posted two or more RBI. Junior first baseman Nicole Miller registered a team-high four RBI during the day and hit her second home run of the season.
"It's a great way to start conference play," said head coach Leigh Ross. "Last season we only swept two BIG EAST series, so we know how difficult it can be to come away with two – especially on the road. Fourteen runs and 27 hits are great numbers and when your offense is producing, your defense tends to play relaxed."
Senior outfielder Rachel Tilford, senior outfielder/pitcher Chanel Roehner, junior second baseman Lindsay Wasek and freshman third baseman Hallie Gibbs each went 4-for-8 with two RBI. Junior shortstop Jamie Kelling also went 4-for-8.
Junior catcher Amy Kelley, who leads the team with a .351 batting average, hit her fourth and fifth home runs of the season and finished the day going 3-for-7 with two RBI.
Roehner improves to, 4-5, by striking out two during the first game. Sophomore Brittany Gardner goes to a team-best, 5-4, by striking out three.
"It was huge that our pitchers were able to throw all seven innings," said associate head coach Kyle Jamieson. "Earlier this year it was a few innings here and a few innings there. Chanel pitched her fifth complete game, while Brittany had her fourth."
During game one, three straight hits to lead off the game for the Orange loaded the bases for Roehner, who drove in Kelling with a single just over the shortstop's head. Defensively, SU got out of the first with two runs left on base.
Miller added to the Syracuse lead with a two-run home run over the leftfield wall. The long ball was the second of the season and her career for the Simi Valley, Calif., native. Wasek led off the inning by legging out a groundball to short and scored on the home run.
Roehner drove in Kelling again to make it, 4-0, and Gibbs scored on a two-out single to leftfield by Tilford.
Gibbs registered the first putout during the bottom of the second with a diving catch in foul territory. Roehner induced a fly out to center and a groundout to short to put the Orange back in batters box and Kelley took advantage with a leadoff home run. Wasek followed with a single and was driven in by a Miller double down the third baseline.
Through the first two innings, Syracuse had totaled 10 hits and scored five runs.
The Scarlet Knights (10-16, 0-2 BE) put a run on the board with a two-out single to second by junior catcher Kim Hodges with the bases full. Roehner got her team out of the inning by getting freshman first baseman Mandy Craig looking.
Rutgers added a run in the in the sixth off a freshman right fielder Jen Meinheit single that scored junior shortstop Kate Valiante.
Rutgers freshman Katye Hamlin was given the loss in 2.0 innings to go to 4-5. Sophomore Nicole Lindley supplied 5.0 innings in relief and allowed two hits.
During the second game, Rutgers grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but SU fought back in the top of the third with the team's third back-to-back dingers of the season. Gibbs sent a one-out, one-run shot the opposite way and Kelley followed with a homer to left-center.
The Scarlet Knights threatened in the bottom of the fifth by loading the bases with two outs, but sophomore pitcher Brittany Gardner got freshman third baseman Mickenzie Alden to ground out to Wasek.
Kelley sparked a rally in the top of the sixth when she led off with a single right back to the pitcher. Sophomore Ev Anderson was called upon to pitch run and advanced to second on an error during Tilford's at-bat. Wasek laid down the perfect bunt to load the bases and Miller dropped down another one to score Anderson.
A big four-run seventh inning gave SU a six-run cushion heading into Rutgers' final at-bats. Doubles by Gibbs and Tilford in the top of the inning both produced runs and Wasek drove in two runs with a single over the second baseman.
Lindley pitched 6.1 and is 3-3 this season.
The Orange continues its trip when it heads to Villanova on Sunday, March 30 for a doubleheader at noon.
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