Softball Heads to the Sunshine State

Game Notes

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Syracuse travels to sunny Orlando, Fla. this weekend to play in the UCF Invitational. A total of nine teams, including Syracuse and host UCF, will participate in the tournament. Joining the Orange are Western Michigan, Florida A&M, Eastern Michigan, Villanova, Maine, Stony Brook and Tennessee State.

Syracuse softball fans can follow the Orange on Gametracker.

The Orange faces Maine in its first of five games on Friday, February 27 at 1:30 p.m. From there, Syracuse takes on the UCF Golden Knights at 4 p.m. Both games will be played at the UCF Softball Complex.

“We are anxious to get back outside,” head coach Leigh Ross said. “It was nice to use our off week to work on a few things with our game, even though it's difficult to go back inside once the season has started. This week will be a good challenge for us. I'm hoping to see continued progress in our play.”

About the Syracuse Orange (5-3)

SU is off to its best start since 2005 with a 5-3 record after two weekends of play. Following a 2-1 weekend at New Mexico, the Orange traveled to South Carolina for its second appearance in the College of Charleston Cougar Classic. Syracuse went 3-2 in the tournament with victories against CofC, Akron and Howard.

Senior Amy Kelley secured SU's first win of the weekend. Tied 0-0 with the Cougars in the bottom of the seventh, Kelley hit a walk-off home run out to centerfield for the win. Junior Brittany Gardner pitched a complete-game shutout throwing eight strikeouts and allowing only three hits. The Orange kept the momentum going that evening in a game with the Akron Zips. Sophomore Hallie Gibbs led the team, going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI.

Despite suffering a 3-2 setback to James Madison on Valentine's Day afternoon, the Orange rallied with an 8-2 victory against Howard that evening. Both Kelley and freshman Kelly Saco hit home runs in the matchup, with Saco also adding a double after finishing 2-for-3 with three RBI.

Gardner pitched another complete game against East Tennessee. Despite a 1-0 loss to the Buccaneers, Gardner only allowed six hits in 23 at-bats and finished with a 0.50 ERA. She earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week honors for her performance against both East Tennessee and CofC.

Scouting the Maine Black Bears (4-5)

Maine is one of three teams the Orange will face this weekend that it has previously met. Syracuse looks to improve to 2-0 against the Black Bears when they meet Friday afternoon.

The Black Bears are 4-5 so far this season and lost their last game, 7-3, to Appalachian State on Sunday, February 22 at the 2009 Kickin' Chicken Classic. Offensively, the team is powered by junior Alexis Souhlaris. She leads the team with a .360 batting average with three home runs and six RBI. She also owns a .720 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .429. Freshman pitcher Ashley Kelly is Maine's leader in the circle with a 1.12 ERA.

The Orange takes on the Black Bears Friday, February 27 at 1:30 at the UCF Softball Complex.

SU vs. Maine

3/9/07 Syracuse W, 6-0

Scouting the UCF Golden Knights (11-7)

The Golden Knights have won five of their last six games, including midweek victories against Bethune-Cookman (2-0) and Eastern Michigan (5-4). Sophomore Abby McClain hit .667 against the two teams with four hits, three RBI, a double and a home run. Junior pitching ace Ashleigh Cole pitched against Eastern Michigan to improve to 7-2 on the season with a 1.75 ERA.

UCF is Syracuse's second opponent of the invitational. The two squads meet Friday at 4 p.m.

Scouting the Stony Brook Seawolves (0-0)

Stony Brook opens the 2009 season this weekend. Prior to meeting the Orange on Saturday, February 28, the Seawolves will have faced both Florida A&M and Villanova.

The Seawolves finished 2008 with a 33-23-1 record and have been picked to win the America East Championship this season. One of Stony Brook's top returners is junior Vicki Kavitsky who owned the third-best batting average (.301) on the team last year. She earned All-America East Second Team accolades and was an All-Academic team honoree. Returning in the circle is Alyssa Struzenberg who recorded a school record 24 wins in 2008. She started in 35 games and finished with a 2.01 ERA, nine shutouts and 244 strikeouts.

Stony Brook and Syracuse meet Saturday, February 28 at 9:30 a.m. at the UCF Softball Complex.

SU vs. Stony Brook

3/19/04 Syracuse W, 10-2 (5 innings)

Scouting the Eastern Michigan Eagles (3-5)

The Eagles began the season at the USF “The Game” Tournament coming away with a 3-1 record with victories against Albany, No. 22/25 Louisville and Florida A&M. EMU is currently in the midst of a four-game losing streak with its most recent losses coming to Bethune-Cookman and UCF. Sophomore infielder Stacie Skodinski currently leads the Eagles with a.571 batting average. She has 12 hits in 21 at-bats and eight RBI.

Syracuse and Eastern Michigan meet on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in SU's final game at the UCF Softball Complex.

SU vs. Eastern Michigan

3/3/06 Syracuse W, 5-0

Scouting the Tennessee State Tigers (6-3)

Despite losing both games in a doubleheader against Belmont, the Tigers are 6-3 on the season. East Tennessee opened the season sweeping a doubleheader at Alabama A&M and then defeating IUPUI 8-0 in its first game at the Sixth Annual Georgia Softball Classic.

Sophomore ace Caitlin Eaton has appeared in all six games for Tennessee State and is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.13. She pitched a perfect game against IUPUI retiring 15 batters and striking out seven. Her .467 batting average is also a team high.

The Tigers and the Orange face each other on Sunday, March 1 at 9:30 at Hagerty High School.

Syracuse University Athletics

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