Wednesday, April 25
Chicago, Ill.
1:00 p.m.
Syracuse University
at
DePaul
SU ranks 12th nationally in home runs per game average
Photo by: Michael J. Okoniewski
SU and DePaul Square Off in Chicago
4/24/2012 10:30:00 AM | Softball
Game Notes
CHICAGO – Coming off a series win against Rutgers last weekend, the Syracuse University softball team (34-11, 11-3) takes its game on the road this week to face DePaul (26-17, 8-6) for a Wednesday doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST.
The Orange is 29-6 in its last 35 games and is 14-2 in the month of April. SU has not lost a series this season, taking all seven it has played in.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORANGE:
Syracuse was 4-1 last week with two wins against Pittsburgh on Wednesday and then took 2-of-3 from Rutgers on the weekend. All five games came at home and was highlighted by Jenna Caira throwing a no-hitter and Kelly Saco hitting a walk-off home run in the 1-0 series finale victory against the Scarlet Knights.
CAIRA'S WEEK IN REVIEW:
Caira was a force last week, pitching 20 innings and striking out 40 batters. She had a career-high 18 K's in the first game of the series against Rutgers, and then tossed the third no-hitter of her career in the series finale. She had 13 strikeouts in the game and walked just two batters.
The Toronto, Ontario native surrendered just seven hits all week and had an ERA of 0.70. She is now 21-5 on the season with a 1.69 ERA. With 968 career strikeouts, Caira is just 32 away from being the first player in SU history to reach the 1,000 career K mark.
SACO'S DRAMATICS IN THE SEVENTH:
Senior Kelly Saco led off the bottom of the seventh inning against Rutgers with a walk-off home run to give SU a 1-0 victory and confirmed Caira's no-hitter. It was her second home run of the season and also her second walk-off hit of the campaign. She singled in the game-winning run at the Carrier Dome against Canisius for a 6-5 victory.
WATTS APPROACHING MORE SU RECORDS:
Already as the all-time leader in runs scored and triples at SU, Stephanie Watts is six at-bats away from becoming the all-time leader in that category, and is seven games played and started away from the all-time SU record in both of those columns. The senior also ranks third all-time in home runs, fourth in RBI and fifth in both hits and doubles.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEMONS:
DePaul is currently fifth place in the BIG EAST standings and suffered a three game sweep at the hands of Notre Dame last weekend. Kirsten Verdun is the Blue Demon's biggest asset as she leads the team with a .362 batting average, and is also 18-10 in the circle with a 1.78 ERA.
At the dish, she leads the team in hits (46), home runs (9) and runs batted in (35), while she has pitched 21 complete games in 28 appearances and has 159 strikeouts on the year.
Fans can follow live stats and a live blog for both games against DePaul. The Orange then heads to Connecticut for three games this coming weekend in Storrs.
CHICAGO – Coming off a series win against Rutgers last weekend, the Syracuse University softball team (34-11, 11-3) takes its game on the road this week to face DePaul (26-17, 8-6) for a Wednesday doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST.
The Orange is 29-6 in its last 35 games and is 14-2 in the month of April. SU has not lost a series this season, taking all seven it has played in.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ORANGE:
Syracuse was 4-1 last week with two wins against Pittsburgh on Wednesday and then took 2-of-3 from Rutgers on the weekend. All five games came at home and was highlighted by Jenna Caira throwing a no-hitter and Kelly Saco hitting a walk-off home run in the 1-0 series finale victory against the Scarlet Knights.
CAIRA'S WEEK IN REVIEW:
Caira was a force last week, pitching 20 innings and striking out 40 batters. She had a career-high 18 K's in the first game of the series against Rutgers, and then tossed the third no-hitter of her career in the series finale. She had 13 strikeouts in the game and walked just two batters.
The Toronto, Ontario native surrendered just seven hits all week and had an ERA of 0.70. She is now 21-5 on the season with a 1.69 ERA. With 968 career strikeouts, Caira is just 32 away from being the first player in SU history to reach the 1,000 career K mark.
SACO'S DRAMATICS IN THE SEVENTH:
Senior Kelly Saco led off the bottom of the seventh inning against Rutgers with a walk-off home run to give SU a 1-0 victory and confirmed Caira's no-hitter. It was her second home run of the season and also her second walk-off hit of the campaign. She singled in the game-winning run at the Carrier Dome against Canisius for a 6-5 victory.
WATTS APPROACHING MORE SU RECORDS:
Already as the all-time leader in runs scored and triples at SU, Stephanie Watts is six at-bats away from becoming the all-time leader in that category, and is seven games played and started away from the all-time SU record in both of those columns. The senior also ranks third all-time in home runs, fourth in RBI and fifth in both hits and doubles.
SCOUTING THE BLUE DEMONS:
DePaul is currently fifth place in the BIG EAST standings and suffered a three game sweep at the hands of Notre Dame last weekend. Kirsten Verdun is the Blue Demon's biggest asset as she leads the team with a .362 batting average, and is also 18-10 in the circle with a 1.78 ERA.
At the dish, she leads the team in hits (46), home runs (9) and runs batted in (35), while she has pitched 21 complete games in 28 appearances and has 159 strikeouts on the year.
Fans can follow live stats and a live blog for both games against DePaul. The Orange then heads to Connecticut for three games this coming weekend in Storrs.
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