Friday, May 18
Tempe, Ariz.
6:30 p.m.
Syracuse University
4
vs
2
Long Beach State
Daniels, No. 25 Syracuse Tops LBSU, 4-2
5/18/2012 9:06:38 PM | Softball
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TEMPE, Ariz. – Senior Lisaira Daniels was 3-for-4 with three RBI and an inside-the-park home run to lead the No. 25 Syracuse University softball team (41-14) past Long Beach State (28-24), 4-2, in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament Tempe Regional at Farrington Park.
The Orange recorded its second ever NCAA Tournament victory with the win against the 49ers and will now play No. 2 Arizona State tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. PST. LBSU will play LIU Brooklyn at 3:00 p.m. PST and the loser of that game will be eliminated from the tournament.
SU scored all four of its runs with two outs. Stacy Kuwik pitched four innings, giving up four hits and two runs while picking up her 14th win of the season. Jenna Caira threw the final three innings and did not allow a hit and struck out four 49ers. She earned her second save of the season.
Syracuse struck in the bottom of the first inning with a two-out rally, highlighted by three-consecutive singles. Stephanie Watts got the Orange started, followed by a single to left by Jasmine Watson. Julie Wambold then provided the 1-0 advantage with an RBI single to left field.
Morgan Nandin drew a one out walk in the second inning and was brought home two batters later with a double off the left center field wall by Daniels, giving SU a 2-0 lead.
The Beach tied the game with two runs in the top of the fourth behind two-run double by Leilani Tupua-Tautalatasi, but Syracuse responded with the game-winning runs in the bottom half of the inning. After Carey-Leigh Thomas reached first on a throwing error by the short stop, Daniels brought Thomas around with her inside-the-park homer. Daniels gave the ball a shot to right center and touched them all as the ball ricocheted off the wall, giving the Orange a 4-2 lead.
Syracuse out-hit the 49ers 7-4 and each club committed two errors. SU is now 35-5 when the Orange out-hits its opponent, and is 33-5 when SU hits a home run.
If Syracuse wins its game tomorrow afternoon, the Orange will play on Sunday night at six in the championship game of the Regional. If SU loses at one, it will play at 7:00 p.m. in an elimination game. Fans will be able to watch tomorrow's action, follow live stats and participate in a live in-game blog.
Syracuse Softball
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