Orange Open ACC Play in Chapel Hill

SYRACUSE VS. NORTH CAROLINA
Game Details: Friday, Mar. 6 – 6 p.m.; Saturday, Mar. 7 – 1 p.m.; Sunday, Mar. 8 – 12 p.m.
Location: Chapel Hill, N.C.
Mar. 6 Game Links: Watch | Live Stats
Mar. 7 Game Links: Watch | Live Stats
Mar. 8 Game Links: Watch | Live Stats
Syracuse Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
North Carolina Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play begins for Syracuse (8-9) this weekend in Chapel Hill with a three-game slate against North Carolina. The games will take place Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon and all three will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.

Fans can only watch the stream if their cable provider carries the ACC Network. Fans unsure if their provider carries ACCN are strongly encouraged to visit GetACCN.com.

LAST TIME OUT
The Orange are now 8-9 on the season after winning three out of five games and claiming the USF Tournament title this past weekend in Tampa. In round-robin play, 'Cuse defeated Rutgers and lost to Texas A&M Corpus Christi as well as South Florida to earn the two seed headed into tournament play. The Orange downed the Scarlet Knights once again, 11-4, in Saturday's semifinal before beating the Bulls, 7-5, on Sunday to finish the weekend 3-2.

Toni Martin, Jamie Gregg, and Mia Cunnings paced Syracuse offensively with five hits each in the five games. The Orange hit three home runs over the weekend, led by Alexis Kaiser with two and Gabby Teran with the other. Kaiser led the 'Cuse with five runs-batted in, all coming in the last two games, and is now tied with Gregg for the team-lead with 11 RBIs. Martin showed out for the Orange in the title game, going 3-for-3 at the plate and driving in a pair of runs.

Alexa Romero turned in her strongest performance of the season in the circle in Tampa, throwing 16 innings and striking out 27 batters. She pitched two complete games against South Florida, going 1-1, allowing three earned runs, striking out 17 Bulls and not walking a single hitter. The senior is now 4-3 on the season and has a 3.00 ERA. Catie Dobbs' 2.88 ERA is the lowest on the Syracuse staff and she earned her first career victory in Friday's victory over Rutgers, punching out six Scarlet Knights and surrendering an unearned tally.

ORANGE IN THE ACC
Since joining the ACC prior to the 2014 season, Syracuse holds a 53-77 record in league play. In six seasons in the conference, eight Orange players have earned All-ACC recognition, including Romero, who was named to the All-Freshman team in 2017 and earned Second Team honors in 2018.

Sydney O'Hara ('17) was tabbed First Team All-ACC in 2014 and 2017. Alicia Hansen ('19) and Bryce Holmgren ('19) are the other two 'Cuse players who have been represented on the first team.

SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS
North Carolina opened up its ACC slate by going 2-1 in a home series against Pittsburgh. The Tar Heels won by scores of 7-2 and 9-1 in the last two contests after losing, 7-3, in Friday's series opener.

Sophomore first baseman Lexi Godwin leads North Carolina in hits (19), extra-base hits (6), at-bats (57) and is tied for the team-high with a pair of home runs. Kristina Burkhardt and Destiny Middleton are pacing the Tar Heels with nine runs batted-in and Campbell Hutcherson's .387 batting average is the highest on the squad. Godwin's six hits against the Panthers were the most for North Carolina, including a four-hit effort in Sunday's victory.

Sophomore pitcher, Hannah George, improved to her 7-4 on the season going 2-0 in two decisions against Pittsburgh. She currently leads the Tar Heels with a 2.87 ERA and has 45 strikeouts.

Syracuse has a 5-9 all-time record against North Carolina. The teams last met in April 2018 and split two games at Skytop Stadium, the Orange taking the final matchup, 1-0.

For continued coverage of Syracuse softball, follow us on Twitter (@CuseSB), Instagram (@cusesb) and like us on Facebook (Syracuse University Softball).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mia Cruz

Catie Dobbs

Jamie Gregg

Alicia Hansen

Bryce Holmgren

Alexis Kaiser

Toni Martin

Alexa Romero

Gabby Teran

Syracuse University Athletics