Syracuse Heads Back to Louisiana

MONROE, LA. – Syracuse travels back to Louisiana to take part in the Best on the Bayou Classic Feb. 23-25 in Monroe, La. The Orange play Evansville, Louisiana at Monroe, Northwestern State and Sam Houston.

Syracuse begins the tournament with a 2:30 p.m. first pitch against Evansville before a 7:30 p.m. contest versus host ULM. The Orange start the second day at 12:30 p.m. against Northwestern State and rematch with the Warhawks at 5:30 p.m. before concluding the weekend with a 10 a.m. matchup on Sunday against Sam Houston.

ORANGE UPDATE:

Syracuse won three of its four games at the Southeastern Louisiana Classic, beating Maryland, 6-3 and 11-4 and Southeast Missouri State, 3-0.
The Orange are 6-3 through the first nine games of the season, the second-best start after nine contests under head coach Shannon Doepking (7-2 in 2022).
Senior Lindsey Hendrix went 2-0 in Hammond striking out 17 batters in 12.1 innings. In four starts, Hendrix is 4-0, tossing a pair of complete game shutouts. The southpaw has posted a 0.86 ERA in 24.1 innings while fanning 24 batters.
Junior Kelly Breen and senior Angel Jasso enter the weekend having reached base safely in the last eight and nine games, respectively. Jasso paces the team in nearly every offensive category and has a hit in all but one game in 2024. Breen has doubled in three of the last four games and holds the longest active hitting streak with hits in five contests.
Jasso and Posner both lead the team with 11 RBI. Syracuse is one-of-four ACC schools with at least two players who have reached double-digit RBI, joining Virginia Tech, Florida State and Duke.
Jasso ranks in the top 25 nationally in triples (6), batting average (15), on-base percentage (22) and hits (23).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:

Evansville is 0-7 in 2024, being outscored 63-15. Graduate student Hannah Wood paces the Aces' offense with a .409 average (9-for-22). In the circle, Mikayla Jolly and Elle Jarrett have combined to throw 32.1 of the team's 45.2 innings.
Louisiana-Monroe is off to an 8-4 season, most recently winning three-of-five games at the Warhawk Invitational. The Warhawks are out-scoring opponents 68-26, paced by Carys Platt and Brooklin Lippert's 11 runs each. ULM is third in the country with 28 stolen bases. Victoria Abrams and Maddie Nichols lead the pitching staff with 1.27 and 1.38 ERAs, respectively.
Northwestern State has five wins through 12 games in 2024, losing the last three games at the Houston Classic last weekend. The Lady Demons are hitting just .186 as a team with Laney Roos and Tristin Court combining for 20 of the team's 52 base knocks. Maggie Darr leads the staff in the circle with a 2.33 ERA in 24 innings of work.
Sam Houston is 3-6, most recently splitting a midweek doubleheader at Stephen F. Austin. Morgan Holliday boasts a team-leading .389 batting average (7-for-18), with four of her hits going for extra bases. In the circle, Daryn Grams has held opponents to a .186 average across 19.1 innings.

SERIES HISTORY:
Syracuse continues to face unfamiliar opponents early in the 2024 season, squaring off with Northwestern State for the first time in program history. The Orange played Louisiana-Monroe twice in the team's 25-year history while seeing Evansville and Sam Houston in the opposing dugouts just once. Syracuse split the pair of games with ULM, beating the Warhawks, 5-0, in the last meeting on Feb. 21, 2002. The Orange defeated Evansville, 2-1, on March 10, 2003, and Sam Houston, 3-2, on March 7, 2008.

Evansville and Sam Houston are two-of-10 opponents Syracuse has faced one or fewer times in program history. Of the 10, Northwestern State is one-of-four opponents the Orange face for the first time in program history this season, joining Bucknell, Coastal Carolina and George Washington.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE:

Friday, Feb. 23: vs. Evansville at 2:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 23: at Louisiana at Monroe at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 24: vs. Northwestern State at 12:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 24: at Louisiana at Monroe at 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 25: vs. Sam Houston at 10 a.m.

UP NEXT:
Syracuse begins Atlantic Coast Conference play at No. 6 Duke March 1-3. First pitches from Durham, N.C., are slated for 6 p.m., 1 p.m. and noon, respectively. All three games will air live on ACC Network Extra.

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Syracuse University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Kelly Breen

Lindsey Hendrix

Angel Jasso

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