The Syracuse softball team has made a habit of losing games that they should win.
The Orange dropped two games at Georgetown, ninth in the Big East. SU lost a game to Villanova, who is in the basement of the Big East standings.
Syracuse did it again in the first game of a three game set this past weekend against UConn. The Huskies pitcher Kiki Saveriano shut down the Orange lineup, leading to a 3-2 win.
The loss put the Orange at 7-7 in the Big East. It was a crossroads in SU's season. The top eight teams qualify for the Big East Tournament, and losing to Connecticut again could be detrimental. Syracuse's final six Big East games are against Pittsburgh and DePaul, two of the better teams in the conference.
In a time of crisis, SU head coach Leigh Ross wondered whether her team would come together or fold. And they came together.
Syracuse's three home runs in game two led to a 9-6 win, and sophomore ace Jenna Caira dominated Sunday in a 5-1 victory. The Orange (25-20, 9-7 Big East) left the field Sunday feeling pretty good about themselves with 10 games to go, six in conference.
“I think today was big for us," Ross said. "I told the girls after the game that this game was almost the same as the first game that we lost to them. They had the same amount of hits. Sometimes it’s just about the big hit. They had the home run the first game that gave them the three runs.”
It will be interesting to see if the momentum from the two wins will continue into Penn State for a Tuesday afternoon non-conference doubleheader. The Orange have not sustained momentum from series-to-series at all this season. They'll need to if they plan on playing deep into the Big East Tournament.
“There’s still two weekends of Big East ball, and I tell them I don’t know what I’m going to get when I get to the field," Ross said. "We control our own destiny, it’s just a matter of getting it done."
Here are the Daily Orange stories on the weekend's games:
Grant's home run snaps SU out of offensive funk, propels Orange to 2 wins over Connecticut by Michael Cohen
Saco's speech motivates Orange in 2 victories to close series against UConn by myself, Mark Cooper
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