Shirley Daniels just needed a quick glance down the dugout bench to know her teammates felt the same way she did. Two late, costly errors against then-No. 5 UCLA clinched a losing record for Syracuse in the Cathedral Classic tournament late last month.

When the game against the Bruins ended, the sophomore outfielder could see she wasn’t the only player that thought SU gave the game away.

‘We definitely should’ve beat that team,’ Daniels said. ‘We all knew it and we all felt it. So we had to think about what we did wrong to let them win that game.’

It was a gut-check week for SU. After that crushing loss to the Bruins, Syracuse had more ranked opponents to face last weekend in the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla. But when the tournament was over, SU head coach Leigh Ross called the Citrus Classic a ‘season-defining moment’ in the Orange’s 2012 campaign.

SU surrendered only five runs in wins over No. 24 North Carolina, No. 15 Michigan and No. 11 Baylor during the tournament. With four wins in five games, the Orange (9-6) was able to improve its lackluster 5-5 record.

More importantly, senior second baseman Stephanie Watts said the team shook off the notion that it couldn’t compete with the best teams in Division I.

‘It was a breakthrough,’ Watts said. ‘We were all on the same page last weekend and it showed.’

Watts said a team meeting after the UCLA loss helped reorganize the team. Before they left for the Citrus Classic, SU players voiced their concerns before writing down their own goals.

Watts said that it helped the team to physically see where they wanted to end up rather than read about where they should end up.

‘We were a little bit lost and a little discouraged,’ Watts said. ‘We talked about where we wanted to be — and that’s what matters.’

Pitcher Jenna Caira said she was one of those ‘lost’ players who needed a boost. The preseason ace of the team said she wasn’t meeting her own expectations when the team left for its third tournament last weekend.

But Caira said coaches and teammates like Watts, outfielder Lisaira Daniels and catcher Ashley Dimon helped ease her out of her early season slump.

‘They had my back the entire time,’ Caira said of the encouragement she received from her teammates. ‘There were times when I question my ability, but each time they were out there to motivate me.’

While Caira was motivated by words of encouragement, other players were motivated by SU’s improved play on the diamond. Caira said SU was able to hit well and play great defense at the same time — something it’s struggled to do against quality opponents all year.

Shirley Daniels said she was motivated by the improved defensive effort. For the first time all season, Daniels said her teammates seemed to field everything cleanly. Even the tough plays went SU’s way, including two ‘amazing’ catches by outfielder Veronica Grant and shortstop Morgan Nandin. Daniels said the plays increased the team’s overall intensity.

‘(The two catches) made us all play a little bit harder,’ Daniels said. ‘We put everything together after that.’

Watts said SU can build from last weekend’s four-win effort. And now that the team wrote down its goals, Watts said the Orange will be able to define its success on its own terms. Not just by the number of ranked teams it beats.

‘This early in the season, it’s a free-for all,’ Watts said. ‘Beating Michigan and Baylor — teams that have always been around — helps. But it helped to see something tangible (the team goals) rather than seeing wins, or beat this team. We’re under control now.’

nctoney@syr.edu

 

Published on March 6, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Nick: nctoney@syr.edu | @nicktoneytweets