AnnaMarie Gatti barely spent any time on the mound last Wednesday afternoon against Niagara. Though she pitched all seven innings of the 5-0 game, she was never in the circle for more than 20 pitches in an inning.
 
The sophomore threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout in a stellar performance which included four, three-batter innings. She followed up that performance with two clutch games against then-No. 17 Notre Dame on Friday and Saturday, pulling off two upset victories, 5-2 and 6-4, respectively.
 
“Niagara didn’t have the stats that the Notre Dame team had, but still anyone can connect with a ball and send it out,” Gatti said. “Just knowing how to place my pitches and attack batters, I carried that over and it has helped me.”
 
Recently, Gatti has been Syracuse’s (16-15, 3-6 Atlantic Coast) top pitching option in terms of consistency and reliability, usually seeing action in at least two games per week. After being injured last season, Gatti has proven herself to be SU’s best starter and improved her drop pitch.
 
She is 5-1 in her last six starts for the Orange, and her 2.52 ERA is second-best among Orange pitchers behind junior Sydney O’Hara. Gatti has also thrown in 89.1 innings, the most by a Syracuse pitcher this season.
 
“(Gatti’s been) putting the ball where she wants to and commanding the games in situations where there was stress,” Syracuse head coach Mike Bosch said after last Wednesday’s game against Niagara. “She’s really come a long way since she was a freshman.”
 
“Coming a long way” has meant a complete transformation for Gatti. Though she has been playing well recently for the Orange, she slogged through her freshman year.
 
Sidelined for much of the season, Gatti appeared in just seven contests for the Orange, winning just one game and posting a less-than-stellar 8.67 ERA. She pitched only 21 innings last season, giving up 40 hits and 27 runs, 26 of them earned.
 
This season, Gatti has already appeared in 18 games and giving up just 85 hits.

“It’s good to have a fresh start, especially after being injured,” Gatti said.
 
Gatti’s ERA (2.52) is where most of her improvements can be seen.
 
Though she’s given up 39 runs, only 25 have been earned because batters have gotten on base due to errors. Since Gatti has traditionally been a ground-ball pitcher, teams have been able to put the ball in play to force potential errors by the Orange’s defense.

“Last year I was just a ground-ball, pop-out, pitcher,” Gatti said. “Now I know that if something happens in the field, I can get a strikeout when I need to and pick the team up.”
 
Gatti said she is starting to throw harder and her drop ball is developing, which helps her strike out more batters and have fewer balls hit into play.
 
While Gatti was injured last season, senior pitcher Jocelyn Cater said the team didn’t get to fully see what she was capable of. This year, the drop pitch has helped immensely.
 
Gatti’s seen more batters whiff on her drop balls, and has already knocked off a ranked opponent in Notre Dame, twice, both of which have helped her gain confidence.
 
“I threw a lot last year, and I realized whether you’re confident or not can affect your entire game,” Cater said. “So having her really believe in herself makes all of us believe too.”