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Heading into 2025, Syracuse knew it had to get creative to build a strong rotation. Between Lindsey Hendrix, Jessie DiPasquale and Britney Lewinski, SU lost pitchers who started 35 of its 51 games last season.

So, in Syracuse’s third game of the year, freshman Sydney Jackson made her first career start against Queens (North Carolina). She promptly struck out three of the first four batters she faced, setting the tone for SU’s dominant pitching performances across both legs of its doubleheader.

On the back of its rotation, Syracuse (4-0, 0-0 Atlantic Coast) swept its doubleheader at the University of North Carolina Wilmington Tournament Saturday. The Orange shutout Queens (1-1, 0-0 Atlantic Sun) to start the day with a 3-0 victory. A few hours later, they shutout UNC Wilmington (2-2, 0-0 Coastal Athletic) in a 4-0 win.

The Orange started slowly against Queens as Royals pitcher Abby Craver held their bats in check. Despite only notching one strikeout in the first two innings, she limited SU’s contact to pop-outs and harmless flyouts.

But the Orange started to come alive in the third. Following a Taylor Davison flyout, Gabby Lantier reached base on a bunt single to third for SU’s second hit of the day. Jadyn Burney then walked on a full count, giving Syracuse its first runner in scoring position.

In the end, the rally amounted to nothing. Following Burney’s walk, Craver induced two ground balls from Madelyn Lopez and Kelly Breen to escape the jam unscathed.

Despite SU’s ineffective offense, Jackson kept the game well within reach for the Orange. After notching three strikeouts in the first inning, she struck out five batters over the next three innings, allowing just one hit and walking zero batters in that span.

But Queens began to threaten in the fifth inning. Walks to Kaylee DeJesus and Alexi Markle gave the Royals their first runner in scoring position, and a subsequent wild pitch pushed them to second and third with two outs.

With Lindsey DeRoeck at the plate, Jackson pushed the count to 2-2 and generated a flyout to right, ending Queens’ rally and keeping the game scoreless. DeRoeck was the final batter Jackson faced, as Madison Knight replaced her in the next frame.

Once Craver reached the bottom of the sixth, she couldn’t limit SU’s offense anymore. Lopez got the rally started with a single, Breen moved her into scoring position after reaching on an error and Laila Morales-Alves loaded the bases with a single.

With no outs, Angie Ramos hit a fly ball to right field. Olivia Thornton dropped the ball, scoring Lopez and pinch runner Taylor Posner to put the Orange up 2-0. A subsequent Peyton Schemmer ground ball drove in pinch-runner Lauren Fox, and Syracuse secured a 3-0 victory.

Syracuse opened its contest against UNC Wilmington in a similar fashion, as Peyton Eckert shut out the Orange through the first two innings by inducing weak contact. She didn’t register a strikeout, instead producing three groundouts to mitigate four Syracuse hits.

But once Eckert got to the third, she started to struggle.

Burney started the inning with an infield single to shortstop, and Lopez walked to push her into scoring position. After Breen singled up the middle, Morales-Alves and Ramos lined out and popped out to bring Knight to the plate.

Knight, SU’s second-highest home run hitter from 2024, came to the plate with the bases loaded. After working a full count, Knight watched ball four into the catcher’s mitt, taking the walk and giving Syracuse a 1-0 lead.

The next few innings were uneventful. Syracuse held on to its 1-0 advantage as the Seahawks were stymied by Julianna Verni.

Verni, who already matched her start total from last season with two, pitched a seven-inning complete-game shutout. She only had three strikeouts, but her 12 groundouts prevented any damage.

The Orange didn’t break the game open until the sixth frame. Facing Seahawks reliever Taylor Barlow, Knight drew a walk on a full count, immediately getting replaced by Fox.

Schemmer reached on a fielding error by Ava Tsiouplis, and Tessa Galipeau followed by lacing a liner down the left field line to score Fox. With zero outs on the board, Lantier drove in Schemmer with a single into center field to extend SU’s lead to three.

Lopez then singled to drive in Galipeau, bringing Syracuse’s advantage to 4-0. The inning ended after Breen grounded into a double play, and Verni held strong to secure the shutout win for the Orange.

Syracuse’s pitching staff entered 2025 with more questions than answers. After Jackson and Verni’s performances, it’s safe to say SU’s found the answers it was looking for.

Published on February 8, 2025 at 7:32 pm

mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarSU