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It’s no secret that Syracuse has struggled mightily to open conference play. Before they opened Atlantic Coast Conference play against Stanford last week, the Orange were riding a program-best 16-3 start in nonconference play.

But since then, SU has only gone downhill. Last week, it got swept and run-ruled by Stanford in the series finale. Then, the Orange followed that up by dropping their first two games against Duke heading into Saturday’s contest.

After losing its first five ACC contests, SU desperately needed a win on Saturday. In the first inning, Madelyn Lopez provided a massive boost to its hopes.

Lopez got Syracuse (17-8, 1-5 ACC) off to a quick start in its 3-2 win over No. 17 Duke (19-9, 4-2 ACC) on Saturday, hitting a two-run home run in the first inning to give SU an early lead. The contest gave Syracuse its first win in conference play, and it marked SU’s first ranked win this season.

With Syracuse visiting the Blue Devils, it had the opportunity to get the game started with an immediate advantage. Fortunately, the Orange capitalized on that chance.

Jadyn Burney led off the game by reaching on an error by Duke pitcher Cassidy Curd, bringing up Lopez with a runner on. Lopez, who left Saturday sporting a team-high .449 batting average, drove the first offering she saw over the right field fence to give SU a 2-0 lead.

But Curd settled in after that, forcing weak contact from Angie Ramos, Kelly Breen and Laila Morales-Alves to close the first. It was up to Madison Knight to preserve the lead for Syracuse.

Although D’Auna Jennings reached on an early throwing error by Burney, Knight survived to shut the Blue Devils out in the first. She forced a ground out from Aminah Vega, got Ana Gold to line out and struck out Kairi Rodriguez to strand Jennings on third.

In the next inning, both teams struggled to find any sort of offense. Outside of a double from Duke’s Amiah Burgess, neither team registered a runner on base in the second inning.

Despite that, the Orange nearly pieced together a rally in the third. Gabby Lantier opened the frame by striking out, but Curd walked Burney on four consecutive pitches to put her on for the second time in the game. Lopez wasn’t able to punish Curd’s mistake this time, but Ramos followed by lacing a two-out double into left field.

However, Burney didn’t score and only advanced to third base on the extra-base hit. With two runners in scoring position, Breen bailed out Curd by grounding out to Thessa Malau’ulu to end the rally.

The Blue Devils continued to present little issue for Knight. Brooklinn Thomas opened the third inning with a single, but she immediately followed it by getting thrown out attempting to steal third. On the play, Morales-Alves set a program record with 34 runners thrown out throughout her career.

Across five innings, both starters had kept the bats in check. But Knight nearly lost control of the game in the sixth. Jennings opened the frame by smacking a double down the right field line, and Vega drove her in with a single afterward to give Duke its first run of the game.

Then, Aleyah Terrell was substituted in as a pinch runner, and she scored on the following at-bat after a single by Gold. Though SU was able to get Gold out trying to advance the second, the damage was already done. Heading into the seventh, the teams were tied at 2-2.

With the game level, Curd had the chance to at least seal extra innings for the Blue Devils. But Knight was determined to win the pitching duel. And she had one last opportunity to give herself some breathing room.

Knight came up to the plate to open the seventh, facing off against Curd. She took the first pitch that she saw for a ball. The second pitch she saw gave the Orange a 3-2 lead. Knight drove the offering deep into left, and Curd could only watch as the fly ball sailed over the fence.

Curd was taken out of the game after, but it didn’t matter. That insurance run was all that Knight needed to seal the win for SU. The Blue Devils were sat down consecutively in the bottom of the seventh, and Knight held on for her ninth complete game to give the Orange their first ranked win.

Published on March 15, 2025 at 6:24 pm

Contact Mauricio: mjpalmar@syr.edu | @mpalmarSU