Heading into Syracuse’s doubleheader against Binghamton, Alyssa Dewes and Danielle Chitkowski had a combined four home runs on the season.

Then, they matched that total in one day, each hitting two bombs to go along with a combined 10 RBIs.

Syracuse (15-18, 6-7 Atlantic Coast) swept Binghamton (12-14, 3-2 America East) at SU Softball Stadium on Wednesday, winning the first game 8-0 by way of mercy rule, and the second 9-6.

The entire Syracuse offense was clicking, but its bottom three hitters — the freshman Dewes, sophomore Chitkowski and junior Mary Dombrowski — went a combined 9-for-15 on the day, scoring 10 total runs.

“When your seven, eight, nine help out and contribute, that just helps and takes a load off of everybody else,” SU head coach Leigh Ross said. “Today was big for the bottom of the order.”

In the first game, Dewes hit a two-out, three-run home run over the right-field fence to give Syracuse a 3-0 lead in the second inning.

It was the freshman’s second round-tripper on the season, and first since her go-ahead homer against Campbell on March 12.

“It was obviously really cold out, so I was just trying to stay focused on the pitcher,” Dewes said. “I was just going up there and hitting and not worrying about mechanics so much.”

The SU offense found a rhythm in the fourth, as Chitkowski and Dombrowski each roped singles on the first pitch of their at-bats.

After Shirley Daniels fouled off three pitches, she too smacked a single, bringing home Chitkowski. Two batters later, Corinne Ozanne recorded the Orange’s fourth base hit of the inning, bringing in two runners to blow the game wide open at 6-0.

Chitkowski ended the game in the fifth, sending the ball soaring into the pine trees beyond the left-center field fence, giving the Orange the 8-0 mercy-rule victory.

The junior had been hitting .189 on the season heading into the doubleheader, but after a 2-for-3 game with two RBIs and a walk-off, Chitkowski was pleased with her play.

“Not much has been (clicking) lately, so I’m just putting in work,” Chitkowski said. “I wasn’t looking for home runs, but it’s nice.”

Sydney O’Hara got the win for the Orange in game one, going the distance while striking out five and only allowing two hits for her 11th win of the year.

The second game started off like the first, as the hosts got out to an early lead in the second inning.

Chitkowski hit a three-run home run, which was followed by a Dombrowski double. Dewes then singled in Dombrowski before freshman catcher Nicole Lundstrom proceeded to drive in Dewes to give the Orange a quick 5-0 cushion.

As it did all day, the bottom of the lineup provided the punch to the rest of the order’s success.

“Our whole lineup hits really well,” Dewes said. “Everyone is pretty powerful, and you can always rely on everyone to hit that ball.”

Game two starter Christina Clermont was cruising, but she hit a rough patch in the fourth inning when Binghamton nearly batted around and scored five runs to tie the game.

But after a two-run single by Lundstrom in the bottom of the inning, the Orange regained a lead that it would not relinquish. Then another Dewes home run in the sixth along with an RBI single by Jasmine Watson provided the necessary insurance runs to secure the 9-6 victory and a Syracuse sweep.

For a lineup that went stagnant in its last outing — when it was shut out in the second game of its doubleheader against N.C. State on Sunday — 17 runs and 22 hits was a nice turnaround.

“Top to bottom in the lineup was hitting well today, and it was nice to see,” Chitkowski said. “It was really cool to see us capitalize on that and come together as a team.”

Published on April 10, 2014 at 1:30 am

Contact Matt: [email protected] | @matt_schneidman