Jocelyn Cater walked behind the circle and shrugged her shoulders.

Three batters earlier, Cater lost her shutout on a two-run home run by Virginia’s Megan Harris with none down in the top of the fifth inning.

Now, one out away from a Syracuse win, she stepped on the rubber, rocked backward, then forward and her arm pinwheeled before firing the ball toward the plate.

The batter swatted at the ball meekly. A soft pop-up rose toward first base. SU’s Sydney O’Hara moved over, extended her glove and secured the ball and the win.

Cater capped a dominant weekend by notching her second win of the series, and 14th on the year, as Syracuse (20-26, 4-13 Atlantic Coast) swept Virginia (16-40, 4-20) with an 11-2 Senior Day victory at SU Softball Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

It was the 18th complete game of Cater’s junior season, which lasted just 79 minutes due to SU’s offense and her efficiency. Cater also pitched a complete game Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader, and then picked up a three-inning save in the second game.

By the weekend’s end, Cater threw 266 total pitches.

“Today was a bit of a struggle after the whole season. My arm’s not hurt or anything, it just gets tired,” Cater said. “… And especially knowing (Sunday’s) your last shot at things. You want to push a little harder and find it within yourself.”

Cater picked up where she left off Saturday, when she struck out 17 Cavaliers in nine innings.

In the first three innings Sunday, Cater faced the minimum nine batters while striking out three and not allowing a hard-hit ball.

But Cater struggled to begin the fourth. She allowed a five-pitch walk to begin the inning and hit the next batter on the foot with a 3-2 pitch. The next batter slapped a single to right field, but Mary Dombrowski came up firing. Dombrowski’s throw came in slightly up the line, but catcher Julie Wambold applied the tag to nab the runner at the plate.

Still in a jam with runners at the corners and just one down, Cater induced a grounder up the middle. Shortstop Corinne Ozanne flipped the ball to second baseman Sammy Fernandez, who tossed to O’Hara for the inning-ending double play.

The Cavaliers then got on the board in the top of the fifth. After she dropped a pop-up, Cater allowed a blast to right-center field for Virginia’s first — and only — two runs of the game.

The entire infield formed a circle around Cater, who pounded her glove.

It was familiar for the Orange, which has rallied around Cater all season. Injuries to Syracuse’s other top three pitchers — O’Hara, AnnaMarie Gatti and Lindsay Taylor — throughout the season left the staff with questions only Cater could answer.

“It’s been tough on her,” Ozanne said. “She’s worked her butt off. For a staff to be a staff, you need more than one pitcher, but we had three injuries this year… That doesn’t help the pitching staff or the coaching staff.”

As Cater tired throughout the game, she changed her approach, which SU head coach Leigh Ross said is a testament to how much she’s learned after transferring from Washington before last season.

Harris’ home run in the top of the fifth forced Cater to come up with one last push.

Ozanne caught a soft line-out, O’Hara speared a pop-up in foul territory and Cater stepped back from the mound before getting the game-ending out. She high-fived O’Hara and hugged the senior Wambold. Then she walked off the field for the last time this season.

“It’s definitely surreal,” Cater said. “I’ve had a tough two years. This is my first full season and I only have one left.

“The whole time I was thinking, Julie and all those (seniors), that’s me in one year.”

Published on April 26, 2015 at 5:02 pm

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