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Syracuse (9-9, 5-6 Atlantic Coast) softball swept Pittsburgh (9-17, 4-12) in its doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. After Alexa Romero’s complete game led the Orange’s victory on Friday evening, Syracuse’s success continued as it extended its win streak to three and moved back to .500 overall, beating the Panthers 7-4 and 8-0.

In the first game, a scoreless final four innings of relief from Jolie Gustave and Romero lifted SU out of the one-run hole that sophomore Kaia Oliver put them in. A three-hit first inning from Pitt led to two runs, tying the game.

The next inning, Oliver allowed a leadoff home run to first baseman Sarah Seamans. That center-field home run gave the Panthers their first — and only — lead in the first three games. Pitt once again capitalized on Oliver’s uncharacteristic start with a three-hit bottom of the third that culminated in an RBI single from Hunter Levesque. 

Oliver’s batting average against has climbed to .213, up 17 points from last season. But in game one of the doubleheader, she allowed nine hits, the most she’s allowed all season.

A double from Calista Almer that scored Toni Martin pulled the Orange back to even at four apiece, and a two-run fifth inning gave SU the lead for good. Oliver was pulled by head coach Shannon Doepking in the fourth inning after Pitt’s leadoff hitter singled, handing the ball over to Gustave. Between Gustave and Romero, the pair only allowed one hit and struck out five batters.

In game two, Doepking turned to Lindsey Hendrix to start on the mound in only her fifth collegiate appearance. The freshman shined and pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout. She struck out five batters and induced seven fly outs.

Almer led off the game with a double and reached home shortly after from a Neli Casares-Maher single. Two consecutive errors following a right-field single from Lailoni Mayfield scored Casares-Maher, and a wild pitch from starter Brittany Knight scored Gabby Teran.

A hit from outfielder Angel Jasso — her 10th of the year — gave Syracuse a 4-0 lead, where it would stay until the Orange’s three-run fifth inning. A final home run from Casares-Maher off of Makenzie Stiles in the top of the sixth sealed an 8-0 victory.

While five Orange hitters did strike out, the team tagged Pitt’s pitchers for 10 hits. They now have 29 hits through their first three games in the conference matchup against Pitt.

After securing their first series win since their three-game matchup against Charlotte, Syracuse now looks for their first series sweep in conference play since April 2018 against NC State. Following Sunday’s game, SU will return for their first home games of the 2021 season.

Published on March 27, 2021 at 8:24 pm

Contact Anthony: [email protected] | @anthonyalandt