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Syracuse softball entered Saturday seeking its first win over a ranked team since February 2020 against Texas Tech. That streak continued Saturday, as SU lost both games of its doubleheader against No. 14 Duke, falling 11-0 in the opening game and 7-3 in the latter game. The Orange (6-8, 2-5 Atlantic Coast) were coming off a 5-3 loss on Friday after Jolie Gustave allowed three runs over four innings. 

In the first contest, Duke (23-1, 11-1) scored two runs on Kaia Oliver in the bottom of the first before widening its advantage with an eight-run third inning. The Blue Devils grew their lead to 10-0 in the inning with seven hits, sending 11 hitters to the batter’s box before Gustave was able to retire Kristina Foreman on a fly-out to right field. Gustave was the third pitcher of the inning after Oliver and senior Miranda Hearn each faced three hitters, retiring none. It was the first appearance of the 2021 season for Hearn, who is tied for seventh all-time at SU in career saves. 

Duke added another run off Gustave in the following inning to make the score 11-0 before the mercy rule ended the game after the top of the fifth inning. The Orange struggled in all facets of the game, recording only a single by pinch hitter Maxine Barnes and a walk off against pitcher Peyton St. George through five innings. Duke’s senior ace improved to 10-0 on the season. 

The second game saw the Blue Devils jump out to an early lead once again, as Jameson Kavel reached on a fielding error by shortstop Neli Casares-Maher, scoring Deja Davis. Caroline Jacobsen followed that up with a three-run homer to left field off freshman pitcher Lindsey Hendrix. The home run put Duke up 4-0, and the Blue Devils expanded on it in the fifth inning when Jacobsen hit another homer, this one bringing in two-runs to put the Devils up 7-2. Hendrix finished her second career start with a line of six innings, seven runs, five walks and five strikeouts. 

The Orange failed to muster much offense in the second game off of pitchers Claire Davidson and Brianna Butler. Casares-Maher knocked a solo homer that landed just shy of the left-center field scoreboard in the top of the seventh, her third home run of the season. But Butler was able to escape further damage and record her second save of the season with a strikeout on Makena Fidler to end the day. 

Syracuse will look to avoid a sweep against Duke, who has now won 17 in a row, when it returns to the field for the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. SU has a four-game series at Pittsburgh next weekend before it hosts Georgia Tech as part of its season-opening homestead at Skytop Softball Stadium beginning April 1.

Published on March 20, 2021 at 7:47 pm

Contact Connor: [email protected] | @csmith17_