Inability to get out of innings hurts Syracuse in 6-0 loss to No. 11 Duke

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Duke’s Taylor Krapf stepped up to the plate with a runner on first and two outs in the top of the sixth. Pitcher Kaia Oliver had already given up one run in the inning but had an opportunity to end it as Krapf, the Blue Devils’ worst hitter, stepped to the plate.

The count quickly got to 1-1 after a foul and a high pitch. Kamryn Jackson then stole second base to put a runner in scoring position, and Krapf sent the next pitch through the left side of the infield on a screaming ground ball. She slid in for a double as Jackson scored, extending the lead to 5-0.

Syracuse (21-20, 4-15 Atlantic Coast) fell flat against No. 11 Duke (36-7, 16-3 ACC) by a score of 6-0 a day after the Orange handed the Blue Devils their first ACC loss in a month. SU mustered just four hits, failed to produce any form of offense and struggled to get out of innings as the Blue Devils scored four of their six runs on two-out rallies.

“They didn’t swing and chase any pitches,” Ariana Adams said of the Blue Devils. “They really made us bring it in there … throwing it on the corners and trusting our pitches.”

Lindsey Hendrix started off in the pitcher’s circle for Syracuse and got three of the first four batters she faced out. But things started to go sideways for Hendrix and Syracuse in the top of the second.

The sophomore fielded a Claire Davidson grounder but made a wild throw way over Tessa Galipeau’s glove at first base, allowing Davidson to advance to second. Duke’s Rachel Crabtree then laid down a sacrifice bunt to put Davidson on third. Francesca Frelick hit a hard grounder to third base that Rebecca Clyde scooped and tried — unsuccessfully — to throw out Davidson at home. Davidson scored, Frelick got to second, and after a ground out, Syracuse only needed one more out to get out of the inning and stay within a run.

That’s when Jackson took her turn at bat. She hit the first pitch to the center field fence, and it fell past Paris Woods for a two-run shot that put Duke up 3-0.

Syracuse managed one hit in the bottom of the inning, but Clyde was left stranded on first. Once Hendrix walked Gisele Tapia, head coach Shannon Doepking brought Adams in to pitch. Kelsey Zampa quickly stole second, but Adams caught Kristina Foreman swinging on an outside curve. After Davidson beat out a ground ball and stole second, there were two runners in scoring position for Adams when she struck out Crabtree.

In the bottom of the third, Carli Campbell beat out a hard ground ball she hit to second. Then, she got to third base on two sacrifice bunts, and Galipeau forced a walk to set up runners on the corners for Neli Casares-Maher. But, the 2021 All-ACC selection struck out on three pitches.

The fourth and fifth innings were an offensive stalemate as the two teams mustered a combined one hit. Down 3-0, Oliver came in for Adams for the sixth inning and immediately gave up a single on a ball that dropped in front of Woods in center field. Frelick then dropped a bunt and safely reached first base after Galipeau dropped the ball.

Kyla Morris hit a dinky ground ball right to Oliver and was thrown out at first, but the run scored from third. That’s when Krapf hit a liner between Clyde and Casares-Maher on the left side of the infield and Jackson ran all the way home from second. Leah Jarnac hit a choppy grounder to Casares-Maher and beat out the throw, allowing the run to score. Tapia then hit a skipping grounder down the third base line that went past Clyde for a stand up double.

Oliver loaded up the bases by hitting Foreman with a pitch. Kelly Breen fielded a grounder hit right to her and stepped on second base to end the inning. Still, the Orange found themselves down six after a string of two-out hits. Davidson pitched two straight 1-2-3 innings against Syracuse batters to end the game.

By not capitalizing with two outs and allowing innings to continue, Syracuse trailed by six instead of just trailing by a few runs. But even then, the Orange’s offense again struggled against Peyton St. George and finished the three-game series against Duke with just one combined run.

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