Softball Comes Up Short in Doubleheader at Syracuse

GAME ONE BOX SCORE (.html)
GAME ONE BOX SCORE (.pdf)

GAME TWO BOX SCORE (.html)
GAME TWO BOX SCORE (.pdf)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The Seton Hall softball team lost a pair of close decisions to Syracuse in doubleheader action on Friday afternoon. The Pirates fell, 2-0, in game one, before losing a heartbreaker, 5-3, in nine innings in the nightcap after a walk-off two-run homer by SU's Carey-Leigh Thomas.

Freshman Danielle DeStaso (Congers, N.Y.) and All-American Jenna Caira each pitched outstanding games in the opener, combining for 21 strikeouts in the contest. However, Caira came up victorious after allowing just two hits and finishing with 11 K's.

Both pitchers were dealing in game one, and going into the sixth inning each team just mustered one hit apiece.

The Orange (23-9, 4-1) finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning after back-to-back solo homers by Jasmine Watson and Lacey Kohl to start the frame.

DeStaso led off the top of the seventh with a base-hit to bring the tying run to the plate, but SHU could not come up with another knock and took the loss.

DeStaso notched a career-best 10 strikeouts and allowed just four hits in the game. Her record dropped to 4-7 after the defeat.

Syracuse used the long-ball again in game two, breaking a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of a two-run homer by Julie Wambold.

The Orange rallied again in the fifth to plate an insurance run after an RBI double by Stephanie Watts to extend the lead to 3-0.

Freshman Alissa Kerr (Fairfield, N.J.) started a rally in the sixth, notching a single for her first career hit to lead things off. Junior Brittany Hammer (Manheim, Pa.) followed with a bunt single to set the table for Kristen Kaelin (Parlin, N.J.), who unleashed her fifth homer of the year off the scoreboard in leftfield to tie the game.

The score remained that way all the way until the bottom of the ninth, despite each team having runners on base in each of the next three innings. Watts led off the SU half of the frame with a single, but back-to-back strikeouts by Brooke Tull (Greenwood, Del.) put the Pirates in position to extend the game even further. Thomas fell behind in the count 1-2 before her heroic dinger over the wall in right-centerfield.

Tull took the loss (2-6) despite pitching a solid four innings out of the bullpen for SHU, fanning six batters.

Kaelin led the offense with a 3-for-4 effort from the dish.

The Pirates and Orange finish their series tomorrow with a single-game at noon.