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The last time Syracuse hit a home run was Feb. 19. It ranks dead last in the Atlantic Coast Conference and had just seven home runs on the year, and is outside the top 200 for that category in all of Division I. But when the Orange needed insurance, Madelyn Lopez ended the over-a-month-long drought. 

She stepped into the left-handed batter’s box as Canisius’ Megan Giese was in her seventh inning of work. On the opening pitch, Giese threw it right down the middle, and Lopez clobbered it into right-center field for the first home run of her career. It gave the Orange the cushion it needed heading into the final half inning, where Madison Knight sat down the Golden Griffins in 1-2-3 fashion. 

Syracuse (9-14, 0-6 ACC) broke out of a five-game losing streak, sweeping Canisius (10-11, 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) 3-1 and 7-4 in a doubleheader on Wednesday. 

Lopez not only put the finishing touches on the Orange’s first win, but she even delivered the go-ahead RBI earlier in the contest. Coming into the fourth inning, Syracuse trailed 1-0, and Giese was tossing a perfect game. She let up her first base runner of the afternoon by walking Angie Ramos to lead off the inning, who Angel Jasso brought home via a bunt single, tying the score.

That set Lopez up with runners on first and third. The freshman hit a line drive into center field, which Christie McGee-Ross gloved, but it gave way for Gabby Lantier to tag up and score from third base. Lopez finished the first game 1-for-2 at the plate, and drove in two of the three Syracuse runs. 

Lindsey Hendrix started in the circle for the first game, and was in need of a bounceback performance after allowing nine hits and five runs in three innings of work on Sunday against Florida State.

She put together an improved outing versus Canisius, as she pitched for 5.0 innings and gave up only one earned run on three hits. Hendrix also fanned five Golden Griffins, which was her fourth appearance of the year registering five strikeouts or more. 

Knight took her place in the circle in the sixth inning, and received her first save of the season. The Maryland native threw two scoreless, no-hit innings and struck out three. 

In a quick turnaround, Knight began game two in the circle for the Orange and faced some trouble early. Saige Alfaro led off with a single to third base, and she was instantly brought around by Nicole Rivait’s two-run home run into left center, giving Canisius a 2-0 advantage. 

Clyde and Ramos hit back-to-back RBI singles in the top of the second inning, which tied the game. But the Griffins promptly got back the lead in the bottom half after Alfaro hit a liner down the left-field line for a two-run double. Canisius led 4-2 after two innings, and Knight was pulled for Kaia Oliver. 

The Griffins went cold once Oliver took the circle, finishing the game scoreless in the last five innings of play. They got seven hits off Oliver, but the senior was resilient and got past jams of runners on the corners and runners on second and third. 

The Syracuse offense gave Oliver proper insurance right from the get-go. In the top of the third, Jude Padilla mashed a double off the left-center wall that scored both Knight and Kelly Breen, giving the Orange a 5-4 lead. 

Oliver also benefited from some defensive help in the third inning, as a diving stop by Breen prevented the Griffins from tying the score at five apiece. With a runner on second, Canisius’ Gabi Farris hit a bouncing ground ball toward the left of Breen, who was at shortstop. Breen dove and made a forehand grab, and while standing back to her feet, she saw Alyssa Cloutier rounding third, anticipating that the ball would get through to the outfield. 

Breen instinctively threw the ball to Rebecca Clyde at third, and Cloutier was tagged out. The Orange ended the third inning unscathed, and there were no more lead changes after Breen’s run-saving play.

Published on March 22, 2023 at 7:43 pm

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews