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In nonconference play, Madison Knight was nearly untouchable in the circle. She entered Syracuse’s conference-opening series against No. 19 Stanford with a minuscule 1.28 ERA, allowing just nine runs across 49.1 innings and pitching complete games in all six of her starts.
At the top of Syracuse’s revamped rotation, Knight had also formed a dominant duo with Julianna Verni. Across SU’s first 14 games, the two had helped it to a 1.14 ERA, good for second in the nation behind No. 7 Tennessee.
However, in Syracuse’s series finale against Stanford on Sunday, Knight showed cracks in her armor for the first time. After just three innings, Knight allowed three runs and got chased out of the game in SU’s (16-6, 0-3 Atlantic Coast) 9-0 loss to the Cardinal (17-3, 5-1 ACC). This is the first time the Orange have lost three straight games this season.
After Stanford starter Zoe Prystajko pitched a clean first inning, Knight started her outing by giving up an early double to Taryn Kern. But she followed that extra-base hit with two quick strikeouts, keeping the Cardinal off the board.
Prystajko then continued to stymie the Orange in the second inning, inducing weak contact from Taylor Posner and Kelly Breen for two quick outs. Prystajko ended the inning by striking out Vanessa Flores, registering her first and only strikeout of the game.
With Syracuse’s bats silenced, Knight had to be nearly flawless to give SU a shot at its first ACC win. However, she was far from it.
Knight started the bottom of the second by walking Jade Berry before Kyra Chan moved her into scoring position with a single. Joie Economides followed by drawing a walk, loading the bases with no outs.
Despite facing a jam, Knight struck out Sydney Boulaphinh for the first out of the inning and forced a fielder’s choice from the ensuing batter, Caelan Koch. But during Koch’s at-bat, Knight threw a wild pitch that scored Berry, giving Stanford its first run and a lead it never relinquished.
Syracuse was sat down in order again in the third, with Prystajko forcing weak contact from Tessa Galipeau, Gabby Lantier and Jadyn Burney.
The Cardinal bats proceeded to open a floodgate. A River Mahler single was bookended by two Stanford outs, giving Knight the opportunity to escape the bottom of the third unscathed.
But four consecutive Stanford batters got on base, as Berry, Chan, Economides and Boulaphinh reached on three singles and a walk, respectively. By the time Knight closed the inning with a Koch strikeout, Stanford’s lead grew to 3-0.
Madelyn Lopez opened the fourth inning by singling for Syracuse’s first hit of the game. Yet her hit was almost immediately followed by a baserunning gaffe on a Laila Morales-Alves popout, ending the inning without a runner in scoring position.
In the bottom of the fourth, Knight hit Kern on her second pitch of the inning, prompting head coach Shannon Doepking to pull her in favor of freshman Sydney Jackson.
Jackson had pieced together a couple of solid performances in her first four starts, highlighted by an eight-strikeout shutout against Queens (North Carolina). But ACC play proved to be a different challenge.
Kern quickly advanced to second after Jackson threw a wild pitch, and Emily Jones drew a full-count walk to put two runners on with zero outs. Then, Mahler drove a double into right field to plate both.
Although Mahler bailed Jackson out by getting thrown out attempting to stretch the hit to a triple, Berry hit a home run over the right-field fence, bringing Stanford’s lead to six.
Following a scoreless fifth inning, Jackson started the sixth by walking Mahler and Allie Clements. Doepking decided to pull the freshman for the more experienced option in Verni, which didn’t work.
Verni’s first three pitches resulted in a 2-1 count to Berry. Her fourth pitch ended the game. Berry drove the next offering over the right field fence for her second home run, tacking on three runs to Stanford’s lead. With Stanford up by nine, the umpire sent everyone home an inning early, allowing the Orange to get a head start on a lengthy trip back to New York.
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