 "Photo: Amy Young")
Apparently upset with Syracuse’s midseason offensive struggles, Mary Jo Firnbach decided her players should learn to hit some fruit before a softball. It turned out to be the perfect remedy for the SU softball team's woes.
The Orangewomen practiced hitting various produce over Spring Break in an attempt to jump-start their offense. Focusing on different sized objects in practice has allowed SU hitters to do a better job of zoning in on the ball at the plate.
"We started off hitting balls that were about the size of a beach ball," head coach Mary Jo Firnbach said. "We then worked our way down to oranges, and from there we hit some grapes and chick peas."
The new practice routine produced major dividends on the diamond. The Orangewomen improved their hitting dramatically and lead the Big East in home runs during conference play with 12, five more than the next team, Villanova. On Tuesday, they swept Hofstra, 7-2 and 3-2.
Syracuse (12-18, 4-6 Big East) will need to continue its offensive production as it takes on conference-leading Notre Dame (22-11, 8-0) on Saturday at noon at Skytop Softball Stadium.
"The games against Notre Dame are huge for our confidence," senior pitcher Tara DiMaggio said. "We need to go in relaxed and have fun playing our game."
Notre Dame is known as a power-hitting team, but the Irish’s pitching has shined lately. The Irish are riding an 11-game winning streak marked by a 1.05 team ERA in Big East play.
SU also must contend with Notre Dame freshmen Heather Booth and Meagan Ruthrauff. Booth earned Co-Pitcher of the Week honors last week while compiling a 3-0 record and a 0.36 ERA. Ruthrauff won Co-Player of the Week by slugging .938.
The Orangewomen need their timely hitting and dependable pitching to shut down the two freshmen as well as the rest of the Irish lineup. SU has won three of its last four games and will try to keep that momentum going against the Irish, last year's regular-season and postseason Big East champions.
With only 10 conference games left, Syracuse desperately needs wins to qualify for the Big East tournament. Only the top four teams qualify, and Syracuse is tied for sixth place with Connecticut and Pittsburgh.
"Getting two wins against Hofstra couldn't have happened at a better time," Firnbach said. "Notre Dame is a very similar team, and hopefully what we did well on Tuesday will carry over into this weekend."
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