SU seniors on softball team hope for playoff run to cement legacy

By: Andrew L. John

Posted: 5/7/09

Entering the season, senior Amy Kelley had hoped her class would somehow find a way to leave its mark on the Syracuse softball program, a mark on the program that would carry down through the years.

And after leading the Orange to its second-best record in program history, the class may be well on its way.

"We wanted to leave a legacy," said Kelley, one of three senior captains. "Tradition never graduates. So we wanted to build a tradition and hopefully we have."

Now, with postseason tournaments underway, Kelley and her five senior teammates - Jamie Kelling, Nicole Miller, Jorden Rosen and Lindsay Wasek - have an ideal opportunity to build upon that legacy.

The fourth-seeded Orange (30-20, 12-10 Big East) will face fifth-seeded South Florida (33-21, 12-10 Big East) Thursday in the opening round of the Big East tournament at Ulmer Stadium in Louisville, Ky. It will be the first meeting between the two teams this season since the April 4 doubleheader was cancelled due to inclement weather.

And with SU's last conference tournament victory coming against Villanova in 2005, winning a game or two in the tournament would hold some significance. In 2005, four of the five seniors were wrapping up their high school careers, and shortstop Kelling was finishing her freshman season at Northern Iowa. A win in the tournament would be a first for every player on the roster.

At the beginning of the season, the senior class was given the task of steering a team with eight freshmen into the upper echelon of the Big East. While the underclassmen held their own weight, it was the leadership and work ethic of the seniors that guided the Orange into its current position and created a comfortable situation for the newcomers.

"They've been our leadership all year," freshman Stephanie Watts said. "They've all been here before, they've shown us the way and the rest of us follow their lead."

That guidance and direction provided by the senior class is a primary reason the Orange enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed. SU head coach Leigh Ross said that whether it was a 6 a.m. workout or staying late to improve technique, the members of the senior class have helped cultivate the type of atmosphere that produces winning results.

"It really helps your program when the rest of your team looks at the seniors and sees them putting the work in and are living examples of teamwork," Ross said. "I don't think a freshman class could ask for a better group of seniors to follow."

Finishing in the top four of the Big East standings and getting to the Big East tournament was a team goal at the beginning of the season. But for the five seniors on the Syracuse softball team, just getting to the Big East tournament isn't good enough. They want to win it.

Capturing the Big East tournament title would secure the Orange an automatic spot in the 16-team regional bracket of the Women's College World Series, held at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City on May 15. That may be its only way of getting in, as at-large bids are hard to come by.

"To make it to regionals would be a once in a lifetime opportunity," senior outfielder Rosen said. "It would be an amazing feeling to finish strong like that."

But winning the Big East tournament may be easier said than done. The Orange would have to win three games in three days in the single-elimination tournament. If SU survives against fifth-seeded South Florida in the first round on Thursday, it will likely be matched up against DePaul, the Big East regular-season champion, in the second round.

Despite a 1-5 record against the three teams sitting above them it in the conference standings this year - DePaul, Notre Dame and Louisville - the Orange took something positive away from those games. Ross said that despite the losses, confidence was gained by SU's ability to compete with some of the elite teams in the country.

And for SU's group of seniors, the weekend provides them with an opportunity to prove to the rest of the Big East that they're worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the top-tier teams in the conference. For Kelley, that would be the ultimate way of leaving her mark on the program.

"If we could win a conference championship, it would be huge," Kelley said. "That's our goal, and us seniors wouldn't want to go out any other way … if we put it together and peak at the right time, the rest will be history, hopefully."

aljohn@syr.edu