2008 Woodie Awards
The Daily OrangeSB | SU breaks out of early season funk with 7 wins over break
By Michael Bonner
Posted: 3/17/08, 11:59 PM EST Section: Sports
The Orange even made bit of history at the College of Charleston Classic. Syracuse kicked off the tournament Friday with wins against Binghamton and Charleston.
The second win of the day amounted to the 200th win in the program's history. SU was only one hit away from another historic number. The Orange had a season-high 17 hits in the 12-4 win over the host school, only one shy of tying a school record for hits.
Saturday, the Orange pushed its win streak to three, fueled by Jamie Kelling becoming the first player in the school history to amass five hits in a game. She did it in only five plate appearances, as the Orange beat Big East rival St. John's 3-2 in eight innings.
On March 6, the junior infielder Kelling was hitting a team low .143 (5-of-39) among players who have started at least 10 games. Ten days later, Kelling inflated her average to .293 as a result of hitting .472 (17-for-36) in the last two tournaments.
"The difference in Jamie Kelling from the last three weekends to these last two has been phenomenal," Ross said. "It's made a very big impact on our offense."
In its only loss in Charleston, SU was blanked 2-0 by the hosts. In the four wins, Syracuse put 23 runs on the board. In Tampa the offense scored 21 runs. In the first 13 games combined, the Orange managed to touch home plate only 17 times.
Syracuse went 7-3 during spring break and righted its ship after a poor start just in time for Big East play to begin on March 29. For now, the goal is to keep the momentum alive.
"At the end of our Spring Break I said you guys think about your first weekend, you think about where we've come," Ross said. "What a turnaround it has been. We've turned the boat around, and we're paddling in the right direction, but let's keep going."
mibonner@syr.edu
The second win of the day amounted to the 200th win in the program's history. SU was only one hit away from another historic number. The Orange had a season-high 17 hits in the 12-4 win over the host school, only one shy of tying a school record for hits.
Saturday, the Orange pushed its win streak to three, fueled by Jamie Kelling becoming the first player in the school history to amass five hits in a game. She did it in only five plate appearances, as the Orange beat Big East rival St. John's 3-2 in eight innings.
On March 6, the junior infielder Kelling was hitting a team low .143 (5-of-39) among players who have started at least 10 games. Ten days later, Kelling inflated her average to .293 as a result of hitting .472 (17-for-36) in the last two tournaments.
"The difference in Jamie Kelling from the last three weekends to these last two has been phenomenal," Ross said. "It's made a very big impact on our offense."
In its only loss in Charleston, SU was blanked 2-0 by the hosts. In the four wins, Syracuse put 23 runs on the board. In Tampa the offense scored 21 runs. In the first 13 games combined, the Orange managed to touch home plate only 17 times.
Syracuse went 7-3 during spring break and righted its ship after a poor start just in time for Big East play to begin on March 29. For now, the goal is to keep the momentum alive.
"At the end of our Spring Break I said you guys think about your first weekend, you think about where we've come," Ross said. "What a turnaround it has been. We've turned the boat around, and we're paddling in the right direction, but let's keep going."
mibonner@syr.edu
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