Going into the Big East tournament a year ago, the Syracuse softball team was an inexperienced group that often made costly mistakes in key situations. So before the Orange stepped off the bus in Louisville, Ky., last season, head coach Leigh Ross gave her team some final advice.

ìYou have to turn your fear into trust,î Ross told her team. ìSo if youíre nervous right now, trust. Trust yourself. Trust your teammates.î

SU took the advice to heart and surprised the rest of the Big East field by winning the conference tournament championship. Ross said her team played without fear and believed it would win.

Syracuse (41-11, 15-5 Big East) carried that belief into this spring and set the program record for the most wins in a season. Now heading into the 2011 Big East tournament, the team is recognized as a legitimate contender to repeat. As the No. 3 seed, SU will take on No. 6 seed Pittsburgh (34-16, 13-8 Big East) in the first round Thursday at 10 a.m. in Louisvilleís Ulmer Stadium.

The Orange enters the tournament riding an 11-game winning streak and confident in its chances to make another run ? especially after a three-game sweep of conference rival Louisville to close out the regular season. With the sweep, SU finally proved it could beat an elite team in the conference.

Before that series, the team had been swept by upper-echelon Big East teams South Florida and Notre Dame. It lost both games to the Irish by a total of 10 runs. Its only conference wins had come against Rutgers, Providence, Villanova, Georgetown and Seton Hall ó all teams with losing overall records.

To get the sweep, SU had to come back from a 4-0 deficit in the first inning of game two. Lisaira Daniels said last yearís team would have folded in that situation. But this Orange team didnít panic and responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning.

ìWe have so much confidence this year,î Daniels said. ìNothingís going to stop us. If you canít stop us, Iím sorry, weíre going to keep hitting the ball and doing what we do.î

That confidence remained high even after a costly mental error ended the rally. Pinch runner Leah Porter was picked off at second base, wasting another opportunity to score.

When Porter returned to the dugout, no one was upset with her. The SU players just grabbed their gloves and took the field. The team immediately moved on, knowing someone would step up later to erase the mistake.

ìNobody dwelled on it,î Ross said. ìThatís easier to let go of mistakes. Itís easier to play better when you know you can let go of mistakes.î

The Orange got three quick outs on defense and began its offensive half of the inning with back-to-back home runs to take the lead. SU added two more runs in the frame and ultimately won the game 9-5.

Throughout the series, the team stayed calm in pressure situations. Pitcher Jenna Caira escaped two bases-loaded jams unscathed. And Stacy Kuwik stranded a runner at third with a strikeout to preserve a one-run lead in the sixth inning of the final game.

The dominant pitching coupled with a hot lineup down the stretch has SU in good spirits going into the Big East tournament. Caira said if the team plays up to its capabilities, the Orange can challenge any team in the conference.

ìIf we play against Louisville, Notre Dame and USF, for example, thatís going to be a tight game,î Caira said. ìSo we have to make sure that we just buckle down and play our game ó the way that weíve been playing for the last 11 games.î

Though another Big East championship would be nice, Ross already has an eye on the national landscape. SUís main goal is to make a deeper postseason run this year. And with 41 wins, she hopes her team has done enough to earn a trip to the NCAA tournament regardless of how the conference tournament ends.

Ross said she is going to keep her pregame speech simple Thursday. She said SU is already motivated and understands how to win. Caira made that motivation clear. The pitcher said the team is focused on repeating as Big East champions right now.

ìThat is our main goal right now because weíre just going to take it one step at a time,î Caira said. ìWeíre going to make sure we take care of business at the Big East tournament.î

rjgery@syr.edu

 

Published on May 10, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu