After the Syracuse softball team won all five of its games last weekend by one run, head coach Leigh Ross shared a quote from the book ‘Mind Gym’ with her team.

‘Fate loves the fearless.’

The mantra — from a book about reaching inner excellence — perfectly captures the team’s success late in games early this year. Syracuse is 8-0 in one-run games this season. The eight wins nearly match last year’s win total, when SU went 9-7 in games decided by a single run.

For Ross, playing in so many close games is a double-edged sword. Ross said the pressure situations will pay off down the road in conference play. But she also knows one bad break can lead to a loss.

‘I’d like to get ahead right away,’ Ross said. ‘But I do like the fact that they are OK with being in a close game.’

Ross has been pushing the right buttons so far. The Orange relied on a different hero in each game over the weekend. Freshman Kealy McMullen, juniors Lacey Kohl and Kelly Saco and sophomore Morgan Nandin each came through with game-winning hits.

Kohl said the team trusts every member to produce in the clutch. She said the role players are just as capable as the starters to get the job done late in games.

The whole team is prepared to succeed.

‘We know that if one person’s not going to get it done, the next person will,’ Kohl said.

It was the freshman McMullen, a backup outfielder with just one career hit, who got it all started Friday against Utah. With one out and the winning run on third in the bottom of the eighth inning, Ross sent McMullen to the plate to pinch-hit for Nandin.

Ross said she has been impressed with McMullen since the team’s first intrasquad scrimmage. When McMullen faced the team’s ace, Jenna Caira, she put the ball in play. Ross called on McMullen to do just that Friday.

McMullen was shocked to hear her name called with the game on the line.

‘I just can’t believe Coach put me in that situation,’ McMullen said. ‘I thought she would put someone else who had more experience than me.’

Still, McMullen was confident as she walked to the plate. She said she watched Utah pitcher Generra Nielson the entire game, picking up her routine and tendencies. McMullen said Nielson was throwing a heavy dose of rise balls, so she planned to wait for a pitch down in the zone.

After two rise balls, McMullen said she got a pitch right down the middle and singled to left field to win the game.

‘I don’t get to hit a lot on the team because I’m a freshman,’ McMullen said. ‘So I just wanted to make the most of my opportunity.’

The freshman’s hit started a thrilling weekend of one-run victories. Ross said the close games give her team confidence that it can come back in any game. She said it helps her players learn to keep their composure and focus every play when they’re behind.

‘You don’t always give up when you’re down by a run or two,’ Ross said, ‘because you know we can come back.’

That confidence is valuable, but Ross doesn’t want the close games to become a trend for the rest of the season. Syracuse has come through in the clutch, but it has also gotten lucky during the streak.

SU benefited from a defensive collapse by then-No. 11 Hawaii on Friday. Hawaii made five errors in the top of the seventh inning that led to two runs and a 3-2 upset win for the Orange.

Ross worries the close games will eventually catch up with her team.

‘You start to get superstitious,’ Ross said. ‘You start to think, ‘Well, what if our luck runs out?”

Kohl said all the close wins have helped the team develop a winning mentality. For SU, losing is an afterthought right now.

‘It’s just focusing on putting the worry in the back of your head and thinking about winning the game,’ Kohl said. ‘As long as we don’t worry, then we shouldn’t have a problem.’

Syracuse didn’t show signs of worry last weekend, which led to Ross providing them with the quote from the motivational book. Ross believes if her team remains fearless, fate will help them win the close ones.

‘We’re just going to keep that mentality of just playing fearless,’ Ross said. ‘And then however the chips may fall, that’s what happens.’

rjgery@syr.edu

 

Published on March 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Ryne: rjgery@syr.edu