The only hit not defensible in softball is the home run, and that showed on Friday. In Syracuse softball’s first game of a doubleheader against Villanova, Alexis Switenko’s second-inning bomb was all the Orange needed to a steal a 1-0 win. In the second game, though, SU became the victims rather than the perpetrators. Two three-run home runs for the Wildcats propelled Villanova to a 10-2 victory.

The first of the Wildcats home runs came in a disastrous one-third of an inning for SU pitcher Courtney Mosch. She gave up three hits and four runs while only facing five batters. That forced Erin Downey to return to the pitcher’s mound after the freshman went the distance in a six-hit shutout in the first game.

Downey was brilliant in the opener – striking out seven and keeping an explosive Villanova offense in check. While the Wildcats came into the game batting only .238 as a team, they have smashed 25 homers. This made every one of Downey’s pitches increasingly important during a one-run game.

‘You have to give absolutely everything,’ Downey said. ‘It was a tough game to pitch, but the lack of insurance makes a pitcher more tired. You have to suck it up and get the job done.’

It wasn’t just insurance runs that the Orange couldn’t muster – it even had trouble getting hits off of Villanova senior Shannon Williams. Syracuse head coach Mary Jo Firnbach said that Williams has always given Syracuse trouble. She did an excellent job of keeping Syracuse batters off balance, with only three exceptions for Syracuse’s three hits.

But Switenko’s first at-bat was a costly exception.

Switenko had two strikes against her and was in trouble of suffering the same fate as the three batters before her, all of whom struck out.

‘I just wanted to hit the ball hard and in play,’ Switenko said. ‘It was an outside pitch, and I got a hold of it.’

The Orange managed to hold onto that one-run lead, despite a one out, bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth inning. Downey forced Wildcat senior Sarah Wall to hit a grounder to the third base side, where Erin Gray cleanly fielded it and wisely forced out the lead runner at home. Wildcat senior Krissy Yauch then grounded out to Switenko, and the scare was over.

‘It was an intense situation,’ Switenko said. ‘There’s a sense of urgency. Everyone wants to make sure the ball isn’t hit out of the infield and make their plays.’

Downey said that as a pitcher, she just has to have faith in her defense during those situations. She said she tried to lure Villanova into hitting ground balls and trust that those playing behind her will take care of the rest.

The problem, as the second-game proved, is when the ball is hit in the air – high and deep.

The usually reliable Mosch – who went into the game with a team-high 1.54 ERA – could not figure out the Wildcats.

‘Every time we put (Mosch) or (Downey) in, we expect them to pitch the whole game – or at least five innings,’ Firnbach said. ‘Courtney struggled hitting the ball in the first game. She’s an emotional player – not in a bad way – but (the first game) took something out of her. She was trying to squeeze the ball into the strike zone, and it wasn’t working out. I talked to her, and she’s a good listener. She’ll be back.’

Firnbach said sometimes it works the other way around, where Mosch must come in for Downey when the freshman struggles. With only two pitchers, Syracuse must face the consequences of not having other options when Mosch or Downey struggle. Thus, Downey had to come into a situation where there was only one out in the first inning, and already in a four-run hole.

‘I tried to get myself back to where I was mentally after the first game,’ Downey said. ‘It got harder progressively. When the wind is blowing against me, it’s hard to keep my speed up.’

Downey gave up five earned runs and eight hits. With the offense struggling, there was not much of a hope of gaining back any ground.

‘It’s going to happen,’ Firnbach said of the offensive struggles. ‘They just have to get more consistent. Sometimes you have to just take what you can get and hope it works. You can’t defend the home run, though.’

Published on April 22, 2005 at 12:00 pm