Caira leads SU to sweep of Georgia State Tournament

The Syracuse girls softball team opened the season at the Georgia State Tournament this past weekend, and make quick work of the competition as the Orange won the tournament with a clean sweep of the competition.

Led by pitcher, Jenna Caira, Syracuse was able to dominate the field of play. She pitched both games and threw a combined 13 innings, including a shutout in the win against Morehead State.

Against the Eagles, Caira had plenty of offensive support to go along with her excellent pitching, as the team exploded for nine runs. SU had to battle against the pitching of Tennessee State, however, as the Orange were only were able to muster two runs.

Once again though, Caira was able to get the best of her Tennessee State counterpart in a 2-1 finish. The junior pitcher was able to dominate hitters as they only had six hits combined for the day, and Syracuse won both games due in large part to her pitching performance and ten strikeouts.

First baseman Kelly Saco, third baseman Hallie Gibbs and catcher Lacey Kohl led the offense as they combined for eight of the 11 RBI's and six hits on the day which was a majority of the teams production.

Day two wasn't much of a difference for the Lady Orange as they cruised to two wins against Morehead State and host Georgia State. Dominant pitching wasn't needed as the team exploded for 22 runs on the day.

Caira once again answered the call with four shutout innings and Kohl added a hit and two RBI's against Morehead State. In the latter game, Syracuse had two big innings one in the third and one in the seventh. The third inning started with a leadoff triple by Stepahnie Watts which then lead to five runs.

The seventh inning sealed the victory for SU as it poured on six runs due to the poor defense of the Panthers. Caira pitched another gem and earned her fourth win of the tournament as Syracuse cruised to a 13-1 victory. The Orange will look to keep the momentum going this weekend when they travel to Alabama to compete in the Bama Bash.