The Syracuse Orange softball team is set to begin its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule against No. 10 Florida State in a three-game series from March 13 to March 15 at the Seminole Softball Complex in Tallahassee, Florida.
This matchup marks the start of conference play for both teams, with Syracuse entering the series holding an 11-7 record and Florida State standing at 21-4. The Orange were originally scheduled to participate in the UMBC Tournament, but those games were canceled due to weather. Instead, Syracuse played a doubleheader against UAlbany in Binghamton, New York, splitting the series with a loss in extra innings and a win in the second game.
Senior Madison Knight led Syracuse offensively by hitting her sixth home run of the season and driving in three runs during the doubleheader. Outfielder Jadyn Burney recorded a triple for the second consecutive game, while freshman Mackenzie Knight contributed with a hit and a run in her first career start. In pitching performances, Julianna Verni threw five innings with seven strikeouts in one game, Jackie Pengel pitched four innings with three strikeouts, and Madison Knight added six innings and seven strikeouts.
According to the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, Syracuse was projected to finish 14th in the conference this season while Florida State was picked as preseason favorite after receiving 179 points and 12 first-place votes. The Seminoles are currently on an 11-game winning streak and recently went undefeated at their own Unconquered Invitational tournament.
Florida State’s Isa Torres was named ACC Player of the Week after going 15-for-18 over four games and breaking a school record with six hits in one contest. Five Seminoles appeared on national preseason top player lists and all earned spots on the All-ACC Preseason poll. Last year, Florida State finished first in both regular season conference standings (18-3) and entered postseason play as top seed before falling to Clemson in the ACC championship game.
The upcoming series will be meetings number 35 through 37 between these programs; Florida State leads historically with a record of 30 wins to four losses against Syracuse. Their most recent encounter saw Syracuse defeat Florida State at home by a score of 13-5 on May 5, 2024.
Following this weekend’s games, Syracuse will host NC State for its home opener at Skytop Softball Stadium from March 20 through March 22.
