The pressure has been on the slim shoulders of Carey-Leigh Thomas from the start of the season.

By replacing departed senior Hallie Gibbs, who was a top tier hitter for the Orange last year, it’s not all that shocking Thomas feels the heat to perform and prove herself, even as a freshman. But what is surprising is how much she has embraced having the spotlight pointed directly at her.

‘Pressure since day one,’ Thomas said. ‘As soon as I got here everyone kept talking about Hallie, and I just kept telling myself, ‘Well, I’m going to go out there and show them that I can compete with Hallie or at least hold third base down as best as I can.’ I love the pressure, though.’

Thomas has shown how little she minds being put under a microscope with the way she’s gone about her business, which has impressed teammates and coaches. The third baseman is next in line to replace Gibbs at the hot corner, a senior who last year terrorized opposing pitching. With all the experienced talent Syracuse is returning, Gibbs was the hole in SU’s lineup. That’s where Thomas enters the equation. She has the privilege and burden of taking over for the power hitter.

Thomas will have another chance to impress teammates this weekend when Syracuse (3-2) plays in the Cathedral Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. The Orange will play a loaded schedule, going up against Pacific at 8:30 p.m. Friday followed by Northwestern at 11 p.m. On Saturday, SU will play UC Davis and No. 16 Arizona before playing its final game against No. 5 UCLA on Sunday.

In her senior campaign, Gibbs was a force with a .327 batting average and was the team leader in walks, doubles, total bases, home runs and a startling 65 RBI. Those runs batted in were 22 more than any other Orange player.

Teammate and a slugger in her own respect, sophomore Jasmine Watson knows the production from Gibbs can’t be duplicated.

‘Having Carrie at third I guess is kind of filling her shoes,’ Watson said. ‘No one is going to be like Hallie, though. Hallie is Hallie. But we can try to get someone to be just as great, but it’s going to be tough.’

But if there’s one player who doesn’t mind continuing the trend of quality third basemen for Syracuse, Thomas seems to be that player. As much as her mentality has helped her, it’s matched by the physical tools Thomas has.

SU head coach Leigh Ross said Thomas is one of the strongest, most natural athletes she has had the chance to coach while at SU. And for all the talent she has, Thomas wasn’t on anyone’s recruiting list, including SU. It was actually Thomas who pursued Ross and Syracuse.

Ross receives multiple emails from prospective players daily but rarely do many stand out. Thomas’ email is one that set itself apart from the others.

Among the things that caught Ross’ eye was the Ontario native’s experience on the Canadian junior women’s national team — the same national program senior pitcher Jenna Caira is a part of. Caira, who saw Thomas play, also put in a good word for her.

Thomas was shocked at how fast Ross responded.

‘We knew she was a quality kid,’ Ross said. ‘We knew that we weren’t getting just a kid that liked Syracuse and wanted to come to school here.’

And Thomas is able to attend SU free of charge as a result of her roots.

Thomas is on a scholarship called the Haudenosaunee Promise. The scholarship is eligible for Native Americans who are from one of the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee. Although Thomas admittedly doesn’t know much about the scholarship, she does know she ‘comes here for free and I qualified for it.’

It’s become a perfect situation for Thomas, who wanted to go to SU. It’s a fortunate situation for the Orange, who needed a third baseman.

But Ross doesn’t want Thomas to feel too much pressure living up to Gibbs. She said it’d be unfair to compare a senior’s production to a freshman still feeling her way around a new position at the hot corner and at the plate against NCAA competition.

‘It’s hard to remember that they’re just freshmen,’ Ross said. ‘Here’s this kid that’s so talented and you see out there everyday, and it’s hard to remember she’s just a freshman.’

dgproppe@syr.edu 

Published on February 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm