Jenna Caira threw a no-hitter, but Kelly Saco was the center of attention by the end of the game.

In the bottom of the seventh of a scoreless game, Saco, a senior first baseman, belted an offering from Rutgers pitcher Alyssa Landrith over the right-center field wall for a walk-off home run to clinch a dramatic Syracuse win. As the ball narrowly cleared the fence, the SU players erupted into euphoria.

Instead of being the center of the celebratory mob, Caira was just one of the players crowding around Saco. But to Caira, it didn’t make a difference.

‘I didn’t care about the no-hitter,’ Caira said. ‘The fact that we got that run and I was extremely proud of Kelly because she had been working so hard and she finally got the big hit for us.’

With Caira’s no-hitter and Saco’s clutch long ball, Syracuse escaped with a 1-0 win over Rutgers at Skytop Softball Stadium in front of 137 fans Sunday. The win clinched the three-game series for the Orange after splitting the doubleheader Saturday. Caira dominated throughout the contest, frustrating Scarlet Knight hitters every inning. While the offense was missing, the senior emerged as the hero to take the rubber game in the Big East conference showdown.

Caira was in command from the start. She struck out the first six batters, keeping them off-balance with a baffling changeup.

Caira saw her changeup was effective and heavily relied on the off-speed pitch against an aggressive Rutgers offense.

‘I think I threw 70 percent changeup, and that doesn’t ever really happen,’ Caira said. ‘They weren’t really adjusting to it, so I just kept throwing it and making sure that they were staying off-balance.’

Caira struggled with her control at times, allowing two walks and hitting three batters. Caira nearly allowed a hit on two different occasions that would’ve broken up her quest for the third no-hitter of her career.

In the fifth inning, RU’s Jackie Bates hit a hard grounder to the right side, where Stephanie Watts showed her range and threw Bates out by a couple of steps. An inning later, Loren Williams grounded a ball deep into the hole to Morgan Nandin, who quickly fielded and fired to a fully extended Saco at first base, getting Williams by half a stride.

The SU offense couldn’t get anything going either, though.

In the first inning, SU loaded the bases without getting a hit, but couldn’t push across an early run. In the sixth inning, pinch runner Emily Thompson was stranded on third after freshman Carey-Leigh Thomas struck out looking.

‘I think a couple kids had opportunities earlier in the game and were pretty mad that they couldn’t get it done,’ SU head coach Leigh Ross said. ‘But that’s part of the game sometimes. You got to keep with the right attitude.’

Keeping a positive attitude was crucial for Saco. The senior first baseman entered the game with a .139 batting average.

But Caira said regardless of what the stat sheet reads, whenever there’s a big moment in a game, Syracuse can rely on Saco to break through under pressure. Earlier in the season, Saco delivered a game-winning hit against Canisius during the Duel in the Dome. This time, Saco was just happy she contributed to the final outcome.

‘It was just a sigh of relief, like about time,’ Saco said. ‘About time I got a decent hit.’

That big hit stole the thunder from Caira’s impressive no-hitter.

Though the celebration took place around home plate rather than in the circle, Caira was content the Orange picked up another victory.

‘It’s a wonderful feeling being able to get a no-hitter,’ Caira said. ‘The whole team worked really hard staying focused the entire game, so I’m very thankful for what happened today, and I think this no-hitter wasn’t just about what I just did. It’s about what the whole team did.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

Published on April 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm