Jet lag couldn’t slow down Ashley Dimon’s mind. The return trip from Tempe, Ariz., gave the junior catcher ample time to think about her goals for next season.
So at 8 a.m. the morning after that cross-country flight, Dimon met head coach Leigh Ross in her office to reveal her plan for 2013.
Syracuse’s season-ending loss to No. 3 seed Arizona State was still fresh in Ross’ mind. But as she listened to the ideas of her future starting catcher, Ross realized the future of SU softball was secure.
‘The best sign of a team after a season isn’t the awards and accolades,’ said Ross. ‘It’s that they never want to stop playing. It says a lot about the future makeup of this team that they don’t stop preparing, even a day after the season ends.’
Next season can’t come soon enough for Dimon, but it won’t come at all for Ross’ seniors – the winningest class in program history.
Even without those seniors, though, Syracuse (43-16) has plenty to build on for next season. In an early nonconference tournament, the team held its own against California, the eventual No. 1 team in the NCAA. The Orange garnered national attention when it played its first indoor games in the Carrier Dome more than a month later.
All season long, Syracuse racked up noteworthy accomplishments. The Orange won 40 games for the second time in program history and earned its first at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
Once there, SU shut out the favored Sun Devils, the highest-ranked opponent it had ever beaten, on the strength of a superb pitching performance by Jenna Caira.
Caira threw two no-hitters this season, but Ross said she saved her best work for ASU as she held the Sun Devils scoreless over seven innings. In the process, Caira only surrendered four hits to the NCAA’s second-ranked run scoring team.
Ross said that 1-0 victory – and the outpouring of support that followed from ASU’s own fans – reaffirmed what she believed heading into 2012: SU could compete with any team in college softball, even the best.
‘When you hear compliments from the away fans about how you play the game the right way,’ said Ross, ‘you know your program has made national strides.’
As SU rose to national prominence, its players began to buy into the system. Before the team traveled to Tempe, first baseman Kelly Saco said players only recently began to view the postseason as an expectation and not a reward.
‘Anything less would’ve been a disappointment,’ said Saco when she learned of her team’s tournament berth. ‘We entered this season with the postseason in mind, we focused and we made it.’
This season, Ross put together a schedule built to push SU into the national spotlight. The Orange came into the season as the two-time champions of the Big East, but had never reached the Super Regional round of the NCAA tournament in its previous two automatic berths under Ross.
SU was challenged with early high-profile matchups, but it failed those tests. Ross said her veteran team found ways to lose games they should’ve won against Arizona, UCLA and California.
The losses had a silver lining, though. Down one run in the seventh inning against Virginia in the next tournament, Ross noticed a shift in the body language of her players. She said they held themselves ‘with more confidence’ and refused to lose to a team they knew they should beat.
With its newfound confidence, SU mounted a season-defining comeback. Catcher Lacey Kohl hit a double off the top of the centerfield wall, and pinch runner Veronica Grant scored when second baseman Stephanie Watts singled her home.
In the eighth inning, outfielder Lisaira Daniels and first baseman Jasmine Watson hit a pair of RBIs and Syracuse emerged with a much-needed win. That win sparked later tournament victories over Michigan and Baylor, two ranked teams.
‘We finally put it all together,’ said Daniels before SU traveled to Tempe, ‘and proved we beat good teams. It was definitely a turning point in the season for us.’
Ross’ plan worked. Less than midway through its season, SU was already confident playing against the nation’s best. Those teams would be potential NCAA tournament opponents.
Even though SU was eliminated from the regional round Sunday, it will try to repeat that formula with next year’s team. And unlike the group of graduating softball seniors, the returning players have known nothing but winning.
The current SU juniors have reached the postseason in each of their three years. And with players like Dimon already game-planning for 2013, Ross expects another NCAA berth.
‘It’s amazing to see where we’ve come from,’ Ross said, ‘But we’re not done working yet. We know we’re good enough to reach the College World Series, and when next season starts, that’ll be our goal again.’
nctoney@syr.edu