Stephanie Watts and Jasmine Watson made a pact in center field.

In the second game of a doubleheader against Rutgers on Saturday, they swore they wouldn’t give Scarlet Knights center fielder Lindsey Curran the chance to track down their fly balls.

Curran robbed two potentially game-tying home runs to help Rutgers upset the Orange in the first game, so Watts and Watson promised they’d clear the wall this time.

‘In between games, I went up to Watson and I challenged her to hit more home runs than me,’ Watts said. ‘It was a friendly thing, but we wanted to make sure we got those home runs back.’

Both players smashed home runs that sailed over Curran, earning them redemption in a 5-3 win over the Scarlet Knights at Skytop Softball Stadium on Saturday. Syracuse (34-11, 11-3 Big East) defeated Rutgers (22-24, 9-10 Big East) 1-0 in the series finale Sunday to take the weekend series.

‘It was great to see them bounce back like that after catching those bad breaks in game one,’ head coach Leigh Ross said. ‘That’s just the way the game is sometimes, but obviously they were disappointed about it.’

Watts and Watson both hit long fly balls that would have cleared the fence and tied the game 3-3 to give SU pitcher Jenna Caira a shot to win a game in which she set a career high with 18 strikeouts, but Curran took them away.

Curran’s most spectacular catch came when she took away Watts’ homer. In the fifth inning, Rutgers starting pitcher Alyssa Landrith threw the second baseman a changeup that she said she could ‘put some power into.’

When she launched the ball to deep left center, Watts assumed she had tied the game.

But Curran had other plans. She leapt at the last second and extended her glove over the outfield fence to prevent a home run.

‘I thought I had it for sure,’ Watts said. ‘I actually started into my home run trot to first because I thought I had it. She made a great play, but it was a bummer to see.’

Curran’s glove robbed Watson in the next inning, too. The center fielder snatched another potential game-tying blast at the fence.

‘It was frustrating,’ Watson said. ‘You had two big chances to tie the game, and it just didn’t happen.’

Watts and Watson decided to turn their frustrations into a friendly home run competition to start the second game. Watson said it was the perfect way to break the tension of losing a game both players felt they could’ve won for their team.

In the second inning, Watson drilled her ninth home run of the year to put SU ahead 1-0, buckling the knees of Curran when she realized she couldn’t track down the deep shot to straightaway center field.

When she realized she hit the home run that evaded her in the previous game, Watson threw her hands up in elation on the jog to first base.

‘I was a little happier to hit that one than I would’ve been otherwise,’ Watson said. ‘I’ve been struggling lately, and with what happened in the first game, it just felt good to hit one there.’

Watts chased starter Abbey Houston out of the game an inning later with a two-run shot of her own, pushing the Orange lead to 3-0.

From there, SU was in control, and in Ross’ eyes, Watts’ homer meant she was even with Curran for the two runs she denied them in the first game.

‘You control what you can control, but it was a little bit of poetic justice,’ Ross said.

nctoney@syr.edu

Published on April 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Nick: nctoney@syr.edu | @nicktoneytweets