LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Syracuse (43-11) established an early 2-0 lead in the first inning and held DePaul (39-12) scoreless through seven innings to secure the 2-0 win in the BIG EAST semifinals at Louisville's Ulmer Stadium. The reigning BIG EAST Champions advance to the conference title game against Louisville on Saturday.

Syracuse was productive early on with consecutive triples in the bottom of the first inning. Junior second basemen Stephanie Watts sent a long ball to right field for a triple. Junior outfielder Lisaira Daniels followed with another triple to send Watts home and give the Orange an early 1-0 lead. "Steph got us started off and if she is hitting the ball then I am confident that it's going to be there," said L. Daniels. "We knew that it was going to be a big day for us. We've been taking it day by day and pitch by pitch. I saw a good pitch and just let it loose." Senior third baseman Hallie Gibbs kept the bats going with a single to drive in L. Daniels and SU led 2-0 after the first inning. Both teams went three up-three down in the second and third innings. In the top of the fourth, Watts and first baseman Kelly Saco connected for the third out, leaving DePaul's Samantha Dodd stranded on third base. With two outs and runners on first and second for DePaul in the top of the fifth, pitcher Jenna Caira fanned Sean Plese to end the inning and hold the Blue Demons scoreless. Outfielder Veronica Grant singled up the middle to start the bottom of the fifth. With Watts at the plate, Grant stole second base, but was injured on the play. Freshman Shirley Daniels replaced Grant and stole third on the ensuing pitch. Gibbs fouled out to the first baseman to end the inning, leaving Watts and S. Daniels on second and third base, respectively.

SU's defense was solid again in the top of the sixth, blanking the Blue Demos. Saco made a diving grab on the ground to record the first out and registered a putout on an assist from shortstop Morgan Nandin for the second out. Caira tallied her sixth strikeout to end the sixth inning. Syracuse solidified the win and the shutout in the top of the seventh inning. Caira started the inning with her seventh strikeout. Watts made a tough play on a grounder between first and second base and connected with Nandin for the fielder's choice out at second. DePaul's Alex Morocco grounded out to Caira for the final out of the ball game. The Orange's defense left seven runners on base to hold the Blue Demons scoreless through seven innings. Caira allowed just two hits and fanned seven batters in seven innings of work to improve her record to 33-9 this season. "Being able to produce the way I did today, I felt that I was able to lead the team a little better," Caira said. "Ashley (Dimon) did a great job behind the plate yet again for us. I hope that I can utilize how I played today and bring that into the game tomorrow." Tomorrow's title game will be aired live on ESPN2.

**Courtesy SU Athletics**