Leigh Ross has no reason to play the underdog card with this Syracuse team. Not when the Orange won 45 games, earned its first-ever NCAA tournament victory and returns seven starters from its historic 2011 season.

Ross knows Syracuse isn’t sneaking up on anyone this year. Still, the sixth-year head coach is sticking with what works, instilling an underdog attitude in the preseason despite some national attention surrounding the program.

‘The underdog mentality is still there,’ Ross said. ‘There’s no reason it should be. Even if someone is picking us, they’ll be someone picking against us.’

Syracuse enters the season hoping to build off last season with its core group of players back. Even with that experience back, the Orange is also looking to gain more respect. Though Syracuse received more first-place votes than any other Big East team in the preseason coaches poll, it was picked to finish second behind DePaul — a team the Orange shut out in the Big East tournament semifinals last season en route to its second straight conference title.

The Orange returns five seniors who have been at the center of the program’s rise. Lisaira Daniels, Lacey Kohl, Kelly Saco and Stephanie Watts can all hit for average and power. They lead a solid lineup that averaged 5.4 runs per game last season in support of returning Big East Pitcher of the Year Jenna Caira. Caira boasted a 1.51 ERA and won 35 games behind the strength of the offense and her renowned changeup.

Syracuse does have one major hole to fill on the roster, though. SU lost third baseman Hallie Gibbs to graduation. Gibbs finished her career second all-time at SU in home runs and led the Orange in home runs and RBI last season.

Gibbs was the team’s consistent power threat, but Ross said losing her won’t make or break the chances of this year’s experienced team.

‘She was a huge loss,’ Ross said. ‘But I know we have players ready to step up on the field, and we have players who are ready to play in an expanded role.’

More importantly, this year’s team has more than just Gibbs as a leader. SU will trust its seniors to carry the Orange into the 2012 postseason.

‘The older kids have shown strong leadership,’ Ross said. ‘That’s something that really excites me, seeing how our five seniors have made this their team and put this season in their hands.’ 

And Watts said even the freshmen players look ready to step up. But though this year’s team may be more ‘well-rounded,’ Watts said the underdog theme will stick around.

The senior second baseman keeps her freshman season in the back of her mind as a reminder of how far the Orange still has to go. Three years ago, SU went to the Big East tournament and was knocked out in the first round by South Florida.

That failure stuck with Watts despite helping SU win the last two conference tournaments.

Ross said the high expectations only motivate her team. Not long ago, no one knew about SU’s talented roster except the players who believed they could turn around what was a once struggling program.

‘We always said, ‘Hey, we can compete with some good teams,” Ross said. ‘It’s great that we’re getting attention, but it really doesn’t matter right now. Being projected to win and actually winning are two separate things entirely.’

With that in mind, the head coach said her players have been told to steer clear of the hype generated by the program’s recent success.

And Ross said her players have bought in. Even Caira was surprised to hear the team has been picked by some as a top-20 team in the country.

‘Someone picked us? That’s great,’ Caira said. ‘That’s intense and that’s what we strive to do every year. We want to be a contender, but until we are, we’re the underdog.’

nctoney@syr.edu

Published on February 7, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Nick: nctoney@syr.edu | @nicktoneytweets