A weekend in Las Vegas may sound like paradise. But try arriving home at 4:30 a.m. and having to attend 8:30 classes.

That’s exactly what many players on the Syracuse softball team had to do following last weekend’s season-opening games at the UNLV Tournament.

The Orangewomen finished their first weekend of action with a 2-3 record. They won their season opener against Louisiana-Monroe on Friday, 5-0, before falling to UNLV, 5-0, Friday evening.

Syracuse also split games on Saturday, opening the day with a 3-0 win over Tennessee, before losing to UNLV again, 3-2. On Sunday, in a rematch with Tennessee, SU fell, 4-2. The Orangewomen then boarded a plane which landed in Syracuse yesterday at 4:30 a.m.

‘It’s too early to tell how the fatigue is going to affect us,’ Syracuse head coach Mary Jo Firnbach said. ‘It usually shows up more the day after. You still have to go out and function.’

Travel before the tournament may have hurt Syracuse, which arrived in Las Vegas on Thursday at 10 p.m. The Orangewomen had to wake up by 7 a.m. Friday for the 10 a.m. start against Louisiana-Monroe.

‘We did very well in the first game,’ Firnbach said. ‘The hardest part was sitting around and waiting for the second game. We just fell apart, and our confidence wasn’t there.’

Still, Firnbach was happy with the weekend, in which the Orangewomen played their first outside games since the fall. The other teams at the tournament all had game experience entering the weekend.

‘The main thing is we learned a lot,’ Firnbach said. ‘In the second game against UNLV, we were in the game and could have easily won.”

Despite starting the season with a losing record, the Orangewomen found bright spots from the tournament.

Senior pitcher Tara DiMaggio gave up zero runs in 21.3 innings pitched. She picked up the wins against Louisiana-Monroe and Tennessee and also pitched three-and-one-third scoreless innings of relief in the second loss to UNLV. Firnbach was impressed with DiMaggio’s control, especially in the pitcher’s relief appearance.

‘She did very well, but that’s what we expect,’ Firnbach said.

Several freshmen impressed Firnbach. Outfielder Cassie Morales had two doubles and an RBI in the win over Louisiana-Monroe. After struggling early, shortstop Alexis Switenko belted her first career home run in the Tennessee loss.

Junior second baseman Rachel Park also had a big weekend, posting two home runs and three RBI.

‘We’re not satisfied with the losses,’ Firnbach said. ‘But if you just based things on wins and losses, you’d end up just giving up. We just need to keep making improvements.’

Published on February 24, 2003 at 12:00 pm