SYRACUSE, N.Y. Syracuse softball closed its final ACC road trip with a 13 to 7 loss at No. 25 Louisville on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at Ulmer Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky, completing a three game sweep that left the Orange at 18 and 23 overall and 4 and 15 in conference play.
The defeat was Syracuse’s fourth ACC sweep of the year and dropped Coach Shannon Doepking’s club to the back of the conference standings with one regular season series left. Louisville, ranked No. 25 in the latest USA Today coaches poll, improved to 41 and 10 overall and 16 and 5 in the ACC, per the cuse.com recap.
How the game unfolded
Louisville scored in every inning it batted, six frames in all. The Cardinals plated two in the first on a Bri Despines walk and back to back wild pitches that brought home Chelsea Mack and Despines. They added three more in the second when Easton Lotus singled in Jordan Williams and Despines doubled to left center to score Lotus and Mack, per the cuse.com box score. Syracuse trailed 5 to 0 after two.
The Orange answered in the third. Senior Madison Knight homered to left field with Gabby Lantier on, cutting the lead to 5 to 2. Louisville restored the gap in the bottom half when Ava Venturelli launched a two run shot to deep left, scoring Madison Pickens.
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Syracuse made its real push in the fourth. Lantier singled to second, scoring Lauren Fox and pushing Kiara Bellido to third. Knight followed with a three run homer to deep left that brought home Bellido and Lantier and pulled the Orange within 7 to 6. Louisville flipped the inning right back, scoring three of its own on a Madison Pickens RBI single and a Taylor Monroe two run double to make it 10 to 6.
Bri Despines added an RBI groundout in the fifth, Vanessa Flores singled in Taylor Davison for Syracuse in the sixth, and Venturelli launched her second home run of the day, also a two run shot to deep left, to put the game on ice at 13 to 7. Louisville did not need to bat in the seventh.
Knight’s home run binge
Knight, a senior two way player from Belcamp, Maryland, hit her 13th and 14th home runs of the season Sunday. That moved her into a tie for fourth most home runs in a single season in Syracuse program history, per the cuse.com release. The two homers also pushed her career total to 28, tied for seventh most in program history.
Knight finished 2 for 3 with five RBIs and two runs scored. Lantier and Vanessa Flores added two hits each. Kendall Gaunt doubled. Knight is a Patterson Mill High School graduate and the 2021 and 2022 Gatorade Maryland Softball Player of the Year, according to PressBox. Her younger sister Mackenzie Knight, also from Patterson Mill, joined the program as a freshman this season, per The Baltimore Sun.
Verni’s tough afternoon
Senior right hander Julianna Verni took the loss and fell to 6 and 11 on the year. Verni, a Buffalo native and Nardin Academy graduate majoring in biology, posted an 11 and 7 record with a 3.78 ERA in 100 innings as a junior in 2025, per her cuse.com bio. She is the only senior pitcher on the roster.
Brooke Gray earned the win for Louisville and improved to 13 and 1. Venturelli and Pickens led the Cardinals with three hits each, and Venturelli drove in four. Mack and Pickens each scored three runs.
By the numbers
- 13 to 7. Final score, per cuse.com box score 18810.
- 389. Announced attendance at Ulmer Stadium, per the box score.
- 2:26. Total time of game with first pitch at 12:04 p.m. Eastern, per the box score.
- 65 degrees, partly cloudy. Game weather, per the box score.
- 18 and 23. Syracuse overall record after the loss, per the cuse.com recap.
- 4 and 15. Syracuse ACC record, per the cuse.com recap.
- 4. ACC series sweeps suffered by Syracuse this season.
- 14. Madison Knight’s home runs in 2026, tied for fourth most in a single season in program history, per cuse.com.
- 28. Knight’s career home runs at Syracuse, tied for seventh most in program history.
- 5. RBIs by Knight on Sunday.
- 6 and 11. Verni’s pitching record after taking the loss.
- 11 and 7, 3.78. Verni’s record and ERA in 100 innings during her 2025 junior season, per her cuse.com bio.
- 41 and 10. Louisville’s overall record entering Sunday’s series finale, per the recap.
- 16 and 5. Louisville’s ACC record after the win.
- 13 and 1. Brooke Gray’s pitching record after Sunday’s victory.
- 175 to 178 to 1. Doepking’s career record at Syracuse entering the eighth season.
- 650. Capacity of Skytop Softball Stadium, where Syracuse hosts Virginia Tech May 1 to 3, per the cuse.com facilities page.
- 200 feet, 215 feet. Skytop’s outfield distances down the lines and to straightaway center, per cuse.com facilities.
- 12 teams, May 6 to 9. The 2026 ACC softball tournament, single elimination at Palmer Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, hosted by the University of Virginia, per NCAA.com.
Doepking and the program arc
Doepking is in her eighth season as Syracuse’s head coach. She was hired on September 14, 2018, with a career mark of 175 to 178 to 1 at Syracuse entering this spring, according to the cuse.com staff bio and her Wikipedia page. Before Syracuse she led Dartmouth to two Ivy League championships in 2015 and 2018 and a 118 to 98 record over four seasons. As a player at Tennessee she was an All SEC catcher who reached three consecutive Women’s College World Series, including a runner up finish in 2007, and was the 15th overall pick in the 2008 National Pro Fastpitch draft by the Akron Racers.
The 2026 conference start was the worst of Doepking’s coaching career. The Orange opened ACC play 0 and 7 before snapping the skid with a 9 to 6 extra inning win at Pittsburgh. They have since added wins over Boston College and Notre Dame, including a 3 to 2 walk off victory on April 19 keyed by Knight’s first Syracuse walk off home run since 2022.
Where Skytop fits in
Syracuse’s home field, the Softball Stadium at Skytop, sits on South Campus overlooking the city and Onondaga Lake. The facility holds about 650 fans, per the cuse.com facilities page. The outfield runs 200 feet down the lines and 215 feet to straightaway center. The school added an indoor hitting facility next to the stadium in 2024.
What is at stake in the final week
Syracuse hosts Virginia Tech in a three game ACC series at Skytop from May 1 to May 3, with first pitches scheduled for 3 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday, per the cuse.com schedule. Saturday is Senior Day. Verni and Knight headline a senior class that also includes Vanessa Flores, Kendall Gaunt, Lauren Fox, Gabby Lantier and Taylor Davison.
The 2026 ACC softball tournament begins Wednesday, May 6 at Palmer Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, with the University of Virginia hosting the 12 team single elimination event through Saturday, May 9, per NCAA.com. Syracuse currently sits outside the field at 4 and 15 in the league.
The bigger picture
Doepking’s previous low water mark in ACC play came in 2019, her first year at Syracuse, when the Orange went 4 and 18 in conference and finished 21 and 23 overall. The 2026 group lost the series opener at Louisville 13 to 5 on April 24 and the middle game 5 to 1 on April 25, per cuse.com recaps. Three games remain. Knight enters the final weekend tied for fourth on the program’s single season home run list and tied for seventh on the career list, per cuse.com. Verni is one start away from a second straight 100 inning year. The Orange need a Virginia Tech sweep and help elsewhere to keep an ACC Tournament push alive.
Sources
- cuse.com, “Softball Ends Series Against Louisville,” April 26, 2026.
- cuse.com, Box Score 18810, Syracuse vs Louisville, April 26, 2026.
- cuse.com, Julianna Verni roster bio.
- cuse.com, Madison Knight roster bio.
- cuse.com, “Knight’s Walk off Homer Beats Irish, 3 to 2,” April 19, 2026.
- cuse.com, Skytop Softball Stadium facilities page.
- cuse.com, 2026 softball schedule.
- cuse.com, Shannon Doepking head coach bio.
- theacc.com, “Doepking Named Cuse Softball Coach,” September 30, 2018.
- en.wikipedia.org, Shannon Doepking entry.
- NCAA.com, “2026 ACC softball conference tournament: Bracket, schedule, game times,” April 23, 2026.
- PressBox, “Patterson Mill Grad Madison Knight Relishes Her Final Season With Syracuse Softball,” April 23, 2026.
- Baltimore Sun, “Sisters Madison, Mackenzie Knight of Patterson Mill one step closer to reunion with Syracuse softball,” July 10, 2024.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What was the final score of Syracuse softball vs Louisville?
Syracuse fell 13 to 7 at No. 25 Louisville on Sunday, April 26, 2026, at Ulmer Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. The defeat completed a three-game ACC sweep, the Orange’s fourth ACC sweep of the year, dropping Coach Shannon Doepking’s club to 18 and 23 overall and 4 and 15 in conference play with one regular season series left.
How did Madison Knight perform?
Senior Madison Knight homered twice, hitting her 13th and 14th home runs of the season. The two homers moved her into a tie for fourth most home runs in a single season in Syracuse program history and pushed her career total to 28, tied for seventh most in program history. Knight finished 2 for 3 with five RBIs and two runs scored.
Who took the loss for Syracuse?
Senior right hander Julianna Verni took the loss and fell to 6 and 11 on the year. Verni, a Buffalo native and Nardin Academy graduate, posted an 11 and 7 record with a 3.78 ERA in 100 innings as a junior in 2025. Brooke Gray earned the win for Louisville and improved to 13 and 1.
When is Syracuse softball’s next series?
Syracuse hosts Virginia Tech May 1 to 3 at Skytop Softball Stadium, which has a capacity of 650 and outfield distances of 200 feet down the lines and 215 feet to straightaway center. The 2026 ACC softball tournament runs May 6 to 9, single elimination at Palmer Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, hosted by the University of Virginia.
