Standing in the way was Davis freshman center fielder Norah Sunderland in the batter’s box.

In those three trips, Sunderland smashed a three-run homer, was hit by a pitch, and lined a double that chased in the winning run, in walk-off fashion.

Davis twice came from behind Thursday and nipped the Titans with a seventh-inning, 6-5 victory in a Region 1 thriller.

“I knew the winning run was on first and in my mind I was trying to stay calm and make sure I at least got a base hit, and it went,” Sunderland said.

BOB JUDSON, Special to the Standard-Examiner

Trailing 5-4, the Darts had huddled near third base in the seventh and tried to come up with some magic to pull the game out.

“Let’s get on base; we’re going to win this,” Davis coach Todd Street exhorted.

The gem came in the form of junior shortstop Jewel Korth, who led off the Davis seventh with a towering home run that knotted things at five.

Korth raised her fist in the air in celebration as she dropped her club and the ball fell over the center field fence.

“I went up to bat and told myself I have to find a way on base, and the pitch came,” Korth said. “I hit it as hard as I could and I knew it was gone.”

She finished the afternoon 4 for 4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

“I was seeing the ball well and knew I was 3 for 3. I went up to the plate and said ‘I have to do it one more time,'” Korth said. “I trusted myself and my team that we could come back and win this thing and we did just that.”

Syracuse then committed the only error of the game, putting Davis junior catcher Riley Jaques on first and, one pinch runner later, Sunderland delivered the crowning blow in the gap to left center.

Opening the game, Davis pitcher Serena Roth was sailing along with two perfect innings, until she wasn’t, and freshman Syracuse starter Haydin Giatras also had two scoreless frames, working in and out of trouble as the Darts stranded three runners.

But the Titans broke through with four runs in the third against Roth, keyed by a bases-loaded double from senior shortstop Jazmine Prathan.

“Serena is a good competitor; I’ve faced her since I was young, so I knew what she was going to throw me. She likes to throw that screwball, so I was set for it,” Prathan said. “I got in the back of the box, choked up a little and got my hand on top and matched that high pitch and took it with me.”

Prathan struck out in her other three appearances against Roth but saw the positives when she was able to deliver the double.

“I can’t let those three strikeouts eat me up; if I’m lacking somewhere, I need to excel in my other spots,” Prathan said.

For her part, Roth, a junior, shook off getting hit by a pitch while batting in the second inning and recovered to only allow one run the rest of the day.

“I got hit in the shin and it kind of hurt, so I had to adjust my planting. They got to the top of their lineup and they’re a great hitting team,” Roth said. “My offense came up clutch today; even if I give up runs, our offense is great and will come back.”

It didn’t take long. The Darts put up four runs in the home half of the third inning, ousting Giatras and bringing on Floto, who faced Sunderland as her first batter with two runners on and one across the plate.

“She got two strikes on me; I was like, if I strike out, I’m going to be so mad. So, I hit the ball as hard as I could and it went out. I crushed it,” Sunderland said of her three-run dinger that tied the bout at 4-4.

Floto was then flawless and, when the Titans took a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by senior right fielder Hannah Reed, it looked like it might be enough to capture the victory.

But three batters into the bottom of the seventh, it was over and the Darts had the come-from-behind win.

“Our team relies on its pitching to get us outs. We have a really good infield and play at a high level. If they let us work, we’re really successful,” Prathan said. “Having those gap hits and those home runs, we can’t defend those things.”

Roth pitched the seven-inning complete game, yielding eight hits while striking out nine and walking one.

“I like switching up every batter, and used my screwball, changing opposite sides of the plate, with different speeds,” Roth said.

Davis (15-6, 6-0 Region 1) remained undefeated in league play, sweeping the season series against Syracuse (12-10, 3-3), where they also won a one-run game earlier this month.