The acoustics of the Carrier Dome amplified Hallie Gibbs’ cheers just loud enough for Leigh Ross to hear. After every half-inning, Ross heard her former player give advice about plate discipline and hitting approach.

Gibbs wasn’t coaching or cheering for Syracuse. One of the most prolific softball players in school history – SU’s leading home-run hitter last year – made her return to SU softball as an assistant coach for Colgate.

‘I half expected her to cheer for us,’ said Ross, the Syracuse head coach. ‘It was weird to hear her supporting someone else.’

SU beat the Raiders 6-0 on Friday, and for the first time since her graduation, Gibbs was Ross’ coaching adversary.

A situation that was strange at first, Ross said.

Gibbs was part of the group who built up the Syracuse softball program the last couple of seasons. The Orange lost 31 games and went 9-11 in Big East play in 2007, the year before Gibbs played the first of her 159 games at third base.

SU improved each season with Gibbs at third, though. Last season, Gibbs led the Orange in home runs, RBI and on-base plus slugging, and she ended her career second all-time in home runs. SU ended last season with the best record in school history.

Gibbs tore her labrum in her final game, making her future murky. That’s when Ross made phone calls to other programs, asking fellow coaches if they had room on their staffs.

After a short search, Colgate offered Gibbs a role as an assistant coach. She took it soon after.

‘I wasn’t sure if I wanted to coach at first,’ Gibbs said. ‘But I asked myself, ‘What do you know more than softball?’ After that, I had coaching responsibilities, and I haven’t looked back.’

Gibbs said having those responsibilities against her former team was strange. On one hand, she wanted her players to be better than the Orange. On the other hand, her Raiders were playing against her ‘tight-knit family.’

Even now, many SU players used the word ‘family’ to describe their relationship with Gibbs. Pitcher Jenna Caira, who came to SU one year after Gibbs, said she missed her at preseason practices when the team started getting ready for this season. Second baseman Stephanie Watts said she texted Gibbs regularly after those practices, updating her former teammate on how this year’s team looked.

Through those texts, Gibbs learned about her successor at third base, freshman Carey-Leigh Thomas. When Thomas hit a three-run home run off Colgate pitcher Rachel LeCoq, Gibbs knew her teammates provided an accurate scouting report.

‘I had to give her a high-five after that home run,’ Gibbs said. ‘What an athlete she is. Defensively, she’s already as good as I was, and if she keeps hitting like that, she could be great.’

Thomas said having Gibbs at the game made her home run a torch-passing moment.

‘I think it showed that I can fill in for her,’ Thomas said.

Gibbs’ new team might need her advice more than her old team does. The Raiders have only won five games and struggled to string together any offense against Caira’s superior pitching.

But if one person is going to key Colgate’s turnaround, Ross said, it’s Gibbs.

‘You can see in in their batting stances that they’ve greatly improved (since last season),’ said Ross after the game. ‘She’s going to help things change, and I’m happy she’s still around the game.’

nctoney@syr.edu

Published on March 27, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Nick: nctoney@syr.edu | @nicktoneytweets