Jenna Caira knew that Jocelyn Cater had arrived.

The Canadian national team had just defeated Team USA, 4-3, in the 2011 World Cup of Softball behind the combined effort of Caira and Cater. Against the most dominant team in international play, the 16-year-old Cater threw two innings in relief and let up only one run on two hits, while striking out four batters all in their 20s.

And Caira, then a 22-year-old who had been Cater’s role model long before the two ever met, pitched the other five innings in the win.

“When people found out how young she was, people couldn’t believe it,” Caira said. “She got some big outs, I remember. It wasn’t just any other team — she proved herself against the best in the world.”

Cater’s success at the national level led to high expectations for her college career and after struggling for two years, she has finally found a home on the mound for Syracuse in her junior season. Pitching regularly for the first time at the college level, Cater has developed into an ace thanks to Caira’s tutelage.

Caira remains the school’s all-time leader in wins, starts, ERA and recorded more than 1,000 strikeouts after graduating in 2012. A power pitcher, Cater hopes to follow in her mentor’s footsteps and leads SU (15-22, 1-10 Atlantic Coast) this season with 11 wins, a 3.55 ERA and 188 strikeouts, over 1.25 strikeouts an inning.

“Coming hard from the left side, she’s real hard to hit against,” SU head coach Leigh Ross said. “She brings power and control that you don’t see often at all in this conference.”

Cater remembers watching Caira pitch on ESPN at the Pan American Games and aspiring to one day play for Canada with her. And when she made that a reality just three years later, Cater was star-struck to meet her role model for the first time.

The younger left-hander recovered from her initial nervousness and the two became close. They roomed together on the road, and on a team where the catcher and first baseman were over the age of 30, Caira became a resource and more importantly, a friend.

But Cater’s freshman year at the University of Washington didn’t bring success.

She was ranked 69th out of ESPN’s top 100 softball recruits in the Class of 2012, but was slated behind two veterans and entrusted with only 4 2/3 innings over four appearances all season, giving up seven runs over that span.

“I think Jocelyn may have been put under and put herself under unfair expectations,” said Mark Smith, Cater’s head coach with the Canadian national team. “She wasn’t given much opportunity to fail and when things didn’t go well, she didn’t get the level of support she needed.”

Cater texted back and forth with Caira looking for encouragement. Caira, who was then the pitching coach at Syracuse and had been since her graduation, told Cater not to wallow in self-pity and encouraged her to improve.

But Cater was frustrated at Washington and wanted to find a program where she could feel comfortable.

So she turned to the person who she trusted most when talking softball: Caira.

The two roommates sat down one night during the summer and made pro and con charts of different schools that Cater could be interested in. Caira never persuaded Cater to come to Syracuse while she was at Washington or even after her release, but acted as a resource and friend.

After Cater went home for a week for Team Canada’s break and weighed her options, she made her decision. Then in a boarding area of the Toronto airport on their way to the 2013 Pan American Games qualifiers, Cater delivered the news.

“Jenna never said, ‘Come to Syracuse,’ but she talked about her experiences here and said the coolest things about Syracuse,” Cater said. “Jenna just made this seem like this was a better place for me to make relationships and a future for myself as a player and as a person.

“I wanted to be here.”

Without ever visiting campus and after only a few phone calls with Ross, Cater came to Syracuse in the fall of 2013.

Cater couldn’t pitch in 2014 due to eligibility requirements involving her transfer, but worked with Caira to further develop a rise-ball and a curve. But she lacked a pitch that would elevate her to the next level.

Caira’s change-up was her “bread and butter,” so she helped Cater develop one. After starting to work on the pitch regularly at the end of August 2013, Cater took Caira’s grip and adopted it to work with her rise-ball style.

Caira remembers Cater’s eyes lighting up upon mastering the change-up.

With an 8-10 mile-per-hour difference between her rise-ball and her change-up, Cater has found success even throwing it in full counts. She believes that without it, her massive strikeout numbers would be anywhere near as high.

“It’s brought her to the next level,” said Mike Bosch, Syracuse’s current pitching coach.

Caira left this past season to pursue further education in corporate communications at Seneca College in Toronto, but she and Cater text regularly. While it isn’t daily, Caira isn’t surprised to see texts describing how effective the change-up they established together has been confusing Syracuse’s opponents, or more simple things like how Cater’s classes are going.

Through the work last season and during the offseason, Ross said that Cater has improved vastly from when she first saw the junior pitch in 2013. With a fully developed array of pitches and a healthy mental attitude, she’s transformed from the unsure transfer searching for a home.

“I think that without this family-orientated situation, I wouldn’t be doing the things I have been here,” Cater said. “I’ve found a place I belong and I want to do everything I can to help my teammates win.”

As she took the field at SU Softball Stadium for her first home game, Cater trotted out to the circle when introduced. After the national anthem and a few warm-ups, she turned, looked to the scoreboard emblazoned “Syracuse Softball” beyond the fence in left field.

Cater faced her catcher to receive the sign, dug her left cleat into the rubber for the first time and followed with her right. Eyeing down the North Carolina batter, she rocked back to initiate her delivery and released her first pitch from the same circle that Caira cemented her legacy in.

“The biggest and most significant impact for Jocelyn is the bond she has with Jenna Caira,” said Smith, Cater’s head coach with the Canadian national team. “If there is one single individual who has helped Jocelyn evolve into the pitcher she is, it’s Jenna.”

Published on April 12, 2015 at 9:18 pm

Contact Liam: lpsull01@syr.edu