SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team will head to the northern Chicago suburb of Evanston to begin its 2022 NCAA Division I Softball Championship tournament as they are set to take on the McNeese Cowgirls in the first round Friday afternoon. The Fighting Irish earned the two-seed in the NCAA Evanston Regional, hosted by the ninth-overall seed Northwestern Wildcats. The Oakland Golden Grizzlies will also be joining the Wildcats, Irish and Cowgirls.
Notre Dame earned the two-seed in the regional after finishing the regular season at 39-10 and were 16-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Irish are led by ACC Player of the Year Karina Gaskins. This year, Gaskins is hitting at a conference-best .434 average, leading the league with 59 RBI. She’s hit 13 home runs, and drawn 39 walks, tied for second-most in a single season in school history.
Gaskins and the Irish offense hits for a collective .330 batting average, leading the country with 1.86 doubles per game. The doubles come from up and down the lineup as freshman Jane Kronenberger is the top Irish player in doubles per game at 0.28, ranking 102nd in the country individually. Notre Dame has scored 314 runs, averaging over six per game and ranking top 10 nationally. Abby Sweet leads the team with 52 runs scored, hitting at a .373 average with 11 doubles, two triples and six home runs. She leads the team with 19 stolen bases.
The trio of Alexis Holloway, Payton Tidd and Shannon Becker have worked in the circle this season. Tidd leads the team with 128.1 innings pitched this season, earning a 15-4 record and holding opponents to a .210 average against. Holloway posts a 14-3 record and a 2.99 ERA in 114.2 innings this season. Opponents hit .209 against the graduate student as she’s struck out 93 hitters. Becker owns the top ERA on the squad, earning a 1.63 ERA in 25 appearances. She’s earned four saves in 81.2 innings of work. She’s struck out 70 hitters and earned a 10-3 record with six complete games.
The Irish are matched up with the McNeese Cowgirls, champions of the Southland Conference. McNeese enters the NCAA Regionals having gone 38-19 on the season and were 15-3 in the SLC, led by SLC Coach of the Year James Landreneau. The Cowgirls have won their last seven games, including going a perfect 3-0 in the Southland Conference Tournament, defeating Northwestern State and back-to-back wins over Southeastern.
McNeese hits for a .284 team average and are fifth nationally with 2.42 stolen bases per game. As a team, McNeese has stolen 138 bases in 165 attempts. Seven players have stolen at least 13 bases, led by 20 stolen baes form Kendall Talley and Toni Perrin. Cryslyne Moreno leads the with a .366 average with multi-hit efforts in four of the last five games. Moreno has scored 23 runs, doubled 10 times, hit three homers and driven in 38. Jil Poullard adds a .364 average with a team-best seven homers and 40 RBI. She’s added 42 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. Along with leading the team in stolen bases, Talley adds a team-best 12 doubles while hitting at a .354 average.
In the circle, McNeese is led by Southland Pitcher of the Year Ashley Vallejo. Vallejo finished the regular season going 17-7 in 38 appearances. In her 22 starts, she worked 16 complete games and led the Cowgirls with 159.1 innings pitched. She’s struck out 117 hitters while holding opponents to a .214 average against. Whitney Tate has logged significant time in the circle, starting 22 games and appearing in 32. She’s worked 122.2 innings with seven complete games. As a team, the Cowgirls have a 2.72 ERA with 12 shutouts and hold opponents to a .248 average against. The staff has struck out 220 hitters in 380.2 innings on the year.
The host Wildcats bring with them the Big Ten Player of the Year in Rachel Lewis, Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Danielle Williams and the Big Ten Coach of the Year, Kate Drohan. After winning 40 games during the season, Northwestern won the Big Ten Regular Season Championship with a 19-4 conference record. In total, Northwestern had five First Team All-Big Ten honorees as Jordyn Rudd, Hannah Cady and Nikki Cuchran joined Lewis and Williams. Maeve Nelson and Skylar Shellmyer earned second team honors.
The Wildcat offense hits for a .298 average, having hit 66 home runs in 50 games, ranking 25th nationally in home runs per game. Lewis leads the Wildcats with 20 home runs on the year, driving in 52 runs and hitting for a .366 average. She’s scored a team-best 59 runs and is tops on the squad with 23 stolen bases. Cuchran led the Northwestern offense with a .367 average, with 55 hits. She’s hit seven home runs and driven in 48 on the season. Nelson is second on the team with 10 home runs, driving in 34 with a .259 average starting all 50 games.
Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Williams leads the team with 27 games started, earning a 26-4 record. She’s earned a 1.53 ERA, working in 201.2 innings and holds opponents to a .168 average against. Williams has struck out 287 hitters on the season, and thrown 21 complete games. Lauren Boyd has started 11 games on the season, earning a 4-2 record in 47.0 innings. She’s earned a 2.53 ERA and struck out 51 hitters. Lauren Dvorak adds eight starts and 20 appearances on the season. Dvorak earned a 7-3 record with a save in 49.1 innings of work. As a staff, Northwestern holds opponents to a .219 average against, struck out 380 hitters in 330.2 innings and a 2.52 team ERA.
The Horizon League Champion Oakland Golden Grizzlies enter the NCAA Regional at 26-15, winning the Horizon League as the top seed and earning wins over Green Bay, Northern Kentucky and Robert Morris. Oakland finished the regular season with a 18-7 conference mark to earn the regular season crown.
The Golden Grizzly offense hits for a .253 team average, led by Madison Jones. Jones hits at a .352 clip, leading the team with 38 runs scored, nine home runs, 51 hits and a .634 slugging percentage, while adding in 10 doubles, two triples and seven stolen bases. Allisa DiPrima sports a .333 average in 21 starts, playing in 32 games. Lauren Griffith adds a .313 average starting in 38 games. She leads the team with 15 doubles and 25 RBI, while drawing 17 walks compared to 12 strikeouts.
Oakland utilizes three arms in their pitching staff, led by Horizon League Pitcher of the Year, Sydney Campbell. Campbell sports a 2.21 ERA and a 23-7 overall record. She’s appeared in all 41 games this year, starting 26 and throwing 25 complete games. Campbell has logged 211.1 of the team’s 272.2 innings, striking out 162 hitters and holding opponents to a .225 average against. Mia Konyvka has a 3-7 record and a 6.91 ERA, starting in 14 games. She’s made one relief appearance and thrown 57.1 innings with 17 strikeouts. Maci Brown picked up a loss in her lone appearance of the season, throwing four innings.