SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Irish saw some key contributors from last year’s infield graduate in Chelsea Purcell and Katie Marino, but Notre Dame has returners and a few newcomers that are poised to step in and step up for the 2022 season.
11 of Notre Dame’s 23 players on the 2022 roster take reps on the infield. Returning monogram winners include Sarah Genz, Quinn Biggio, Brooke Marquez, Joley Mitchell, Miranda Johnson, Cassidy Grimm, Bryn Boznanski, Karina Gaskins and Mac Vasquez. New to the roster this season are freshmen Jane Kronenberger and Anna Holloway.
A second team All-ACC and All-Freshman team honoree, Gaskins left an impression during her first season in 2021. She finished the season with a .297 batting average, leading the team with 10 home runs, and driving in 35. She tallied 48 hits with seven doubles and earned a .631 slugging percentage.
Genz was a captain in 2021 as she played in 40 games. The graduate student hit for a .287 average with 12 RBI, and scored nine times. She was superb defensively, earning a .995 fielding percentage with just one error in 212 chances.
Biggio made the most of her opportunities in 2021, hitting five home runs in 58 at bats. She scored 10 times, drove in 13 and earned a .534 slugging percentage. She had a flair for the dramatic in 2021, igniting a seventh-inning rally to defeat Virginia to help the Irish overcome a 2-0 deficit, and delivered an insurance run late in the final game to complete the sweep of Virginia Tech.
Marquez is an energetic middle infielder who played in 24 games a season ago. She recorded seven hits, a home run, a double and drove in three.
Mitchell missed 2021 due to an injury, but had a tremendously successful prep career at Rose Bud High in Arkansas. Mitchell was the 2019 Gatorade Player of the Year after leading her squad to a 35-1 record and a Class 3A state championship. She finished her senior season with a video-game like .717 batting average, 55 RBI and scored 85 runs. She added 38 extra-base hits, 13 home runs and stole 34 bases. She finished her career with a .622 average, 58 homers, 281 runs scored and 197 RBI.
Johnson competed in more of a reserve role in 2021, starting six games and appearing in 22. The junior hit for a .281 average with four RBI and four runs scored last season.
Boznanski had just one at bat in her rookie season, but was another highly successful prep athlete. She was named Trinity League’s Scholar Athlete of the Year at Rosary High as a senior. She finished her prep career with a .435 batting average, 101 hits, 24 doubles, 52 runs scored and 55 RBI.
Vasquez appeared in four games in her rookie season, getting a pair of at bats.
Grimm, the younger sister of catcher Shelby Grimm, emerged as a solid defensive player for the Irish in her first year. The sophomore started 17 games, appearing in 31 as a freshman. She hit for a .212 average with six RBI and scored five times. She added a .978 fielding percentage playing the hot corner.
A pair of freshman, Kronenberger and Holloway were both highly sought after recruits. Kronenberger was the No. 55 player nationally out of Ursuline Academy in Cincinnati. She was a two-time first team all-league honoree and earned all-state honorable mention in 2019. That season she hit for a .636 average with seven home runs, scored 29 times, drove in 31 and stole 17.
Holloway is another sister connection on the team as she’s the younger sister of Alexis Holloway. Anna was the No. 32 ranked player nationally out of Crown Point High, and was a two-time first team All-State selection. She also garnered first team All-Area and All-Conference honors.
The Irish take the field in just three days in Charlotte, as part of the Green and Gold Classic. Notre Dame begins the season bright and early Friday morning, playing at 10 a.m. against the Bucknell Bison, followed by a 12:30 first pitch against Boston University at Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium.
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