April 21, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A season of firsts for the University of Notre Dame softball team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) continues on Tuesday afternoon, when the Irish welcome North Carolina State to Melissa Cook Stadium for a midweek league doubleheader. First pitch between the teams has been moved up one hour to 2 p.m. (ET) for game one, with the second game tentatively scheduled to follow at 4 p.m.
Live video coverage will be available at UND.com on WatchND, and through the WatchND app.
No. 21/22 Notre Dame (29-9, 9-4 ACC) earned its third ACC series win of the season with a sweep of Virginia last weekend at The Park in Charlottesville, Va. The Irish took games one (8-0 in five innings) and two (12-1 in five innings) on Friday before closing the Cavaliers out 15-8 in the series finale on Saturday. The 35 combined runs were the most scored by Notre Dame in a conference series this season.
Notre Dame and North Carolina State (29-13, 13-6 ACC) will meet for the first time in their respective histories during Tuesday’s doubleheader. North Carolina State is the defending ACC tournament champion, and the Wolfpack are immediately behind the Irish in the 2014 ACC standings in fourth place.
Fans can follow live stats for Tuesday’s games via CBS GameTracker by visiting UND.com.
For the latest news and updates on all things Notre Dame softball, visit UND.com/softball, follow the Irish @NDsoftball and @NDcoachGumpf on Twitter, and Like the team at Facebook.com/NDSoftball.
No. 21/22 Notre Dame vs. RV North Carolina State
April 22, 2014
Melissa Cook Stadium (1,250)
Notre Dame, Ind.
No. 21/22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(29-9 in 2014, 9-4 ACC)
North Carolina State Wolfpack
(29-13 in 2014, 13-6 in the ACC; first meeting with ND)
Notre Dame Midweek Schedule
/WatchND
/WatchND
IRISH SLAP HITS
– Notre Dame won its seventh Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) game in eight tries by completing the weekend sweep of Virginia with a 15-8 win on Saturday. The Irish outscored the Cavaliers 35-9 in 17 innings during their three weekend victories.
– Notre Dame enjoyed one of its best offensive series of the season against Virginia, batting .472 (42-for-89) with eight doubles, two triples, six home runs and 34 RBI. Nine different Irish players batted at .333 or higher for the series, with seven players over the .400 plateau.
– In the latest NCAA national statistics rankings, Notre Dame rose 17 batting average points from last week to place second in the country with a .355 team clip entering the week. The Irish trailed only Michigan (.356) as the most prolific hitting team, in terms of average, in the nation to begin the week.
– Notre Dame maintained its hold on the national doubles per game lead for the seventh week in a row, upping its season average to an impressive 2.11 doubles per contest following last weekend’s series at Virginia. The Irish are also seventh in the NCAA in slugging percentage (.545) and eighth in runs per game (6.92) after 38 games.
– Freshman outfielder Karley Wester was tabbed as one of 25 finalists for the inaugural NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award last Thursday. Wester, the second-leading hitter in the ACC with a .448 average this season, also leads Notre Dame with 56 hits, a .510 on-base percentage and 21 stolen bases.
– Sophomore infielder Micaela Arizmendi posted the most memorable ACC weekend by any Notre Dame hitter thus far in the team’s first season as a league member, batting .818 (9-for-11) with three doubles, one home run and eight RBI in three games against Virginia. Arizmendi was a perfect 5-for-5 in the series finale, tying Kathy Vernetti (4/22/90) and Jenn Giampaolo (4/22/95) for the program’s single-game hits record.
– Junior Cassidy Whidden assumed the Notre Dame team lead with her 10th home run of the season Saturday at Virginia. Whidden has hit six home runs in her last 25 at-bats.