SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team is back on the road this weekend as it heads to upstate South Carolina for a top 25 showdown with the Clemson Tigers. The 14th-ranked Tigers will host the 21st-ranked Fighting Irish for the first time in history. In Clemson’s three-year history, this will be the first meeting between the two programs.
Notre Dame enters the weekend winners of 14 of their last 15. In that stretch, the Irish have knocked off a pair of top 10 opponents at Melissa Cook Stadium, earning an 8-1 win over No. 7 Duke and a 3-2 win over No. 6 Northwestern.
The Irish offense ranks second in the ACC with a .331 team average, led by sophomore Karina Gaskins. Gaskins is hitting at a .429 clip with a team-best 10 home runs and 46 RBI. Two others are hitting over the .400 mark. Abby Sweet adds a .402 average with 21 RBI, six homers, nine doubles and leads the team with 15 stolen bases. Jane Kronenberger his hitting right at .400. Kronenberger worked her way into the starting lineup over the past several weeks and is now third on the team with 22 RBI in 55 at bats.
In the circle, Notre Dame is led by reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week, Payton Tidd. Tidd has a 2.82 ERA in 15 starts and appearing in 22 games. She’s worked a team-best 96.2 innings, limiting opponents to a .202 average against. She earned two wins in two starts last week, throwing a complete game in the victory over Northwestern. She worked 6.0 innings and hit a home run in the win over Syracuse. Shannon Becker owns the team’s top ERA at 1.59. The freshman has made eight starts and 19 appearances, owning an 8-2 record with three saves. Alexis Holloway rounds out the pitching corps. The graduate student sports a 3.05 ERA in 85.0 innings to go with 75 strikeouts. Earlier this season, Holloway earned her second solo no-hitter against Loyola Chicago. She’s been a part of four no-hitters in her Irish career.
The Tigers are hot off a 3-1 victory at South Carolina Tuesday night, and are winners of their last 10 games. In that run, Clemson defeated South Carolina twice, swept ACC series against North Carolina and Pitt and took a doubleheader from Furman.
The Clemson offense hits at a .282 clip, ranking eighth in the league. McKenzie Clark leads the Tigers with a .312 average, starting all 41 games. She’s earned a .576 slugging percentage with a team-high eight doubles, to go with two triples, seven home runs and driven in 21. Aby Vieira worked her way into the starting lineup and has now started the last 12-straight games. She’s currently hitting at a .311 average with three homers and 10 RBI. Marissa Guimbarda leads the Tigers with 10 home runs on the season. Alia Logoleo leads the offense with 37 RBI, also hitting 10 homers and hitting for a .300 average having started all 41 games. Sam Russ leads the ACC and is 31st nationally with 20 stolen bases and has not been caught stealing yet this year.
Clemson’s pitching staff has utilized six pitchers this season as the staff has earned a 1.86 ERA, fourth in the ACC. Valerie Cagle has been the ace of the staff, starting a team-high 18 games and appearing in 23. She’s earned a 2.09 ERA and a 12-7 record in 110.1 innings. She’s recorded 139 strikeouts and holds opponents to a .218 average against. Millie Thompson has been the other primary starter, appearing in 17 games with 12 starts. Thompson owns a 9-1 record and a 1.56 ERA in 72.0 innings. Regan Spencer has 15 appearances with six starts, owning a 1.12 ERA in 43.2 innings of work.
Clemson Clash
The Fighting Irish and the Tigers have never met on the softball diamond. The two teams were scheduled to compete in South Bend in 2021, but the series was not played. In the brief three-year history of the Clemson program, the Tigers have amassed a record of 93-26 and have been ranked through much of this season.
Power Game
After hitting 42 home runs in all of 2021, Notre Dame softball has connected on 39 through 37 games. this season. The 1.05 homers per game ranks 46th nationally. The Irish power is led by its top hitter, Karina Gaskins. Gaskins is hitting for a .429 clip and matched her 2021 total of 10 home runs. Abby Sweet surpassed last year’s total with 6 in 2022 (5 in 2021). Notre Dame had 11 players hit home runs last year and have seen 12 go deep this year.
Thou Shalt Not Steal
The catching combination of Shelby Grimm and Carlli Kloss have limited the opponents running game better than any tandem in the ACC. Kloss has thrown out four of nine attempted base stealers, and Grimm has tossed out eight of 21 attempts. Combined, the Irish have thrown out 12 of 30 attempted base stealers and the .600 stolen base allowed percentage is the lowest in the conference. Grimm also picked off a runner this season.
Getting Out of the Blocks
Notre Dame has scored 51 runs in the first inning of games this season, and 139 runs in the first three innings this season. When scoring in the first inning, the Irish are 17-2 this season and when scoring the first run of the game Notre Dame is 24-2 on the year. The Irish have hit seven of their 35 home runs in the first inning this season. The only other inning with as many home runs is the fourth inning.
Scoring in ACC Series
Notre Dame scored 36 runs in the three-game series with Georgia Tech. Its the most runs scored in a three-game ACC series in program history, outscoring the 35 that Notre Dame scored in a three-game series in Charlottesville in 2014.
The Irish scored 36 runs in a three-game series against Seton Hall as a member of the BIG EAST in 2010. The 12 runs per game in the series is the highest average runs per game in a conference series in since 2000 when Notre Dame average 12.5 in a doubleheader with Providence in South Bend.
Pitcher of the Week Payton
Senior pitcher Payton Tidd was named ACC Pitcher of the Week, along with Boston College’s Susannah Anderson. In two starts last Week, Tidd earned two wins, and threw a complete game in the 3-2 win over the sixth-ranked Northwestern Wildcats. In the series opener with Syracuse, Tidd threw 6.0 innings, striking out five and holding the Orange to two runs to earn her second win of the week. Tidd also hit a solo homer to lead off the fifth in the win.
National and ACC Player of the Week
Karina Gaskins had one of the most productive weeks in all of NCAA softball three weeks ago, leading the Irish to a 5-0 record and a three-game ACC sweep at Pitt. She finished the week 12-for-16 with a double, two home runs, eight runs scored and 11 RBI. She had at least one hit and one RBI in all five games, four of which were multi-hit and multi-RBI games.
Over the last 10 games, she’s hitting at a .560 average with four home runs, 15 RBI and scored 11 runs.
Any Means Necessary
Offensive stand out Abby Sweet picked up right where she left off after a record-setting on-base percentage in 2021 (.537). She’s second on the team with a .519 OBP this season. (Gaskins – .565 OBP) Sweet owns a .402 batting average, drawn 11 walks and has been hit by 13 pitches. The 13 hit by pitches in 37 games ranks 16th nationally in HBP per game. Her .679 slugging percentage is second-highest among the Notre Dame regulars. (Gaskins – .806)
Bench Bombs
The Notre Dame bench has shined when given the opportunity. The Irish are hitting .294 in pinch-hit appearances, going 20-for-68. Conversely, the Irish are holding opponents to a .143 average going 6-for-42. Rachel Allen, Mac Vasquez, Jane Kronenberger and Joley Mitchell each have three hits in pinch-hit appearances this season. Quinn Biggio leads the team with 11 pinch-hit at bats this season, earning a pair of hits. Bryn Boznanski, Allen, Mitchell and Kronenberger have homered in pinch hit appearances this season.
Hammerin’ Hanks
After starting the season 14-4, Notre Dame made a move in the lineup switching Leea Hanks and Abby Sweet. Hanks took over in the lead off role and Sweet assumed Hanks’s role in the 3-spot. Since that move, the Irish are 16-3 and Hanks is hitting at a .368 clip. She’s hit five doubles, four triples, four home runs to go with 12 RBI. She’s stolen five bases and has been a standout defensively in left field.
Working in TRANsistion
Emily Tran has appeared in 27 games this season, primarily as the pinch runner. In that role, she’s scored 12 times, and is 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts. She’s the primary speedster off the bench for the Irish. She entered as a pinch runner in the finale with Georgia Tech, forcing pressure as she scored with a passed ball and two wild pitches in the fourth inning.
An Extra Run
After averaging five runs per game in 2021, the Irish offense has upped that number to 6.86 per game this season, ranking 11th nationally and second in the ACC. Abby Sweet and Leea Hanks have each scored 39 runs, tied for 18th nationally in runs per game.
Top 25 wins
After falling in the first three games of the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational, the Irish went on to take down a pair of Top 25 teams in LSU and Texas.
Against LSU, the Irish rallied late, using a fifth inning home run from Payton Tidd to tie it, and Miranda Johnson drove in the game-winning runs in the seventh. Tidd shut the door as the Irish earned the 8-6 win.
Notre Dame followed that with a 9-2 win over then No. 9-Texas. A 7-run fifth inning paved the way for the first win over a top 10-nationally ranked opponent since beating No. 3 Florida State in Tallahassee in 2019.
The Irish added a top 10 win after knocking off No. 7 Duke at home. Notre Dame used a 3-for-3, 4 RBI performance from Karina Gaskins and got a dominant start from Payton Tidd. Tidd worked 7.0 innings and allowed just one hit in the 8-1 victory.
In a midweek matchup with #6 Northwestern, Tidd again shined in the circle. throwing a complete game, allowing just five hits and two earned runs. The Irish offense got a run early with a Kronenberger double and rallied for two in the sixth. Hanks drove in the game-winning run with a double.
Record Setting Night
In the home opener against Detroit Mercy, the Fighting Irish scored 18 runs, tying a school record for runs scored and the largest margin of victory. The original record was set March 11, 1994 in an 18-0 victory over Robert Morris. Eight of nine starters had a hit and five players who didn’t start the contest registered one of the 18 hits. 15 different players scored a run in the victory.
Sister Sister
Notre Dame softball has a pair of sisters on its roster this season. Shelby and Cassidy Grimm are playing their second collegiate season together in 2022. Alexis and Anna Holloway are playing their first year of softball together this season. The extra year of eligibility for Alexis allowed for her to stay at Notre Dame long enough to play with her younger sister.