May 4, 2014
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team capped its 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season in style on Sunday, scoring the final three runs of the series finale to defeat Boston College 4-1 on Senior Day at Melissa Cook Stadium. The Irish closed their first ACC campaign with a 37-10 mark, including a 16-5 record in conference play, to place second in the ACC standings.
No. 22 Notre Dame (37-10, 16-5 ACC), who earned the second seed, and seventh-seeded Boston College (30-22, 12-14 ACC) will meet one another in the first round of the ACC Championship on Thursday at 5 p.m., with the game to be televised on the Regional Sports Network at the Maryland Softball Stadium in College Park, Md.
Senior Laura Winter (25-4) posted a 1-2-3 top of the first inning against the Boston College lineup, logging two strikeouts of Megan Cooley and Jessie Daulton, with a nifty play on a sharp lineout to junior third baseman Katey Haus falling in between the punch outs.
Junior All-American Emilee Koerner lined a one-out triple down the right field line off starter Nicole D’Argento (18-14) in the bottom of the first inning. Haus completed the RBI chance with a single up the middle, bringing Koerner home for a 1-0 Notre Dame lead.
Eagle catcher Tory Speer tied the game with a solo home run in the top of the second, taking Winter deep and gone over the center field wall. The Irish ace regained her composure, forcing a pair of ground outs to third base before striking Jordan Weed out on three pitches to leave the game tied at 1-1.
Senior Monica Torres kept the Notre Dame offensive surge rolling with one out in the bottom of the second inning, driving a single back up the box off D’Argento. A great throw from Boston College center fielder Cooley put a flying Cassidy Whidden out at the plate to prevent the Irish from retaking the lead.
Winter sat Boston College down in order in the top of the third inning, posting a second straight scoreless frame. A pair of fly ball outs and a strikeout looking of Annie Sommers turned the Eagles away.
Winter tossed her 23rd complete game of the season, allowing only four hits with no walks to go along with seven strikeouts. The Irish ace became the first Notre Dame pitcher in program history to win 25 or more games in each of her four seasons in the circle with Sunday’s victory.
A one-out double for Haus in the bottom of the third was followed by Arizmendi, who crushed her 14th home run of the season one batter later, depositing a 1-1 pitch into the right field bleachers to put the Irish on top 3-1.
Winter earned a strikeout of Tatiana Cortez looking with a runner on and two outs in the top of the fourth inning, blanking the Eagles for the third straight inning.
Koerner needed only one pitch in the fifth inning to drive a solo home run over the center field fence, extending the Notre Dame advantage 4-1.
Koerner, Haus and Arizmendi each tied for the Notre Dame lead in hits, with Arizmendi chipping in two RBI. Koerner paced all players in the contest with two runs scored, setting an Irish record with 57 runs in a single season. Seniors Torres, captain Chloe Saganowich and Lauren Stuhr all contributed base hits in their final home start.
It was three-up, three-down for Boston College in the top of the sixth, as Winter added another strikeout before getting D’Argento to fly out to Stuhr in foul ground for the final out of the inning. A pair of singles was all the Eagles could manage in the bottom of the seventh, as Winter closed her final home start with a ground ball out to junior Jenna Simon at second base.
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.
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— Tony Jones, Media Relations Assistant