March 6, 2010
Game 1: Box Score | Box Score 
Game 2: Box Score | Box Score
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Senior Christine Lux hit her 37th career home run Saturday against East Tennessee State to reset the Notre Dame record, leading the Irish to a 6-1 win over the Lady Bucs at the UC Riverside Aten Construction Tournament. Lux parlayed the effort with 20 putouts at first base during the two-game sweep to become the program’s all-time leader with 1,351.
Notre Dame (10-4) defeated No. 14 Ohio State, 12-5, to open the day’s action at Amy Harrison Field. The Irish now carry a nine-game winning streak into Sunday’s (March 7) game against host UC Riverside.
Lux had three hits on the day with four RBI. Erin Marrone’s five hits paced six Irish players with multi-hit efforts across the doubleheader.
Jody Valdivia (6-2) and Brittany O’Donnell (4-0) each tossed complete-game wins from the circle.
-Game 1-
Valdivia gave up eight hits and five earned runs with six strikeouts but found a way to pull out of the win over the Buckeyes (10-6). Four of the eight Ohio State hits went for extra bases (two doubles, two home runs), led by three hits from Rachael Shepherd. Sam Marder led the Buckeyes with a three-RBI home run in the sixth to chip into a six-point deficient which made it a 7-5 game in Notre Dame’s favor.
Valdivia blanked the Buckeyes in the seventh and left the bases loaded to end the game, as the Irish defense scrambled to strand nine runners on base in the contest.
Lux, Marrone, Alexia Clay and Dani Miller each had two hits for Notre Dame. Katie Fleury scored three times and drove in two runs.
Fleury was walked in the first and scored after consecutive doubles by Lux and Heather Johnson.
In the bottom of the third, Valdivia retired the side with the help of Fleury’s off-hand diving snatch to start the inning. It was one of six putouts for the shortstop.
Sadie Pitzenberger tripled to right-center in the fifth to score pinch-runner Kelsey Thornton, and Fleury homered to left to score two more to put Notre Dame on top 5-0.
Ohio State got on the board in the fifth with Alicia Herron’s two-out RBI-double to left.
Notre Dame tacked on two more runs in the sixth but Ohio State retaliated with a four-run outburst. Shepherd’s second hit of the game was good for a solo homer and Marder went yard as well.
Notre Dame posted five runs on four hits and one error in the seventh. Fleury scored on a Lux single through the right side, and Marrone doubled to left-center to score Amy Buntin. Clay’s single up the middle scored Lux and Miller’s single to left plated Marrone.
Lindsay Bodeker (3-5) gave up seven hits and five earned runs in 5.1 innings to take the loss.
-Game 2-
Lux broke the putout record in the top of the second and finished with 18 in the contest. She waited until the sixth for her second accolade, starting the inning with a homer to deep rightfield. Notre Dame scored three more runs in the inning, with singles by Marrone and Clay coming before Miller’s homer to left.
Fleury doubled in the third to score Pitzenberger which put Notre Dame on the board.
East Tennessee State (7-8) neutralized the score by plating a run in the fifth, making it a 1-1 game.
Alexa Maldonado wasted no time giving Notre Dame the lead once again with a go-ahead solo home run down the leftfield line for her first career dinger.
Marrone was a perfect 3-for-3 and Miller led all players with three RBI.
O’Donnell gave up six hits and one earned run while Shelby Morris (0-2) gave up 10 hits and six earned runs. Neither team recorded a strikeout, while Notre Dame posted its sixth straight game with double-digit hits.
–ND–