SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Graduate student Alexis Holloway threw her second-career solo no-hitter as the University of Notre Dame offense erupted for 10 runs to cruise to a 10-0 five-inning victory over the Loyola Chicago Ramblers Tuesday night. The Fighting Irish racked up 12 hits in the win as Holloway kept the Loyola out of the hit column for all five innings. It’s the 47th no-hitter in Irish softball history.
It’s the fourth no-hitter Holloway has thrown in, her second solo no-no. She threw a five-inning no-hitter against NC State as a freshman, which was the last no-hitter thrown by one player for Notre Dame. She partnered with Morgan Ryan and Payton Tidd to throw a five-inning no-hitter on opening weekend in 2021, and the trio added another six-inning no-hitter against Valparaiso on March 24th, 2021.
During the 5.0 innings of work, Holloway struck out five hitters and walked one as she earned her ninth win of the season.
Three hitters had multiple hits on the day, led by a 2-for-3 effort with two runs scored by Emma Clark. Jane Kronenberger finished 2-for-2 with two RBI, two runs scored and a double in the victory. Carlli Kloss also finished 2-for-2 with a pair of singles. Leea Hanks, Karina Gaskins, Joley Mitchell, Rachel Allen, Cassidy Grimm and Mac Vasquez all had a hit in the contest. Allen connected for the first home run of her career, sending a two-run blast over the bleachers in left field.
The Irish scored in the first inning for the 15th time this season. Hanks drew a walk and a single in front of the catcher put two on. Abby Sweet dropped down her first sacrifice bunt of the season to set the stage for Gaskins. Gaskins took a pitch low and away and drove it into right field to score two. Kronenberger followed with a single to left, Kloss singled through the left side and came in to score when Grimm drove a single to right to score two and the Irish took a 4-0 lead after the first inning.
Notre Dame kept the pressure on in the second inning, scoring four more runs. Kronenberger drove in two with a double to left and scored on a Mitchell double. After a bunt single from Kloss put runners on the corners, Kloss and Mitchell executed a double steal to bring in the fourth run of the inning and extend the lead to 8-0.
The Irish added two more as Allen hit a no-doubt home run to score two in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Holloway closed the door in the fifth, seeing the most traffic of any inning. A Rambler reached base via an error and stole second before she got her fifth strikeout and a popup to Miranda Johnson who had taken over at second base ended the contest.
Up Next
The Irish are back in action tomorrow as they host the Central Michigan Chippewas at 5 p.m. at Melissa Cook Stadium.