SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Junior shortstop Anna Holloway hit her first home run of the season to give the Fighting Irish the 3-2 victory over the Western Michigan Broncos in the bottom of the seventh inning Tuesday evening at Melissa Cook Stadium. With the win, University of Notre Dame improves to 23-14, and Western Michigan falls to 17-16.
Alexis Laudenslager got the start in the circle. The graduate student worked 3.2 innings, allowing seven hits, two earned runs and striking out four in a no-decision. Micaela Kastor was on in relief, tossing 3.1 innings of one-hit ball. She struck out five hitters as she earned her eighth victory of the season.
Holloway had the loudest of Notre Dame’s hits as she finished 1-for-3. Cassidy Grimm added a 2-for-3 performance, scoring a run. Addison Amaral, Rachel Allen and Mickey Winchell each finished with a hit. Allen and Winchell added an RBI each.
How It Happened
Notre Dame drew first blood in the bottom of the second inning. Gaskins drew a lead-off walk and moved up when Allen laid down a sacrifice bunt. Winchell delivered the run with a single back up the middle to put the Irish up 1-0.
Western Michigan took the narrowest of leads in the top of the fourth, plating a pair of runs. A single, a walk and a single loaded the bases and turned the lineup over to the Bronco lead-off hitter. Payton Kelly singled back up the middle where it where a diving attempt by the Irish shortstop corralled the ground ball momentarily, before trickling out of her glove, allowing a second run to score as the Broncos took a 2-1 lead.
The Irish tied it up in the bottom of the sixth. Grimm got the rally started with a single up the middle and went first to third when Amaral’s ground ball rolled into right center. A wild pitch put two in scoring position for Allen. The junior delivered a single to the left side of the infield to bring in Grimm and tie the game at two each.
After Kastor worked through some two-out hiccups in the seventh, Holloway put the game away. On the first pitch of her at bat, she drove a home run over the monogram in straight away center field to give the Irish the victory.
Up Next
Notre Dame hits the road this weekend as it heads to Tallahassee for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series with the 18th ranked Florida State Seminoles. Games will begin at 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights, with the finale slated for Sunday at 4 p.m. Friday’s game will be on the ACC Network Extra, with Saturday and Sunday being broadcasted on the ACC Network.