May 4, 2008
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – One day after setting the school’s single-season win record, pitcher Brittney Bargar tossed the fourth no-hitter of her career Sunday at Syracuse as the Notre Dame softball team posted an 8-0 BIG EAST Conference win. It was the 35th no-hitter in program history and the first since Bargar silenced Loyola-Chicago’s bats on May 1 of 2007.
But first baseman Christine Lux took the spotlight in the second game of the doubleheader at Syracuse Softball Stadium with a pair of homers to bring her season total to 14 – the most ever in a single Irish (37-19-1 overall,14-8 BIG EAST) season. Her efforts were offset by a five-run Syracuse (21-31 overall, 12-10 BIG EAST) outburst in the bottom of the seventh as Notre Dame suffered an 8-7 loss.
Bargar (29-12) struck out the side to start the first contest and let the defense finish the work for her after that point. She went the rest of the game without a strikeout and walked two while facing two more than the minimum number of batters. One Orange batter reached base on an error.
Linda Kohan doubled in the top of the fourth but was left on base, though the Irish pushed across four runs in the fifth on two hits and an Orange error. Erin Marrone singled to right and Brianna Jorgensborg was walked, followed Katie Fleury’s single to left that plated Marrone. Sarah Smith registered an infield single to score Jorgensborg. On the next play, Lux reached first on a Syracuse error which bargained enough time for Fleury and Smith to score, giving Notre Dame a 4-0 edge.
Jorgensborg and Kohan singled in the seventh and Smith reached on a fielder’s choice to bundle the bases for the Irish. Katie Laing battled off several pitches before poking a shot to opposite field for Notre Dame’s second grand slam of the season.
The Irish sprayed Syracuse pitcher Brittany Gardner (13-12) for eight hits in 7.0 frames.
With runs in high demand through three complete innings in game two, eight Irish players made their way to the plate in the fourth to post four runs. Laing drew a walk, Beth Northway singled, and Marrone drove in a run with a single up the middle.
Northway scored the second run of the inning on Jorgensborg’s sacrifice fly to center. Fleury legged out a triple off the top of the fence in left-center as Marrone trotted in for a score. A single by Smith down the leftfield line was more than plenty for Fleury to come home.
Lux’s record-tying homer came in the fifth, and she took sole possession of the all-time mark with a rocket to left-center in the seventh.
Smith hacked a two-out RBI single that landed in shallow center to score Marrone from third in the sixth.
Hallie Gibbs led off the fifth for Syracuse with a double to right-center, the first hit Bargar surrendered in 11.0 innings tossed on the day. Jorden Rosen connected on a three-run homer in the same inning to bring the Orange within two, 5-3.
Syracuse used a five-run seventh inning to capture the 8-7 win.
Fleury, Smith, Lux, Northway, Marrone, and Ashley Ellis each had two hits for Notre Dame. Jorden Rosen was 2-for-3 with four RBI to pace the Orange.
Bargar struck out seven but gave up four earned runs and seven hits in 5.1 innings. Jody Valdivia checked in with 1.0 inning of two-hit ball while facing five batters midway through the contest. The win went to Gardner, who hurled the final 2.0 innings and gave up two runs and five hits.
–ND–