CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Notre Dame softball team struggled to get its footing Friday afternoon in Clearwater. The Irish never got on track as they suffered a 7-0 loss to the South Florida Bulls. Notre Dame falls to 5-3 on the young season.
Shannon Becker started in the circle. The freshman threw the first inning, allowing three runs on four hits to go with a strikeout. Alexis Holloway took over, throwing the final 6.0 innings, allowing four runs, two earned and struck out three.
The Irish offense had a pair of hits in contest, one by Sarah Genz and an infield single from Emma Clark.
USF struck first, scoring three runs on four hits, all singles, and took advantage of a hit batter and a wild pitch to lead 3-0 after the first inning. The Bulls added another run in the second. A walk and a sacrifice bunt moved the runner into scoring position. She stole third and the throw to get her was high, allowing her to score and put USF up 4-0.
South Florida added a run with a sacrifice fly in the third, and two more with four singles in the top of the fourth to extend the lead to 7-0.
The Irish threatened in the fifth, putting two runners on with two outs, but couldn’t find the big hit it needed to bring in a run.
Up Next
Notre Dame returns to the field tomorrow morning for a 10:30 a.m. matchup with the LSU Tigers as part of the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational, Presented by Wilson.