CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina — RV Notre Dame (2-2) dropped the first game of its ACC Pod slate Friday in a 2-3 loss to Syracuse. Senior pitcher Alexis Holloway (1-1) shouldered the loss, even with eight strikeouts on the day.
Senior outfielder Abby Sweet led the Irish in the batter’s box, notching two hits, as sophomore outfielder Leea Hanks’ 2 RBI double was the lone scoring play for Notre Dame. In total, the Irish left five runners on base through the game.
Holloway pitched 5.0 innings, and did not surrender a hit until the fourth inning. Junior pitcher Payton Tidd entered the circle for the last inning.
How it Happened
The Irish got off to a quick start, with junior outfielder Emma Clark reaching on an error, but Clark was caught stealing after graduate student infielder Katie Marino flew out. Sweet singled, but was called out on leaving base early to end the inning.
Holloway notched her first two strikeouts in the first inning, sending the Irish back to bat. Through the second and third innings, Notre Dame and Syracuse registered no hits, and Holloway added three more strikeouts.
In the bottom of the fourth, Holloway walked Syracuse’s Gregg, who advanced to second on a subsequent single. After Holloway notched her sixth strikeout, Syracuse’s Martin homered, putting the Orange up 3-0. Holloway gave up one more hit, but notched two strikeouts in the process to end the inning.
Neither squad noted hits in the fifth inning, and in the sixth, the Irish embarked on their comeback attempt.
After Clark and Marino grounded out, Sweet singled to bring up freshman infielder Karina Gaskins. Gaskins drew a walk, and junior catcher Shelby Grimm entered to pinch run. Hanks then slammed a double to the outfield to score Sweet and Grimm, decreasing the lead to one run. Senior infielder Sarah Genz drew a walk, but Carlli Kloss grounded out to end the inning.
Tidd entered the circle for Holloway, as Syracuse singled and executed a sac bunt. After the Orange reached on a fielding error, Marino executed a double play to keep Syracuse from scoring.
The Irish were retired in a row in the seventh to close the game with a 2-3 final score.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame will face No. 18 Duke in a three-game series, beginning with the first game on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. ET. Broadcast coverage will be available on ACC Network Extra.