TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — RV Notre Dame (17-12, 9-10 ACC) dropped the final game of the series to No. 10 Florida State (24-6, 12-2 ACC) in a 5-0 outing Sunday. Scoreless through the first four innings, the Seminoles opened it up in the fifth, and senior pitcher Alexis Holloway (7-6) took the loss in the circle.
Junior Payton Tidd started in the circle and pitched 4.0 innings, hurling a strikeout and allowing just two hits with no runs on 15 batters faced in her first outing. Holloway entered in relief to pitch the fifth inning, and due to the deciding run being allowed during her stint, shouldered the loss. Tidd then re-entered in the sixth to pitch 0.2 innings before senior Morgan Ryan entered to earn the final out of the inning.
Graduate student Katie Marino and Tidd were responsible for Notre Dame’s hits on the day, with Marino blasting a double in the fourth and Tidd leading off the fifth with an outfield single.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both squads went three up, three down in the first, as Tidd posted a strikeout to end the inning. The Irish side was again retired in the second, and while Florida State doubled, followed by a walk, Tidd and the Irish took care of the next three outs to strand two on base.
In the third, sophomore Macie Eck led off by earning a HBP, but the next three Irish batters were sat down to keep Eck on base. In the bottom half of the inning, FSU hit a two-out single, followed by a stolen base, but junior Emma Clark grabbed the lineout in right field to end the inning.
With one out in the fourth, graduate student Katie Marino doubled for Notre Dame’s first hit of the day, but was left on base. With Tidd back out to pitch, she sat down the Seminole side, beginning with a 14-pitch at-bat that ended in a groundout to sophomore Brooke Marquez. Marquez was also responsible for the next two outs, running to grab a pop-foul, and fielding another grounder to first.
In the fifth inning, Tidd singled as the leadoff hitter, and after one out, freshman Cassidy Grimm entered to pinch-run, but was tagged out on a fielder’s choice ball. A caught stealing ended the Irish at-bats.
To begin the bottom of the inning, Holloway entered the circle in relief of Tidd. FSU earned a leadoff double, and after one out, a single brought the runner home to mark the first score of the day. Another single pushed the runner to third, while the batter reached second on an error. FSU then added a double to score two runs, while another error put the next batter on first. After a steal, runners took second and third, and after a groundout, another double brought in two more runs, both unearned due to the prior error, and the inning ended with FSU up 5-0.
While senior Sarah Genz entered to pinch hit, the Irish were retired in order in the sixth. Tidd re-entered to pitch at the beginning of the bottom half of the inning. With two outs and a runner on second, Ryan entered the circle in relief of Tidd, and the final out came on a grounder to Purcell.
In the top of the seventh, the Irish were unable to get on the board, and the game ended with the 5-0 score.
UP NEXT
The Irish will return to South Bend for an 11-game home stand, beginning with a midweek matchup as they host Western Michigan on April 7 at 5:30 p.m. ET. Spectators at Melissa Cook Stadium are limited to guests of the team and students from Notre Dame, St. Mary’s and Holy Cross. Broadcast coverage will be available on ACC Network Extra.