ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of Notre Dame softball team dropped both contests Saturday, falling to 7-8 overall this season.
The Irish fell to Penn State 2-14 in five innings before battling against UCF but coming up short 2-6 in a road matchup.
The Irish close the SpaceU Classic tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET against UCF.
Penn State
The Nittany Lions struck quickly in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff walk, a two-run homer put Penn State up 2-0 just two batters in.
Back-to-back infield singles to leadoff the second inning got the Irish offense rolling. With one out, Kaia Cortes launched an RBI double into the right center field gap to score Caroline O’Brien for the first run of the game. Cortes would come around to score on a two-out error to tie the game at two.
It was all Penn State after that. The Nittany Lions scored six in the second then three in each the third and fourth inning to take a decisive win. Penn State recorded 12 hits and capitalized on nine walks.
UCF
Notre Dame got early runners as Tenley Sweet reached on an error and Sydny Poeck drew a walk. However, the Irish left them stranded following a fielder’s choice and flyout to keep it scoreless after the top of the first.
The Irish scored first in this one. With one out in the top of the second, Cortes and Hayden Kyne roped back-to-back doubles for the first Notre Dame run of the game.
The Knights used the long ball to take the lead in the following innings. A solo homer in the second cut the lead to one before a pinch-hit, three run home run in the fourth put UCF up 4-2 after four innings of play.
UCF tacked on a couple more runs in the fifth and sixth innings to seal the win, keeping the Irish bats silent after that.