CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The University of Notre Dame softball team dropped a pair of games to ranked opponents Thursday evening at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. The Fighting Irish started the day with a 7-4 loss to No. 25/20 Mississippi State before falling in the bottom of the seventh inning to No. 22 Baylor by a 10-9 score.
Micaela Kastor started the day in the circle. The sophomore threw 3.0 innings against Mississippi State, allowing four runs on six hits and striking out one. Shannon Becker came on in relief, throwing the final 3.0 innings. She allowed four hits and three earned runs to go with a strikeout as she suffered the loss.
The Irish offense outhit Mississippi State 11-10 in the contest. Junior outfielder Emily Tran led the charge with a 3-for-3 performance. Mickey Winchell added a three-hit game, driving in two runs with a triple. Carlli Kloss and Karina Gaskins each finished 2-for-3, with a run scored, and Gaskins adding an RBI. Addison Amaral also added a hit in the contest.
Alexis Laudenslager started in the circle against the Bears. The graduate transfer threw 5.1 innings, allowing seven runs, five earned and striking out six. Kami Kamzik came on in relief, throwing 0.2 innings, allowing an unearned run on two hits. Becker suffered the loss, giving up two hits, two runs, one earned in the final frame.
The Irish offense had three multi-hit performances against Baylor. Kloss led the way with a 3-for-4 effort, scoring a run and driving in the go-ahead run in the seventh. Jake Kronenberger finished 2-for-4 with three RBI, with Anna Holloway adding a 2-for-4 effort with an RBI and a run scored. Winchell, Amaral, Boznanski and Grimm each tallied a hit, Boznanski’s being an RBI double late.
How It Happened – Mississippi State
The Irish started hot, getting back-to-back singles from Kloss and Gaskins to open the game against the Bulldogs. A hit batter loaded the bases for Amaral, who hit it on the ground to third. The play at the plate was in time, but the relay to first was off the mark, allowing Gaskins to score from second and put two in scoring position. Winchell then tripled down the first baseline to bring in two and put the Irish up 3-0.
Mississippi State got two back in the bottom of the first. A walk and a double put two in scoring position. Jessie Blaine looped a single just over the outstretched glove of Amaral at second to score a run. A sacrifice fly scored another as the Bulldogs cut the lead to 3-2.
Notre Dame added to its lead in the second. Kloss reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second before scoring on a Gaskins single up the middle.
The Bulldogs tied it up, scoring solo runs in the second and third innings. The second inning run came via a leadoff homer, while the third inning saw a two-out rally with a double and a single bring in the run to knot it at four.
Mississippi State forged ahead in the fourth, scoring three runs. A single and a walk put two on with two outs. Mississippi State got a single, a hit batter and another single to score three and take the 7-4 lead.
The teams would trade zeros over the final two and a half innings as Mississippi State would take the game.
How It Happened – Baylor
Baylor took the early lead in the nightcap, plating a run in the bottom of the first inning. An infield single with a throwing error put a runner on second for Emily Hott who delivered with a single to take the lead, 1-0.
The Irish countered with three runs of their own in the third. A leadoff single from Holloway, followed by a hit by pitch and a Winchell single loaded the bases. Gaskins came back from down 1-2 in the count to draw her 13th walk of the season, bringing in the tying run. Amaral delivered the second run with a sacrifice fly to center and Kronenberger extended the lead to 3-1 with an infield single.
The Bears tied it back up at three with a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame.
Baylor took the lead in the bottom of the fourth. With runners on first and second, a chopper up the middle was handled by the Irish shortstop, with the only play being at second base, but the throw was off the mark, allowing a run to score to put the Bears up 4-3.
The Bears extended their lead in the sixth inning, scoring four runs on four hits to take the 8-3 lead into the final inning.
The Irish mounted a furious comeback in the seventh inning, batting around to score six runs on six hits. Kloss started the rally with a single to leadoff the inning and drove in the go-ahead run later in the frame with another single.
Baylor responded in its half of the seventh, scoring a pair of runs to earn the win. A single and a double started the rally before an error tied the game and a fielder’s choice was too late at the plate, allowing the winning run to score.
Up Next
Notre Dame will take on Oregon tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. as it continues the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.