TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of Notre Dame softball team dropped Saturday’s series finale at No. 6/10 Florida State, 4-8. The Irish are now 16-22 on the year and 5-10 in ACC play.
Tenley Sweet hit her first career home run in the second inning, a three-run homer out to center field that made it 4-0 Irish in the second inning. Sweet is the 10th different Irish player this year to hit a homer during the 2026 season.
Right before Sweet hit her home run, Rebecca Eckart logged an RBI double down the line to score the first run of the game. It was the 16th RBI of the year for the sophomore backstop.
Notre Dame returns home on Wednesday for a midweek matchup against Valparaiso at 6:00 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
How it happened
After both teams went scoreless in the first inning, Rebecca Eckart doubled down the left field line, scoring Hayden Kyne from third as the Irish struck first. Next batter up, Tenley Sweet launched a fly ball over the center field fence, a three-run shot to make it 4-0 Notre Dame heading into the bottom of the second.
FSU got three back in the bottom of the third off starting pitcher Micaela Kastor, capitalizing on aggressive baserunning and an Irish error. Notre Dame led 4-3 after three innings.
The Seminoles tacked on the tying run in the fourth off a two-out RBI triple just past the outstretched glove of Sydny Poeck in right field as the game headed to the fifth inning knotted up at four. In the fifth, a two-out double put Florida State on top 5-4 after five innings.
To lead off the sixth inning, Notre Dame got back-to-back walks from Caroline O’Brien and Sydny Poeck to put two on early in the inning. But a double play followed by a groundout ended the Irish threat.
Florida State tacked on three more in the bottom half of the sixth to push its lead to 8-4, which was the final score after a scoreless top of the seventh for Notre Dame.