DURHAM, N.C. – The University of Notre Dame softball team dropped the second game of the series to the #12/14 Duke Blue Devils Saturday afternoon, 6-2. After the Fighting Irish won Friday night, Saturday’s result evens the three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series. Notre Dame falls to 11-5 overall and 1-1 in ACC action. Duke improves to 16-4 and 1-1.
Shannon Becker got the start in the circle. The sophomore threw 2.2 innings, allowing seven hits and five earned runs to go with a strikeout. Freshman Micaela Kastor came on in relief, throwing 3.1 innings, allowing just one hit, one earned run and struck out two.
The Irish offense was limited to five hits from five players. Leea Hanks, Carlli Kloss, Karina Gaskins, Lexi Orozco and Joley Mitchell each had base knocks. Gaskins had the lone extra-base hit, a solo homer in the sixth.
How It Happened
Duke got on the board in the first inning. A lead-off single scored on a triple down the left field line. The second inning saw the Blue Devils get on the board again, this time with a two-run homer from Anna Gold to extend the lead to 3-0.
Gold struck again in the bottom of the third with another two-run homer as Duke extended the lead to 5-0.
The Irish got on the board in the top of the fourth inning. A walk and a single put runners on the corners for Mitchell who singled up the middle to bring in Emily Tran who was pinch running for Gaskins, cutting the Duke lead to 5-1.
Notre Dame continued to battle in the sixth as Gaskins led off with a solo home run to cut the lead to 5-2.
Duke got its four-run cushion back in the bottom of the sixth. A lead-off walk and a single put two on as a fly out moved both runners into scoring position. A ground out scored the run to push the lead to 6-2.
Notre Dame threatened in the seventh, putting two on with a walk and a single, but couldn’t find the hit needed to tie it up.
Up Next
The Irish and the Blue Devils are back in action to close out the series at 12 p.m. at the Duke Softball Stadium.