April 13, 2018
by Tony Jones
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A rally in the bottom of the seventh inning was not enough for the University of Notre Dame softball team on Friday night. Duke scored five runs over the final three innings to take a 5-2 win over the Irish at Melissa Cook Stadium.
How It Happened
Duke (22-21, 7-9 ACC) scratched the first runs of the night across the plate in the top of the fifth inning. A two-run home run into the bleachers in left field with two outs, one of five Duke hits with two outs on the night, pushed the Blue Devils ahead 2-0.
The visitors added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the sixth inning. An RBI double to right center and a run-scoring single to left field suddenly made it 4-0 Duke.
After an RBI groundout for Duke pushed the lead to 5-0 heading to the bottom of the seventh frame, Notre Dame (27-14, 10-5 ACC) put two runs on the board. Cait Brooks hit her seventh home run of the season, a solo shot to center, to trim the deficit to 5-1. A Sara White double to right center and a Melissa Rochford double to left center settled the final score line at 5-2.
Up Next
Notre Dame and Duke are scheduled to play the eighth annual Strikeout Cancer doubleheader on Saturday (weather permitting), with the opening game set to begin at 1 p.m. (ET) at Melissa Cook Stadium.
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Tony Jones, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2012 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame softball, men’s soccer and swimming and diving programs. A native of Jamestown, New York, Jones is a 2011 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and prior to arriving at Notre Dame held positions at the University of Louisiana Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.