SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team earned a 6-1 victory over the visiting #14/17 Virginia Tech Hokies Friday night at Melissa Cook Stadium. Payton Tidd limited one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s most powerful offenses to seven hits, and only one for extra bases. The Irish improve to 26-11-1 on the season, and 8-7-1 in league play with the win. Virginia Tech falls to 31-11 and 11-5 in league action.
Tidd threw a complete game, her seventh of the season to earn her 13th win. The graduate student allowed just one earned run, walked one, and allowed seven hits, six of which were singles. The Hokies entered the weekend as the nation’s top home run hitting team, averaging nearly two per game.
The offense was consistent up and down and eight of nine starters earned a hit. Carlli Kloss, Karina Gaskins and Mickey Winchell each finished with two hits. Joley Mitchell and Lexi Orozco made the most of their hits, as both hit a two-run homer in the victory. Leea Hanks and Payton Tidd added RBI hits in the contest.
How It Happened
The Irish didn’t waste any time getting on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Kloss led off the inning with a single to left and stole second. Virginia Tech nearly wiggled off the hook with back-to-back strikeouts, but Orozco lifted a 3-2 pitch over the left field bleachers to take the 2-0 lead.
The Hokies answered the next half inning, getting a run back. A lead off single went through the left side, and with two outs, a triple down just out of the reach of the diving left fielder to brought in a run and cut the Irish lead in half.
Notre Dame hung another crooked number in the third, plating three runs. It was the top of the order getting the rally going again as Kloss led the inning off with a single up the middle. Mitchell hit a homer off the scoreboard to put the Irish up 4-1. Gaskins kept the rally going immediately, doubling to left field and moving up when Hanks lifted a fly ball to deep left center where the Hokie center fielder made a diving catch for the out. Tidd worked a 12-pitch at bat before winning the battle with a single to left field to extend the lead to 5-1.
The Irish added on to the lead in the fifth with a run. Gaskins knocked a single through the left side and was pinch ran for by Emily Tran. Tran swiped second, setting up a runner in scoring position for Hanks who knocked a single through the right side to extend the lead to 6-1.
The Hokies got a runner on in the seventh inning, but Tidd worked right around it, getting the next hitter to drive a ground ball to Miranda Johnson at second. Johnson flipped to shortstop Anna Holloway and the relay to Gaskins at first turned the double play to end the game.
Up Next
The Irish and Hokies are back in action tomorrow when they play a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.