CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Notre Dame softball team split the final day of the NFCA Leadoff Classic Sunday, knocking off No. 21/23 Liberty 5-1 before coming up short against Rutgers, 4-6. The Irish end the weekend 3-3 overall.
The Irish got their first ranked win of the season during the morning matchup against Liberty behind a brilliant effort from Kami Kamzik, tossing her third career complete game. Kamzik has had success at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in the past, throwing a complete game winning effort a season ago in the win over Penn State.
Offensively, Notre Dame relied on putting the ball in play, not striking out at all against the Flames. Notre Dame worked four walks, stole three bases and kept the pressure on Liberty’s defense all morning. Kaia Cortes, a local of Tampa, logged two hits, scored a run and drove a run in in the ranked win.
The Irish fell behind against Rutgers, but battled back. Cortes continued her impressive day with an RBI single and finished the day with four hits, two runs scored and two runs driven in combined between the two games. Ava Zachary, a local product from Mishawaka, Indiana, launched her first career homer, but the Irish ultimately fell to the Scarlet Knights to close the opening weekend.
The season continues on Friday, February 13th against Maryland at 12:30 PM at the Purple-Gold Classic in Greenville, North Carolina.
Game 1 – Liberty
Kami Kamzik was brilliant for the Irish, notching a complete game effort. The junior gave up only four hits and one earned run in those seven innings, and didn’t allow a walk. The right hander punched out six and induced 10 groundouts.
Notre Dame struck first in the bottom of the second when Sydny Poeck reached on a fielding error, scoring Rebecca Eckart. Kaia Cortes followed her up with a single through the right side to score Hayden Kyne and make it 2-0.
In the fourth inning, a two-out single up the middle from Caroline O’Brien put the third run of the game for the Irish. The following inning, a Poeck double scored pinch runner Molly Conner to give Notre Dame a four run lead.
After Liberty scored in the top of the sixth, the Irish got the run back in the bottom half on an Eckart RBI single to score Winchell.
Kamzik trotted to the circle in the top of the seventh and got a 1-2-3 seventh inning, ending the game on a fly out to center field to secure the 5-1 win.
Game 2 – Rutgers
Following a quick turnaround after the win over Liberty, Micaela Kastor took the ball in the final game of the tournament for the Irish. Both teams went scoreless after the first.
Rutgers got on the scoreboard first off a two-run homer. They would add four more in the fifth to make it 6-0 after five.
Notre Dame continued to show fight. In the bottom of the sixth, Cortes lined one into left center to score Kyne for the first Irish run. Moments later, Ava Zachary roped her first home run, a three-run opposite field homer that sailed over the left field fence to cut the Scarlet Knights’ lead to just two.
The Irish gave themselves another chance to tie the game in the seventh. With two outs, Kyne drew a full count walk right before Poeck singled to center to bring the potential go-ahead run to the plate in Cortes, who fouled out on an 0-1 pitch to end the game.