April 11, 2018
by Tony Jones
ND-Loyola Box 1 
| ND-Loyola Box 2
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning backed up stellar pitching from senior Katie Beriont for the University of Notre Dame softball team on Wednesday night. Following a tough 8-4 loss in the opening game of the evening to Loyola, the Irish bounced back with a 1-0 shutout victory in the nightcap at Melissa Cook Stadium.
How It Happened
Notre Dame (27-13) picked up a pair of infield hits from Ali Wester and Abby Sweet to get the offense in motion during the bottom of the first inning in game two, but Loyola (17-17) was up to the challenge. Back-to-back groundouts left the Irish runners aboard.
Beriont (11-4) was in command from the outset of the game, retiring the first six batters she faced over the opening two innings. A strikeout looking capped the second straight 1-2-3 frame in the top of the second.
Loyola managed its first hit of the night with a two-out double down the line in left in the third inning, but Beriont was up to the challenge. A ground ball out back to the circle limited the Ramblers rally.
A walk and single put a pair of Loyola runners aboard in the top of the fourth, but Beriont forced a lineout directly to Katie Marino at shortstop to quell the surge. The Ramblers would manage only a single in the top of the fifth before loading the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth, but Beriont struck once more. A groundout to shortstop left the bags full in the sixth.
Notre Dame pushed the winning run across in the bottom of the sixth frame. Sweet notched her second hit of the game with an infield single to shortstop, and moved to third base after Cait Brooks reached via a Loyola error. With one out, Sweet ultimately tagged and scored on an MK Bonamy sacrifice fly to center for the 1-0 Irish lead.
The one-run cushion was all that Beriont needed in the top of the seventh. Two straight fly ball outs to Alexis Bazos in right field and a final groundout to Melissa Rochford at third base capped off the shutout.
Beriont scattered five hits in her second consecutive shutout in as many starts, and counting a scoreless stanza of relief from game one of the day blanked Loyola over eight total innings of work on Wednesday. Beriont has won eight straight decisions dating back to March 13, and is now a perfect 4-0 with an 0.53 ERA in her first six appearances (four starts) at Melissa Cook Stadium thus far this season.
In game one, Notre Dame plated three runs during the bottom of the first inning. Sweet notched an RBI double to score Wester, while Sara White left the yard for her fifth home run of the season to drive in a pair of runs. Bonamy chipped in her first career home run during game one, driving a solo shot deep and gone to left field in the bottom of the sixth.
Up Next
Notre Dame hosts Duke as part of its eighth annual Strikeout Cancer celebration this weekend 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.