CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Notre Dame (9-6) shut out North Carolina (9-8) on the second day of the series, winning the first game of the doubleheader 13-0 and the second 4-0. Both junior pitcher Payton Tidd (4-3) and senior pitcher Alexis Holloway (5-3) earned the wins, as Holloway pitched the full 7.0 innings in the second game to earn the complete game shutout.
Notre Dame batters recorded a whopping 28 hits over the course of the two games, sending six home runs outside the park, allowing just six North Carolina hits (five singles and one double).
With four home runs in the first game of the day, it marked the most by an Irish team since April 3, 2015 at Pittsburgh (5 HR). That game was also the last time Notre Dame has totaled 17 or more hits in an ACC matchup, and was the highest hit total for the Irish since they earned 19 hits vs. Utah Valley March 1, 2019.
Senior Abby Sweet led Notre Dame on the day, going 7-8 in the box. In the first game, she batted a near cycle, going 5-5 with four RBI, two home runs and two doubles, as well as a stolen base. She now boasts a 31-game on-base streak, spanning back to Feb. 15, 2020.
Notre Dame’s other four home runs on the day came courtesy graduate student Katie Marino and Tidd in the first game, and from freshman Karina Gaskins and junior Quinn Biggio in the second game.
Senior pitcher Morgan Ryan also saw time against the Tar Heels Saturday, throwing three innings to close out the first game, allowing just one hit and issuing zero walks, striking out one.
Junior Emma Clark also kept her on-base streak alive, stretching to 13 games (beginning Feb. 14, 2021).
Game 1
Both teams were quiet through the first two innings, as Sweet led off the first with a standup double, but was left on base. Carolina also failed to score, leaving two on base through the first two innings.
The Irish opened up the scoring with Marino’s home run in the third, also scoring Sweet, who was on base due to her second-consecutive double, to put the Irish up 2-0. With two on base for Carolina in the third, Sweet grabbed a fly ball to hold the Tar Heels scoreless.
In the fourth, Tidd sent a leadoff homer outside the walls, her second of the season. Sophomore Miranda Johnson doubled, advancing to third on a sac bunt from graduate student Chelsea Purcell, and later sped home on a Carolina wild pitch. Later in the inning, Sweet hit her first home run of the game, Notre Dame’s third of the day, for a solo score. Tidd and the Irish allowed one hit and stranded two on base to end the inning up 5-0.
Notre Dame kept it moving in the fifth, as Marino doubled, moving to third on a single from Gaskins, who moved to second on the throw. With junior catcher Shelby Grimm pinch running for Gaskins, sophomore Leea Hanks grounded out to score Marino. Later, Johnson delivered a single to score Grimm.
Ryan entered to pitch for the Irish in the bottom half of the inning, retiring Carolina in order, and both teams went scoreless in the sixth to enter the seventh with the Irish up 7-0.
The Irish exploded in the seventh, as Gaskins and senior Sarah Genz delivered singles before Ryan trapped the Tar Heels in a fielder’s choice, which tagged Gaskins out at third. Johnson delivered another hit, doubling to score Hanks. Biggio entered the game, delivering a double to score Ryan and Johnson. After sophomore Brooke Marquez singled, Sweet sent her second home run of the day, Notre Dame’s fourth of the game, to score three runs.
Ryan and the Irish preserved the 13-0 lead in the seventh, allowing a hit before Marquez turned a double play and Biggio grabbed the final lineout for the win.
Game 2
In contrast to the first game of the day, both teams were quiet on the boards through the first five innings. In that time, the Irish totaled five hits, while the Tar Heels notched two hits in the first inning, and wouldn’t earn another until the bottom of the sixth inning.
Entering the sixth scoreless, Marino led off with a single, and Gaskins immediately followed with her two-run homer to put the first runs of the game on the board. Hanks singled, advancing to third on a Johnson bunt. Biggio entered to pinch hit and sent the first pitch she saw out of the park for another two-run shot. While Carolina notched a hit in the sixth, Holloway and the Irish kept the Heels scoreless, up 4-0 heading into the seventh.
While the Irish added two hits in the seventh, the final batting campaign ended with two runners on base. With Carolina undertaking the last-chance effort, Holloway struck out two, and Grimm grabbed the infield popup to preserve the 4-0 win.
Up Next
The final game of the series will begin at Noon ET Sunday, back at Anderson Stadium in Chapel Hill. Broadcast coverage will be provided by ACC Network Extra.