STANFORD, Calif. – Behind a four-run seventh inning, the University of Notre Dame softball team defeated 19th/20th ranked Stanford 7-4 Sunday afternoon, securing the first series of the season for the Irish. Notre Dame is now 12-16 on the year and 2-4 in conference play.
It’s the first time since 2021 that Notre Dame has won a ranked series on the road, having not done so since sweeping No. 15/13 Virginia Tech from April 23-25. The successful weekend marks the second ranked series win under head coach Kris Ganeff (No. 24/22 Virginia, March 28-30, 2025).
Freshman Ava Zachary extended her hitting streak to 11 games, logging a pair of hits, including a double in the massive seventh inning. Zachary scored a career-high three runs in the game and stole a base.
Fellow freshman Hayden Kyne had two RBI singles in the game, while sophomore Rebecca Eckart hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning to extend the Irish lead late.
SEE YA ✌️
📺 ACCNX | @RebeccaEckart24 pic.twitter.com/5FPM4MuIcd
— Notre Dame Softball (@NDsoftball) March 15, 2026
Brianne Weiss got the win in the circle, her sixth of the season. The sophomore left hander threw 1.1 innings in relief, striking out two and securing the victory. Micaela Kastor made the start and pitched well, striking out five Cardinal in 5.2 innings. The senior allowed two earned runs and only walked one.
After 28 games on the road to begin the year, Notre Dame is back in South Bend this week as the Irish will play host to Oakland Wednesday night for a doubleheader in the team’s home opener before hosting Clemson next weekend at Melissa Cook Stadium.
How it happened
Stanford jumped on top early, hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the first off Irish starting pitcher Micaela Kastor to take an early 1-0 lead after the opening frame.
Notre Dame tied the game in the top of the second solely on being patient at the plate. The Irish drew four walks in the inning, including one from Tenley Sweet with the bases loaded, to plate a run and tie the rubber match up at one.
After a scoreless second, the Irish took the lead in the top of the third after Hayden Kyne hit a looping single into left center field to score Ava Zachary from second. Two innings later, Kyne did it again, hitting her second RBI single of the game back up the middle to score Zachary for the second time in the game to give Notre Dame a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.
The Cardinal scored a run in the bottom of the fifth before tying the game up in the bottom of the sixth on an unearned run.
That’s when the Irish responded with a four-spot in the top of the seventh inning. Caroline O’Brien led off the inning with a single and then scored on a wild pitch later in the inning to regain the lead. After that, Olivia Levitt hit a sacrifice fly to score Zachary. But it was Rebecaa Eckart who blew the game wide open with a two-run home run, a moonshot out to left field that scored Kyne from second base as Notre Dame took a 7-3 lead.
The Cardinal, down to their last out, managed to scratch across a run but a fly out to Sydny Poeck in right field sealed the the ranked series win for the Irish.