GREENSBORO, N.C. – The University of Notre Dame softball team is set to matchup with a pair of Big Ten foes next season in South Carolina. The Fighting Irish, Northwestern and Ohio State are set to participate in the ACC/Big Ten Softball Challenge hosted by Clemson University Feb. 16-19, 2023.
This past season, the Irish earned a 3-2 win over the Northwestern Wildcats at Melissa Cook Stadium and participated in the NCAA Evanston Regional. The Wildcats went on to win the regional and defeated Arizona State in the Tempe Super Regional to advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. Overall, the Irish are 11-14 against the Wildcats in program history. In neutral site matchups, Notre Dame is 2-0.
The Ohio State softball program is coming off of a 36-17 2022 campaign that saw them compete at the NCAA Knoxville Regional. Notre Dame holds a 9-3 series advantage against the Buckeyes and are 6-0 in neutral site games. The two programs last squared off in 2020, in which the Irish took both games of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Raleigh.
In the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, the Irish are a combined 8-4. 2020 saw Notre Dame take all four games from Ohio State and Illinois. In 2019, the Irish swept two games against Minnesota and split with Michigan. In the inaugural challenge, Notre Dame was 0-2 against Minnesota and split two games with Michigan.