LYNCHBURG, Virginia — The Irish capped off a near-perfect slate at the Liberty Classic Sunday, notching a five-inning 11-3 victory over Villanova. Junior pitcher Payton Tidd (3-3) earned the win, throwing six strikeouts and notching an RBI double at the plate.
Senior pitchers Morgan Ryan and Alexis Holloway also spent time in the circle, adding one strikeout each.
Senior outfielder Abby Sweet again led Notre Dame in the batter’s box, notching three hits on four at-bats, including a leadoff home run in the first inning, as well as a double and triple. She totaled three runs and two RBI on the day, also extending her on-base streak to 28 games.
Junior infielder Quinn Biggio went yard for the second time on the weekend in the fifth inning, bringing in two runs.
In total, the Irish compiled 13 hits on the day, as six of Notre Dame’s starters delivered hits.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Tidd delivered three strikeouts in the first, Sweet led off the bottom of the inning with a home run shot to put the Irish up 1-0. It marked the first time a Notre Dame player led off a game with a home run since graduate student infielder Katie Marino homered vs. Seattle (Feb. 21, 2020 at Mary Nutter Classic). It was also the 10th home run of her career.
Tidd totaled two more strikeouts in the second, and with Notre Dame up to bat, sophomore Leea Hanks led off with a well-placed bunt for a single, later stealing second. Tidd fired a double to score Hanks. Biggio then singled, pushing Tidd to third and advancing herself to second on the throw. After two outs, junior outfielder Emma Clark forced a Villanova fielding error to reach second, as Biggio and Tidd were brought home on another Villanova throwing error. The inning ending shortly after with Notre Dame up 4-0.
Both teams went scoreless in the third, as Tidd threw her sixth strikeout of the game. Ryan entered to pitch in the fourth, and again limited the Wildcats to no runs.
In the bottom of the fourth with two outs, Sweet hit a stand-up double, and scored on a subsequent Clark single. Clark herself advanced to second on the throw. After Marino singled to push Clark to third, sophomore outfielder Macie Eck singled for her first-career multi-RBI play, scoring both Clark and Marino. The inning ended on a fielder’s choice at 7-0.
Villanova found momentum in the fifth inning, as Ryan walked the first batter, and Villanova followed with a single. A Wildcat double scored one, and Ryan responded with a strikeout. Holloway entered to pitch, and a fielder’s choice brought in another run for Villanova. After an Irish error in the outfield, another run was brought in, before Holloway ended the inning with a strikeout and then caught the runner off base in a 1-6-3 play. The Irish went up to bat with a 7-3 lead.
Hanks led off the fifth with another bunt single, and Tidd re-entered to hit, advancing Hanks to second on a groundout. Biggio sent her shot outside the walls to score two for Notre Dame, the eighth home run of her career. Freshman catcher Carlli Kloss drew a walk, and sped home on the following Sweet triple. Clark fired a single to score Sweet, and up eight runs in five innings, the game ended at 11-3 in favor of the Irish.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame will have a rare mid-season open weekend before starting ACC series play March 12-14 at North Carolina.