April 10, 2018
by Tony Jones
Notre Dame vs. Loyola University Chicago
April 11, 2018
Melissa Cook Stadium
Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(26-12 in 2018)
Loyola University Chicago Ramblers
(16-16 in 2018)
Notre Dame Midweek Schedule
Wednesday, April 11
Notre Dame vs. Loyola – 4 p.m. (ET)
Notre Dame vs. Loyola – 6 p.m. (ET)
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – With a crucial Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) series sweep in the rearview mirror, the University of Notre Dame softball team continues its current homestand with a pair of games on Wednesday against Loyola University Chicago at Melissa Cook Stadium. First pitch between the Irish and Ramblers is scheduled for 4 p.m. (ET).
Notre Dame (26-12) readies to host its second slate of midweek games at home in 2018 after officially debuting at Melissa Cook Stadium on March 27 against Eastern Michigan. The Irish and Loyola (16-16) will collide in the first midweek nonconference home doubleheader for Notre Dame since a two-game sweep of Toledo (9-1 in five innings and 8-0 in six innings) on March 28, 2012.
For the latest news and updates on all things Notre Dame softball, visit www.und.com/softball, follow the Irish @NDsoftball and @NDcoachGumpf on Twitter and at Instagram.com/notredamesoftball, and Like the team at Facebook.com/NDSoftball.
Irish Sweep Syracuse In ACC Showdown
Notre Dame jumped out to a quick lead on its way to an 8-0 win in six innings over Syracuse in game one on Sunday, polishing off an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) series sweep of the Orange with a 5-1 victory in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Melissa Cook Stadium.Notre Dame claimed its second ACC series sweep of 2018 thanks to its Sunday pair of victories over Syracuse. The Irish have swept consecutive home series against the Orange dating back to 2015, and improved to 16-3 all-time at home against Syracuse with the weekend trifecta.Over the three-game slate Notre Dame outscored Syracuse by a cumulative 15-2 margin, batting .333 as a club with seven extra-base hits.
Abby Sweet‘s Standout Syracuse Series
Over the course of the three-game series sweep of Syracuse, Abby Sweet led the way for the Notre Dame offense by batting a sizzling .700 with a double, home run, five RBI and two runs scored. After picking up the winning RBI in the sixth inning of Saturday’s 2-1 victory, Sweet notched hits in each of her final six at-bats of Sunday’s twin bill and drove in the game-winning run in game three against the Orange.
Irish Pitching Staff Controls The Orange
Alexis Holloway earned her second win of the Syracuse series with a complete-game four-hitter in Sunday’s second contest, walking four and striking out three in seven innings of one-run softball. Holloway limited Syracuse to 10 base hits in 14.0 innings over the weekend, with only one for extra bases, and struck out nine batters to post a 1.00 ERA in a pair of victories. Katie Beriont tossed a mere 65 pitches in a five-hit shutout to open Sunday’s doubleheader, logging no walks and adding one strikeout. Beriont has won seven straight decisions dating back to March 13 at North Florida, posting a 1.25 ERA in her last 39.1 innings in the circle.
Notre Dame At Home In 2018
What was an uncharacteristic slow start at home for Notre Dame at Melissa Cook Stadium was rejuvenated by a weekend sweep of Syracuse in conference play last weekend. The Irish are outscoring the opposition 35-16 during a 5-3 home schedule to date.
Abby Sweet is batting an even .500 (11-for-22) in her first eight career home starts, adding four doubles, a triple, a home run and eight RBI to her offensive totals. Ali Wester has matched Sweet with 11 hits and has added a team-high five stolen bases at home, while Katie Marino has scored eight runs to pace all Notre Dame players.
Katie Beriont has been lights out in the Melissa Cook Stadium circle over her first four home appearances (three starts), spinning a 3-0 record with a 0.76 ERA to lead the Notre Dame pitching attack. Alexis Holloway picked up her first two career home victories during last weekend’s series against Syracuse, and the Irish stable of Beriont, Holloway, Cait Brooks and Morgan Ryan have posted a 1.43 ERA and limited visitors to a mere .205 batting average inside Melissa Cook Stadium this season.
Irish Against The Opposition
Notre Dame enters Wednesday’s doubleheader against Loyola with a 33-7-1 all-time record in a series that dates back to the inaugural season of the varsity Irish squad in 1989. The teams have not officially met on the diamond since the 2011 season, an 8-0 win in six innings for Notre Dame at Melissa Cook Stadium.
–ND–
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.