SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team is back on the road this weekend as it heads to the Steel City for an Atlantic Coast Conference series with the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Irish enter the weekend having won three-consecutive games, including tying a school record with 18 runs scored in the five-inning victory over Detroit Mercy Tuesday night.
Due to inclement weather in the forecast for the Pittsburgh area this weekend, the normally scheduled Friday, Saturday, Sunday series has been shifted. The series will now feature a doubleheader Friday with games at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., with the finale scheduled to be aired on ACC Network at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Scouting the Panthers
The Panthers enter the weekend’s matchups with an 11-9 record and are 1-2 in ACC action. Pitt dropped its home opener Wednesday evening to Penn State, falling 6-0 to the Nittany Lions. The Panthers opened the ACC series against the preseason favorite, Florida State. The Panthers fell in the first two games of the series before salvaging the finale on Sunday, 7-5.
The Panther offense is led by Carni Compson and Haylie Brunson. Compson leads the team with a .351 average, starting all 20 games. She averages a hit per game, with three doubles, a triple and is tied with three others for the team-lead with three home runs. Compson is the primary run producer, driving in 14 on the season. She’s also stolen three bases in three attempts and scored a team-best 12 runs. Brunson hits at a .328 clip with 21 hits in 20 games. She leads the team with five doubles, and adds a triple and a home run. She’s driven in 12 on the season with a stolen base. EC Taylor is another player to watch as she leads the Panthers with seven stolen bases in eight attempts.
Five Panthers have gotten the ball in the circle this season. Dani Drogemuller leads the team with a 1.87 ERA in 71 innings this season. She’s struck out 78 hitters, while allowing 19 earned runs and holds opponents to a .212 average against. Aly Muraskin has worked in 10 games, tossing 35.2 innings. She’s earned a 2.36 ERA, striking out 35 hitters. Makenzie Stiles, Abby Edwards and Kendall Brown have combined for 14 appearances, logging 23.1 innings, and ha allowed 36 earned runs.
Record Setting Night
Tuesday night in the home opener against Detroit Mercy, the Fighting Irish scored 18 runs, tying a school record for runs scored and the largest margin of victory. The original record was set March 11, 1994 in an 18-0 victory over Robert Morris. Eight of nine starters had a hit and five players who didn’t start the contest registered one of the 18 hits. 15 different players scored a run in the victory.
Pittsburgh
The Steel City has been a nice location for Irish softball to visit in the 25 seasons of Pittsburgh softball. Notre Dame owns a 23-1 record when playing at Pitt. Going back to the BIG EAST days for both teams Notre Dame leads the series as conference opponents 35-2. The two losses came in back-to-back games spanning two seasons. The Irish dropped the finale of the 2008 series, and the opener of the 2009 series. The other Notre Dame loss came in the ACC Championship tournament in the 2015 season, a 8-1 Pittsburgh win.
Melissa Home Cooked
In the last four seasons, Notre Dame has gone a combined 28-2 at Melissa Cook Stadium, including a perfect 15-0 at home last season. In the Gumpf-era, the Irish are 287-63 when defending home turf and have won the last 20 home games.
Starting Hot
The Irish were 16-4 through the first 20 games this season. Its the best start for Notre Dame Softball since the 2016 season where the team was 17-3 through the first 20 games. The Irish went on to earn a 43-13 record and a third-place finish in the ACC during the regular season. The first ACC series of the 2016 season was in Charlottesville as the Iris took the three games by a combined score of 32-7.
Getting Out of the Blocks
Notre Dame has scored 31 runs in the first inning of games this season, and 83 runs in the first three innings this season. When scoring in the first inning, the Irish are 10-2 this season and when scoring the first run of the game Notre Dame is 15-2 on the season.
Top 25 wins
After falling in the first three games of the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational, the Irish went on to take down a pair of Top 25 teams.
Against LSU, Notre Dame rallied from down two to tie it up in the fifth with a home run from Payton Tidd. Miranda Johnson drove in the game-winning runs with a single to right field. Tidd shut the door in the seventh with a strikeout to end the contest and earn the 8-6 win.
The next outing saw the Irish take down #9 Texas. Notre Dame used a 7-run fifth inning to take the lead 9-2 and eventually the game. The win was the first over a top 10-nationally ranked opponent since defeating No. 3 Florida State in Tallahassee March 16th, 2019.
It’s the first weekend with wins over different top 25 teams since sweeping No. 13 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg in 2021.
Any Means Necessary
Offensive stand out Abby Sweet picked up right where she left off after a record-setting on-base percentage in 2021 (.537). She leads the Irish with a .521 on-base percentage this season. She owns a .408 batting average, drawn seven walks and has been hit by 11 pitches. The 11 hit by pitches in 25 games ranks 6th-nationally in HBP per game. Her .750 slugging percentage is highest among the Notre Dame regulars.
Lost Luggage
The Liberty Softball Invitational got off to a tough start for the Irish as they arrived in Roanoke, Virginia without their equipment Thursday evening. 17 bags were pulled off of the flight to Roanoke and Notre Dame was left with four helmets, five gloves and a limited amount of cleats for the weekend. The teams at the Liberty Softball Invitational shuffled the schedule around and all five teams played their originally scheduled teams, but on different times and days than planned originally.
Sister Sister
Notre Dame softball has a pair of sisters on its roster this season. Shelby and Cassidy Grimm are playing their second collegiate season together in 2022. Alexis and Anna Holloway are playing their first year of softball together this season. The extra year of eligibility for Alexis allowed for her to stay at Notre Dame long enough to play with her younger sister.
Fast First Weekend
The Irish offense scored 49 runs in the first five games of the 2022 season. It’s the most runs on the first weekend of the year in Notre Dame softball history, and the most in a five-game stretch since the Irish scored 51 April 20 through April 28, 2019.
All Gas(kins)
Karina Gaskins has come on strong over the last 10 games, hitting at a .480 average. Not only has her averaged jumped up, but the powerstroke has come along as well as she’s hit three home runs and sports a team-best .960 slugging percentage in the last 10 games.
Lineup Shuffle
In the final game of the Liberty Softball Invitational, the Irish shuffled the top three of the order for the first time this year. Abby Sweet, who had served as the primary lead-off hitter for the first 18 games of the season, moved to the 3-spot of the lineup, and Leea Hanks moved up to the top of the lineup card. Since that switch, Sweet is hitting for a .400 average with a double, two home runs and five RBI and six stolen bases. Hanks owns a .417 average from the top of the lineup, with 10 hits, three doubles, three triples and each have scored seven times. The player who has improved the most in that span is the clean-up hitter, Karina Gaskins. Gaskins is hitting a scorching .647 in the seven games with Hanks leading off, hitting two doubles, three home runs and driving in nine.
Working in TRANsistion
Emily Tran has appeared in 16 games this season, all of which have come as a pinch runner. In that role, she’s scored eight times, and is 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts. She’s the primary speedster off the bench for the Irish.