FULLERTON, Calif. – The Notre Dame Softball team fell to the 10th-ranked Arizona Wildcats Saturday afternoon on the third day of the Judi Garman Classic at Cal State Fullerton. The Irish are now 10-10 on the season.
Paige Cowley hit her second home run of the season for the lone Irish run on the day. She was the designated player in the lineup and also reached base via a hit by pitch.
Addison Amaral recorded two hits and now has a team-high 20. Brianne Weiss pitched 4.2 innings in relief, striking out four. The freshman struck out 10 over her two appearances this weekend.
How it happened
Mickey Winchell lined a single into left field in the top of the first inning for Notre Dame’s first hit. Her .395 average leads the team this season. Amaral singled after her, while Cowley got hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. But a swinging strikeout got Arizona out of the jam.
The Wildcats struck first off Irish starter Shannon Becker with an RBI single to take a 1-0 lead after one. Arizona would put four more on the board in the second inning. Weiss relieved Becker with one out in the second and got out of the inning after a pop up and fly out.
The Wildcats tacked on another run in the bottom of the bottom of the fourth to make it 6-0.
Cowley hit her home run in the top of the sixth inning to cut the lead to five. She is hitting .375 on the season and has worked into an expanded role during her junior year.
Arizona would get one last run in the bottom of the sixth. The final score was 7-1 Wildcats.
Notre Dame opens up conference play next weekend, taking on the Louisville Cardinals in Kentucky from March 7-9.