LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Notre Dame Softball team dropped a heartbreaker in the rubber match at Louisville, 4-3 in 14 innings. It was the longest game Notre Dame has played since 1995 (15 innings on 4/22/95 against Loyola Chicago).
Brianne Weiss was spectacular in relief, throwing 8.1 innings, striking out a career-high nine and only allowing two earned runs.
Both Rachel Allen (4th inning) and Kaia Cortes (5th inning) hit game-tying home runs. It was the second homer of the series for Cortes and the fourth time the Irish have hit multiple homers in a game. Notre Dame has homered in five-straight games.
How it happened
With one out in the top of the first, Kaia Cortes got plunked for the seventh time this season. Entering the weekend, the freshman was in the top-16 nationally in hit by pitches.
Micaela Kastor got the nod for the Irish, making her 11th start of the season and second of the weekend after starting for the series opener on Friday. She worked around a leadoff single to keep the game scoreless after the first.
The Irish put traffic on in the top of the second. Paige Cowley reached on an error, followed by a perfectly placed bunt single by Anna Holloway that snuck past the pitcher. But Louisville starter Brooke Gray halted Notre Dame’s momentum, getting a pop out, strikeout and foul out to end the threat.
Louisville manufactured the first run of the day in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly to center. The Cardinals led 1-0 after two.
Allen knotted the game at 1-apiece with a towering homer to left leading off the fourth inning. It was the 11th career homer for the Irish catcher.
Louisville took the lead right back in the bottom half of the inning, scoring on a squeeze bunt to take the lead. Shannon Becker relieved Kastor after that and got out of the frame without allowing anyone other baserunners to cross home.
The Cardinals sent out Alyssa Zabala to start the fifth. The Louisville right hander had started the previous two games of the series. She was greeted by Cortes, who hit her third home run of the season to tie the game at two.
Becker pitched out of danger in the bottom of the fifth. With a runner on third, the senior got a pop out and a strikeout to keep the game tied after five. For Becker, it was her 200th career strikeout.
Following a single by Sydny Poeck and consecutive walks from Kronenberger and O’Brien, Notre Dame had the bases juiced with only one out with the top of the order up. But Sam Booe, the new relief pitcher for Louisville, got a groundout and a pop up to end the threat.
Brianne Weiss was the Irish pitcher to start the bottom of the sixth, making her ninth appearance of the season. She struck out two in both the sixth and the seventh inning to force extra innings.
With two outs in the top of the eighth, Kronenberger looped a triple into right field, past the diving attempt of the right fielder. Next batter up, O’Brien lined a ball over the first baseman’s head on the 11th pitch of the at bat for the go-ahead score at the time. It was O’Brien’s sixth RBI of the season.
The Cardinals wasted no time getting that run back. An RBI double into the left center field gap tied the game at three. Weiss got out of the inning harmlessly after that to send it to the ninth.
Both teams went scoreless from the ninth-thirteenth innings before an RBI single walked it off for Louisville in the 14th.
The Irish head to Columbus, Ohio, for a matchup with Ohio State on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 4:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.