May 5, 2007
PISCATAWAY, N.J.- Notre Dame’s softball team (27-21, 11-7 BIG EAST) came up with two big conference victories in a sweep Rutgers (20-32, 7-13 BIG EAST) on Saturday, May 5 in New Jersey.
Sophomore Brittney Bargar (Corona, Calif./Corona) (18-12) continued her strong pitching, going the distance in the first game for her 18th win and 22nd complete game of the season. Senior Kenya Fuemmeler (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) (9-9) was solid in the second game for the Irish pitching the first six innings with one unearned run allowed and six strikeouts. Sophomore Christine Farrell (La Habra, Calif./Sonora) came in to pitch a scoreless inning of relief in the second game.
Bargar pitched out of a leadoff double jam in the first inning of the first game. RU’s Amanda Shaw led off the frame with a double, moved to third on a groundout, but another groundout and a strikeout allowed Bargar to escape unscathed.
A leadoff home run from Mallory Miller in the bottom of the second allowed Rutgers to breakthrough for the early lead. It was Miller’s eighth home run of the season.
The Irish tied the game in the third inning. Senior Carissa Jaquish (Highland, Calif./Redlands East Valley) reached on a fielder’s choice. Junior Sarah Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla./Heritage Hall) then pushed a single to the third baseman. Senior Stephanie Brown (Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol) reached first on a fielder’s choice on a ball in which the Rutgers pitcher attempted unsuccessfully to get the lead runner. Fellow senior Gessica Hufnagle (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge) battled in her at bat and fought off several tough pitches before driving a sacrifice fly to center to score Jaquish and tie the game at one all.
The Notre Dame offense was on the move again in the fifth inning with three more runs. Jaquish ripped a leadoff double to right-center field. Smith followed with a well place bunt single. After a line out, Hufnagle grounded a ball to short that Kaitlyn Valiante misplayed, allowing Jaquish to scamper home with the second run. Freshman Christine Lux (Glendale Heights, Ill./Glenbard West) then drew a two-out walk to load the bases. After a pitching change by Rutgers, sophomore Linda Kohan (Westminster, Calif./Westminster) pushed an infield single to second that scored Smith from third. On the attempted play on Lux at second after a nice stop by the Rutgers second baseman, Hufnagle hustled around to score all the way from second with the fourth run of the game.
Sophomore Beth Northway (Kentwood, Mich./East Kentwood) scorched a one-out single off the RU pitcher in the sixth inning. Bargar, after a fly out, reached on a fielding error from the Rutgers third baseman, Shantai Dixon. Brown punished a single up the middle to score Northway for the fifth Irish run of the afternoon.
The Rutgers offense got a run back in the bottom of the sixth on Sarah Kalka’s seventh home run of the season.
In the second game, the Irish broke through first with two in the second inning. Jaquish started the two-out rally with an infield single. Smith followed with an infield single of her own. Brown then drilled a double past the Rutgers shortstop into left-center field to score both Jaquish and Smith with the first two runs of the game.
Fuemmeler pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the second, inducing a groundout back to her to escape the potential sticky situation.
Johnson started the Irish third reaching on a fielding error from the Rutgers shortstop. Freshman Ashley Ellis (Pikeville, Tenn./Bledsoe County) pinch ran for Johnson and moved to second on Kohan’s sacrifice bunt. Northway then singled off the shortstop glove and into centerfield to score Ellis from second with the third Notre Dame run.
Notre Dame added a run to its lead in the fifth inning. Hufnagle was hit by a pitch to start the frame and moved to second on Laing bunt single. Hufnagle then took third, as Laing attempted to get to second on the miss throw by the Scarlet Knight catcher off the bunt. Laing was thrown out on the play, but Hufnagle still reached third with only one out. Ellis followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Hufnagle with the fourth run of the game.
The Scarlet Knights plated a run of their own in the fifth inning, as a Miller double scored Kristen Madoch, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, from first.
The Irish got the run back in the sixth inning. Jaquish picked up her second hit of the game with a shot through the left-side of the infield. She moved to second on Brown’s infield single. A wild pitch moved each runner up a base. Jaquish scored her second of the game on Hufnagle’s infield single to the third baseman.
On the afternoon, Northway led the team with four hits. Smith, Brown, Jaquish and Katie Laing (Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol) all had three hits on the day for the Irish. Both Brown and Laing also had three runs-batted-in for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame will now continue the East Coast road trip and takes on conference rival Villanova in a doubleheader on May 6 in the final regular season games of the season.
Irish Notes: Notre Dame softball’s athletic trainer Kathy Laguens celebrated her birthday with the two wins … the Irish are now on a three-game winning streak … Hufnagle took over the team lead in runs scored in conference play with 12.