LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Notre Dame Softball team won their first conference game of 2025, beating Louisville 3-2 on the road. The Irish are now 11-11 overall and 1-1 in ACC play.
Rachel Allen delivered the clutch go-ahead RBI single in the top of the seventh, scoring Addison Amaral to give the Irish a 3-2 lead. Notre Dame battled back after falling into a two-run deficit in the fourth inning. The Irish scored a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh inning to win the ballgame.
Kami Kamzik pitched one of the best games of her career, throwing a complete game with nine strikeouts, a new career high. She allowed two runs (one earned) and only six hits.
Anna Holloway launched her first homer of the season to tie the game at two in the top of the sixth. It was Holloway’s seventh long ball of her career and the 13th Notre Dame home run of 2025.
How it happened
Kamzik got the start in the circle for the Irish, making her 12th appearance and sixth start of the season.
Louisville struck first, scoring on an error to take a 1-0 lead. With runners on second and third with no outs, Kamzik limited the damage, striking out a pair and getting a groundout to third to escape the threat with minimal damage.
Leading off the second inning, Kaia Cortes got hit by a pitch on a full count. It was the sixth time Cortes has been hit by a pitch this season, which is among the most in the country. A Rachel Allen single after put two on with no outs for Notre Dame in the second. Both runners would be stranded however by Louisville’s Alyssa Zabala, who was making back-to-back starts after pitching last night.
Kamzik got two more punchouts in the bottom of the second, tossing a 1-2-3 inning.
Mickey Winchell grounded one up the middle with one out in the top of the third, advancing into scoring position on a wild pitch with the heart of the order up after her. However, Zabala induced back-to-back groundouts to keep the Irish off the scoreboard through three.
Louisville tacked on its second run of the day in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single to right. With a runner on third and two outs, Kamzik got strikeout number seven on the day to end the Cardinals’ threat and keep the deficit at two.
Notre Dame loaded the bases in the fifth for Addison Amaral, who notched her 20th RBI of the season with an infield single to shortstop. The Irish cut the deficit in half, but left them loaded after Louisville reliever Sam Booe got two groundouts to end Notre Dame’s rally in the fifth.
Kamzik struck out another in the bottom of the fifth to tie her career high of eight. With a runner in scoring position, back-to-back diving catches from Emily Tran in left and Winchell in center robbed Louisville of base hits and a potential third run, keeping the Cardinals’ lead to just one after five.
Holloway would come through for the Irish, blasting a solo homer to left center to tie the game with two outs in the top of the sixth. It was the senior’s second extra base hit of the year.
Notre Dame took its first lead of the weekend in the top of the seventh. After getting two runners on with two outs, Rachel Allen delivered a single up the middle to drive home Amaral as the go-ahead run. It was Allen’s 10th RBI of the season as the Irish took a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh.
Kamzik shut the door in the seventh, notching her ninth strikeout on the final batter to finish off Louisville.
Sunday’s rubber match against Louisville is set for a noon first pitch and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.