April 9, 2006
Two long standing school records fell on Sunday, April 9, as the University of Notre Dame softball team (23-12) completed their first BIG EAST Conference road trip with a 3-1 record by posting a doubleheader sweep of Pittsburgh (24-17). The Irish won game one 7-0 and followed up with a 14-4 victory in game two.
Notre Dame’s two victories were impressive and will leave a lasting impression on the record book, but the two BIG EAST wins are just as important. The Irish are now 7-1 in a highly-competitive BIG EAST Conference race.
Senior Meagan Ruthrauff stole the highlights and headlines for the Irish on Sunday afternoon. Notre Dame’s third base hit four home runs in the doubleheader, including a school-record three in the second contest. Ruthrauff also drove in a school-record seven runs in the second game – four of which came on a grand slam in the top of the seventh inning.
Ruthrauff was not the only offensive highlight for the Irish in the two games. She finished six for eight with eight RBI in the two wins. Senior Sara Schoonaert was four for nine with two runs scored and two RBI. Senior Mallorie Lenn ended up five for six with three runs scored and two RBI. As a team the Irish piled up 21 hits in game two alone, matching the school record set against Rhode Island on March 14, 1992.
Not to be outdone, the Irish pitching staff put up their share of numbers as well. Senior Heather Booth scattered five hits and struck out 11 in a complete-game shutout and lead the Irish to victory in game one. The performance marked the third time this season that Booth has struck out 11 batters. In game two, freshman Brittney Bargar was touched for 11 hits and four earned runs, but she also struck out a career-best 12 batters in the contest to pick up her 11th win of the year.
The 21 runs scored by the Irish in the doubleheader marked the most for the team since Notre Dame scored 26 runs (15-1, 11-0) against Valparaiso on April 23, 2003. The 14 runs posted in game two against Pittburgh are the most against a BIG EAST teams since the Irish defeated Providence 16-0 in game one on April 2, 2000. That doubleheader also marks the last time the Irish scored 21 or more runs in a doubleheader against a league team, as Notre Dame posted 25 runs in that doubleheader sweep of Providence in ’00.
For Ruthrauff, she breaks to long-standing Notre Dame individual player records. The previous single-game RBI record of six was held by three different players – Liz Hartmann (vs. Oakland on April 30, 2002), Jarrah Myers (at CS Northridge on March 14, 2001) and Melanie Alkire (vs. San Diego State on March 12, 2000). Her three home runs in game two break the previous school record of two posted by nine different players 14 times – the most recent by Hartmann in February of 2004.
Notre Dame will return to action on Tuesday, April 11, with a single game against Ball State at Ivy Field (5:00 p.m.).