April 6, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format, including updates bios for each Irish player.
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Notre Dame at Syracuse, Saturday, April 8, 12 noon
Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, Sunday, April 9, 12 noon
Irish head back on the road as BIG EAST play continues –
The University of Notre Dame softball team (20-11) returns to the road this weekend to face Syracuse (18-14) and Pittsburgh (24-13) in BIG EAST Conference action. The twin doubleheaders will be the first league road challenge for the Irish in 2006 and Notre Dame will carry a 4-0 conference mark into the matchups.
Winners of nine of their last 10 games, Notre Dame is looking to bounce back from a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Akron on Wednesday, April 5.
Weekend coverage –
Syracuse offers live audio coverage and live stats at www.suathletics.com. For the Pittsburgh doubleheader, Gametracker can be viewed at both www.und.com and www.pittsburghpanthers.com.
Akron recap –
Akron ended Notre Dame’s nine-game win streak and handed the Irish their first loss at home with a 4-2 win on Wednesday, April 5. Akron outhit the Irish 7-4 in the contest, doing much of the damage with two outs in the top of the third inning.
Notre Dame managed only one infield hit until the bottom of the seventh inning, when freshman Linda Kohan hit a two-run double to represent the final score.
ND series history vs. Syracuse –
Notre Dame leads the all-time series with Syracuse 11-1 … the Orange posted its lone win at Ivy Field in 2002 … the teams met three times last season, Notre Dame sweeping a doubleheader 6-1 and 7-3 at Ivy Field and eliminating Syracuse from the BIG EAST Championship with a 4-1 victory … Notre Dame is 4-0 at Syracuse’s Softball Stadium at Skytop.
Syracuse preview –
The Orange is 18-14 in 2006 and 7-1 in BIG EAST Conference play … they are led on offense by Tonye McCorkle (.365 average, 16 RBI) and Alexis Switenko (.341, 11 HR, 26 RBI) … Switenko has already established the Syracuse single-season home run record with 11 this season and has been named BIG EAST Player of the Week twice in `06 … Erin Downey is the team’s number one starting pitcher, posting a 12-12 record in `06 with a 3.33 ERA and 173 Ks in 147.1 innings … Switenko has seen most of the remaining innings, going 6-1 with a 3.14 ERA … Syracuse will be playing its first home games of the season on Saturday.
ND series history vs. Pittsburgh –
Notre Dame is 14-0 against Pittsburgh, sweeping all seven doubleheaders since the Panthers entered BIG EAST play in 1999 … the Irish won 7-2 and 6-0 at Pittsburgh last season … the Irish are 8-0 all-time at Trees Field.
Pittsburgh preview –
The Panthers are 24-13 this season and 7-1 in BIG EAST Conference action … Jessica Dignon leads the team’s offensive attack with a .350 batting average and has driven in 24 runs … Lisa McGregor has the team’s top power numbers, leading the squad with six home runs and 31 RBI … Laura Belardinelli (11-4, 2.32 ERA) and Meghan Bostick (7-8, 2.59 ERA) have seen a majority of the innings for the Panthers in 2006 … Pittsburgh is 8-2 at home in `06.
Notre Dame’s recent nine-game win streak –
Akron broke Notre Dame’s nine-game win streak with a 4-2 victory on April 5, but the nine-game streak is worthy of a recap … the Irish held their opponents to just three hits during the nine-game run … the most hits Notre Dame surrendered were four in a five-inning victory over Connecticut (game one) … Notre Dame posted two no-hitters during the string, a combined no-no at Western Michigan in game one (Heather Booth and Kenya Fuemmeler) and the program’s first eight-inning no-hitter in game two vs. Connecticut … Notre Dame struck out 64 batters during the streak (6.07 per seven innings) … the team also won three extra inning contests during the run (2-1 in eight vs. Western Michigan, 1-0 in 11 vs. Bowling Green and 2-1 in eight vs. Connecticut) and ended two games early (9-0 in five vs. UConn, 8-0 in six vs. Providence).
Booth on fire in the pitching circle –
Senior Heather Booth has won her last five games started, completing three of them with two shutouts and adding in two combined shutouts … she has not given up an earned run since the Irish returned from spring break (March 25) … over that stretch, she has given up just 11 hits in 33.2 innings pitched (2.31 per game) and struck out 30 (6.32 per seven innings) … Booth has led the team to a 0.48 ERA since spring break and a 9-1 record.
Notre Dame softball on the small screen –
The University of Notre Dame softball team will be featured four times on cable television this season, with a possible fifth appearance in the BIG EAST Championship. Notre Dame’s first appearance will be the first game of a doubleheader vs. DePaul on April 13. ESPNU will cover the first game of the doubleheader (4:00 p.m.) between the long-time regional rivals and new conference opponents.
ESPNU also will cover Notre Dame’s first visit to USF as a conference opponent, picking up the first game of that doubleheader on Saturday, April 29 (11:00 a.m.).
Comcast Local (check your local listings for affiliates) will tape delay Notre Dame’s contest vs. Ball State on Tuesday, April 11 at 5:00 p.m. Rebroadcast schedule is unknown at this time.
Notre Dame’s road game at Louisville will also be televised in the Louisville, Ky., area with ABC affiliate WHAS picking up the broadcast.
Finally, CSTV will broadcast the BIG EAST Championship final game from the Belleville Softball Complex in South Bend, Ind., on May 13 at 6 p.m. The winner of that contest will receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
New BIG EAST Conference unveiled in 2006 –
The BIG EAST Conference expansion, which officially took place this fall, has garnered most of its attention in men’s basketball. The conference has quickly transformed into the top men’s basketball league in the country, but the effect that expansion will have on softball cannot be overlooked. The BIG EAST welcomes three traditional softball powers into the conference this season with the addition of DePaul, Louisville and South Florida. All three of the new teams will compete to end Notre Dame’s regular-season conference title streak which stands at 10 years entering the `06 campaign.
Combined with an already solid conference lineup, the BIG EAST is now arguably the top softball league east of the Mississippi River. With a new league alignment, the BIG EAST Championship – scheduled to be played in South Bend, Ind., beginning May 11 – will feature a new schedule. The top eight teams from the league standings will take part in a single-elimination, three-day tournament to determine the league’s automatic berth in the NCAA Championship. The final game of that tournament will be shown live on CSTV.
Irish captains –
Notre Dame will feature four captains this season for just the second time in the program’s history. The senior class of Heather Booth, Mallorie Lenn, Meagan Ruthrauff and Sara Schoonaert will provide leadership both on and off the field for the team in 2006. The only other team to feature four captains was Notre Dame’s most successful team ever – the 2001 squad. Current Irish assistant coach Lizzy Lemire shared the captaincy that season with Melanie Alkire, Danielle Klayman and Jennifer Sharron. The Irish finished 54-7 in `01 and earned a number-one seed in the NCAA Championship.
Booth to continue climb up Notre Dame career charts –
Senior co-captain Heather Booth, a front-line starter for the Irish since she walked on campus four years ago, will continue her climb up the Irish career pitching charts this season. The single-season record holder for complete games (30 in `04), Booth’s current all-time statistical ranking include second in appearances (137), tied for second in starts (113), fourth in wins (79), third in complete games (70), fourth in shutouts (24), second in innings pitched (755.1) and fourth in strikeouts (715).
See page seven of this notes package for a complete listing of Notre Dame’s current players on several different all-time statistical rankings.
Season schedule has been/will be a challenge –
The 2006 season will prove a challenge for the Irish, as the team will face several teams ranked in the top 25, or just out of the national rankings.
According to the latest rankings, the Irish will face (NFCA rankings first, followed by USA Softball) #-/25 DePaul #15/15 Northwestern and #18/19 Louisville. Notre Dame has already faced #10/10 Arizona State (3-2 victory), #4/4 Texas (6-5 loss), #6/7 Alabama (4-3 loss), #14/12 Oregon State (5-0 loss) BYU (8-3 victory), who has been in and out of the national polls this season and #17/17 Nebraska (5-3, eight-inning loss).
Notre Dame knocked off four ranked teams durng the 2005 season. The Irish defeated #21 South Florida and #19 Florida on their first weekend of action (Feb. 12-13), then knocked off #5/6 Tennessee in its last game at the Palm Springs Classic. Notre Dame also defeated #15 Northwestern with a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh on Tuesday, April 26, 2005.
Under head coach Deanna Gumpf, the Irish have knocked off at least three ranked teams in three of four seasons (#25 South Florida, #4 Nebraska, #15 Oregon State in `02; #8 Nebraska, #14 Nebraska, #18 Nebraska in `04). The Irish have defeated a total of 14 ranked teams during Gumpf’s tenure. The most ranked wins for the Irish came in 2001, when the team defeated eight teams ranked in the national top 25.
New coaching staff, new Gumpf Family addition –
Notre Dame unveiled its new coaching staff in a unique way this season. Lizzy Lemire, a 2001 Notre Dame graduate, has joined the staff and Kris Ganeff (Notre Dame `99) moves up into the first assistant role. The change came about with the decision of former Irish assistant coach Charmelle Green to take a job in Notre Dame’s Student-Athlete Development Program.
The unusual twist to the story is that Irish head coach Deanna Gumpf missed Lemire’s official debut with the team. Gumpf and her husband John welcomed their second child, Tatum Elizabeth, on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Deanna has rejoined the team full time on the road for its Spring Break trip to Southern California.
To aid in the pitching staff’s development during Gumpf’s pregnancy, former Irish assistant coach and 1993 Penn State graduate Dawn Austin returned to the team as a volunteer assistant coach this season.
Ruthrauff reaches career walks record –
Senior 1B Meagan Ruthrauff, Notre Dame’s cleanup hitter the last three seasons, is not only a potent RBI producer (128 in three-plus years, tied for seventh on the all-time Notre Dame list), but she also has outstanding plate discipline.
Ruthrauff has drawn 94 walks during her career, surpassing matching Andrea Loman’s (2000-03) previous Notre Dame career record of 87.
Ruthrauff has already drawn 14 free passes this season and ranks one-two on the single-season walk list at Notre Dame. In 2004, she drew a record 36 base on balls and followed up with 31 walks in 2005.
Ivy Field parking information –
Due to construction on Ivy Road, the access to Ivy Field is limited this season. For Saturday’s doubleheader, Irish fans will be required to park at Frank Eck Stadium and walk to Ivy Field due to a home track meet. For the remaining games this season, the Alumni Field parking lot will be open (just south of the varsity soccer field and past the outfield wall of Frank Eck Stadium) and fans will be allowed to walk through Alumni Field to reach Ivy Field.
The University of Notre Dame softball team appreciates your patience with the access issues and thanks you for your continued support of Fighting Irish softball.
Ivy Field audio coverage –
Every 2006 Notre Dame home softball game will feature live audio coverage on www.und.com (Fighting Irish All-Access subscription required). This weekend’s games will be called by assistant sports information director Alan Wasielewski and can be heard live on www.und.com. For those tuned into the Bowling Green game, power was lost in the Ivy Field pressbox during the extra innings contest. The problem has been addressed and live audio coverage will not be interrupted for this weekend’s games.
Irish ALERT continues this weekend –
A joint effort between Centennial Wireless, Notre Dame Sports Properties and the Notre Dame Sports Information Office has made up-to-the-minute text messaging a reality this season. Notre Dame announced the Irish ALERT system, which will cover baseball, softball, men’s lacrosse and women’s lacrosse this spring for a free trial.
Simply sign up for the service at www.und.com and your mobile device will receive score updates from each of the four sports throughout the 2006 season. The service also will provide periodical updates providing team schedules and special alerts when content is uploaded on www.und.com.
For softball, updates are sent when the weekly release is posted on www.und.com, when a schedule change pops up (delayed games, added games) and in the first, third, fifth and seventh innings of each Irish game.