May 11, 2001
It has been a bittersweet weekend for the University of Notre Dame softball team (51-5). After being honored with four major awards at last night’s BIG EAST Championship banquet after one of the best conference regular season performances in league history (a 2-0 conference record), the Irish have been eliminated from the 2001 BIG EAST Championship after a 2-1 loss to Seton Hall yesterday and a 1-0 loss to Villanova (43-9) today.
The year is far from over for the eighth-ranked Irish. Sunday they will find out their seed and destination for the 2001 NCAA Championship Regional and the team will begin its quest for Notre Dame’s first NCAA Regional Championship.
Notre Dame entered this weekend’s tournament hitting .325 as a team, but ended up scratching out just nine hits in both losses. Today’s game would end up as a pitcher’s duel, as Notre Dame’s Kristin Schmidt and Villanova’s Theresa Hornick held both team’s offenses in check.
Schmidt would end up surrendering the big hit, though. All-BIG EAST first team member Sara Carlson hit a home run in the bottom of the fourth to break a 0-0 tie and the Irish would be unable to answer the Wildcats on the scoreboard.
As the middle (four-five-six hitters) of the batting lineup produced all five hits for the Wildcats, Notre Dame’s middle lineup would muster just two hits from clean up hitter Jarrah Myers against Hornick. One of Myers’ hits came in the top of the sixth, a two-out double to the wall in left-centerfield. Lizzy Lemire followed by bouncing the first pitch back to Hornick in the circle for the third out of the inning.
Notre Dame’s at-bats in the seventh inning were equally dramatic. After Andrea Loman grounded out and Andria Bledsoe struck out, pinch-hitter Jen Sharron was hit by a pitch. Speedy Nicole deFau was inserted as a pinch runner and Danielle Klayman seemingly came through with a double into the right-centerfield gap.
Villanova centerfielder Lisa Krueger made a great break on the ball, though, and made an exceptional diving catch to preserve the upset victory for her team and rob Klayman of a clutch extra-base hit.
The Irish will find out their NCAA Regional seed and site on Sunday when the NCAA announces its selections. Notre Dame is ranked first in its region (East) and entered the weekend ranked eighth in the nation. Forty-eight teams make up the NCAA tournament field, split into eight different regionals. The winners of all eight regionals will then advance to the College World Series in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.