May 9, 2004
The University of Notre Dame softball team ended the 2004 regular season with a 46-16 overall record and 18-2 mark in the BIG EAST Conference with a doubleheader sweep of St. John’s (28-26, 10-10) on Sunday afternoon. Notre Dame won game one 8-1 before taking game two 3-0. The 46 victories are the most in the regular season for the Irish since 2001 and the 18 conference wins are the third time Notre Dame has reached that mark since it joined the conference – the Irish are the only BIG EAST team to ever win 18 or more league games.
Notre Dame’s doubleheader sweep is a welcome end to the regular season for the #25/22 Irish. Coming off their first two league losses to Seton Hall on Saturday, the Irish also had to play without All-American candidate junior Megan Ciolli. Ciolli injured her leg in Notre Dame’s second game against Seton Hall and was held out of Sunday’s games for precautionary reasons. She is expected to be at full strength for the BIG EAST Championship.
Without Ciolli in the lineup, Notre Dame brought pitcher Carrie Wisen in for emergency duty in rightfield (the fourth Irish outfielder, Kellie Middleton, was lost on the third weekend of the year with an injury). Wisen not only fielded her position well, but led Notre Dame in hitting in game one – going three for four with three RBI.
Notre Dame scored one in the first, one in the second and six over the next three innings to take control of game one. Mallorie Lenn, who also had three hits in game one, provided the big hit in the sixth inning with a two-RBI double. Junior Nicole Wicks played well in her first start in leftfield (Nicole deFau shifted to center in Ciolli’s absence), posting two doubles and scoring two runs in game one.
Sophomore Heather Booth recovered from her rough start on Saturday against Seton Hall with a complete game victory in the first contest. She allowed five hits, one earned run and struck out eight. Courtney Fitzgerald took the loss for the Red Storm, allowing nine hits, five runs (two earned) and just one strikeout.
Junior Steffany Stenglein was equally strong in the second game, shutting down the Red Storm offense to three hits, striking out four and allowing just one walk. Stenglein picks up her ninth league victory of the season with the win (Booth also has nine victories in the BIG EAST).
While Stenglein kept St. John’s at bay, Notre Dame put up three runs to get the win. Meagan Ruthrauff led off the second inning with a solo home run and the Irish tacked on another run in the stanza with an RBI single from Sara Schoonaert (two for three in game two with two RBI). Schoonaert also added an insurance run in the seventh inning with an RBI double.
Notre Dame will now move into the BIG EAST Championship on Thursday with the number one seed and take on fourth seeded Boston College (11-9 in the conference) at 7 p.m. Seton Hall, the second seed with face Villanova, the three seed at 5 p.m. Depending on the outcome of Notre Dame’s contest on Thursday, they will play at either 3 or 7 p.m. on Friday.