The University of Notre Dame softball team (20-12, 4-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference) salvaged a split of a doubleheader at Syracuse (14-19, 3-5) on Saturday afternoon at Skytop Stadium. The Irish rallied to win the first game 8-6, then saw another rally fall short in game two as the Orange claimed the series win with with an 8-6 victory.
Notre Dame fell behind 3-0 in the first inning of game one but rallied to take a 5-3 lead in the fourth. Syracuse answered right back to tie the game at 5-5 before Katie Marino’s game-winning towering two-run home run to left field in the top of the sixth. Peyton Tidd (2.1 IP, 2 K) picked up the victory in relief of starting pitcher Alexis Holloway (4.2 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 5 K).
The Irish fell behind early in game two of the doubleheader again, as two walks and an infield hit loaded the bases and set the stage for a Syracuse first-inning grand slam. The Orange chased game-two starter Tidd from the game and tacked on another run off reliever Morgan Ryan during their first team at-bats.
Digging deep, Notre Dame put together yet another rally, cutting the lead to 5-4 in the top of the third inning. Melissa Rochford delivered the big hit in the comeback with a two-run double in the third to of the third inning.
Notre Dame could not keep the Orange off the scoreboard, however, and a key three-run double put the home team ahead to stay in the bottom of the third. The Irish scratched out two more runs (an RBI single from Rochford and a solo home run by Quinn Biggio in the seventh inning) but would end up dropping game two 8-6.
NEXT UP
The Irish return to campus to face IUPUI on Tuesday, April 2, at 5:30 p.m. ET at Melissa Cook Stadium.