April 14, 2001
It was a memorable day at Ivy Field on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. Irish head coach Liz Miller, in her 26th season of collegiate coaching, earned her 900th victory in the second game of her team’s doubleheader sweep over the visiting Pittsburgh Panthers (10-27, 3-7).
Miller and her team are enjoying one of the most successful seasons in the program’s history, with the championship portion of the schedule still ahead. The Irish are now 36-3 in 2001, 10-0 in BIG EAST competition, ranked 11th in the country and have rattled off 18-straight victories in nine doubleheader sweeps. The streak is now just three victories behind the school record for consecutive wins during the regular season (21, April 11, 1998 to Feb. 20, 1999).
Notre Dame’s pitching staff continued to shine in today’s doubleheader. The Irish surrendered just three hits in both games combined, Jen Sharron giving up two in the first game and Kristin Schmidt pitching her fifth one-hitter of the season in the second. With the two shutouts over the Panthers today, Sharron and Schmidt have combined for a school-record eight consecutive shutouts to lower the team ERA to 0.88. Sharron has lowered her personal ERA to 1.06 while Schmidt’s continues to drop, now at just 0.51. Both pitchers have surrendered just 16 hits combined over the last eight games.
The pitching staff also has a total of 18 shutouts this season (Sharron with nine and Schmidt with eight), leaving them just three off the school record for shutouts in a season (21 in 1999 and 1996).
The Notre Dame offense was unusually quiet in the first game for a team that currently bats .320 as a group. It took an amazing at bat by junior catcher Jarrah Myers to finally get the Irish offensive wheels in motion. After taking the first two pitches for strikes, Myers proceeded to foul off six more pitches and take three balls to work up to a full count. On the 13th pitch, she drove a line shot deep into centerfield that landed at the base of the wall. The ever-hustling Irish catcher would end up diving into third base with her third triple of the season. Lizzy Lemire, who finished the first game two-for-three, knocked in Myer’s and Notre Dame’s first run with a single to centerfield.
The Irish added an insurance run on an Andrea Loman RBI single in the sixth inning, but Sharron’s continued excellence in the pitching circle deemed the run unnecessary. She finished with a two-hit complete-game performance, striking out 12 Panther batters.
Things returned to form for the Irish offense in the second game. In the second inning, the bottom of the Irish lineup would sparked a one-out rally. Lisa Mattison drilled a double into the gap in left-centerfield and Kas Hoag singled to put runners on first and second. Alexis Madrid then moved both runners into scoring position with her seventh sacrifice bunt of the season.
Notre Dame’s two-out RBI specialist Jenny Kriech was due up next. Kriech came into the game with 12 two-out RBI this season and added two more when she sent a laser beam triple over the centerfielder’s head to score both runners and put the Irish up 2-0.
Danielle Klayman followed with a single up the middle, allowing Kriech to score her 33rd run of the season .
As Schmidt kept the game on cruise control, giving up just a bloop hit the entire afternoon, Notre Dame’s lineup looked to ensure Miller’s 900th career victory. After Klayman singled to start the fifth inning and Melanie Alkire and Myers drew walks to load the bases, Pittsburgh starting pitcher Gina Bessolo uncorked a wild pitch to score Klayman. After a Lemire ground out, Loman logged her second RBI of the day with a grounder to second base, allowing Myers to score.
Needing three to end the game in the sixth and hand their coach a milestone win, the Irish produced. Kas Hoag led off the inning with her first career triple and scored on a Kriech sacrifice fly. Chantal DeAlcuaz was then hit by a pitch and Alkire drew a walk. Jessica Sharron was inserted as a pinch hitter for Myers and came through with her first career hit, a single to centerfield that loaded the bases. Lemire then stroked a single over third base for two RBI that ended the game.
After the contest, every member of the Notre Dame team handed coach Miller a single silk rose with their name attached to commemorate the event. Miller’s career record is now 900-294.