May 10, 2001
The University of Notre Dame softball team suffered its first loss in 34 games in the first round of the 2001 BIG EAST Championship to fourth-seeded Seton Hall 2-1. The Irish are now 51-4 on the season and move on to face Villanova, who lost to Connecticut 4-2 in earlier action on Thursday, at 10:30 a.m. on Friday.
The game turned into a pitcher’s duel, as Pirate starting pitcher Misty Beaver shut down the potent Irish offense (holding Notre Dame to just four hits in the game) while Jen Sharron and Kristin Schmidt combined to keep Seton Hall at bay most of the game.
The Pirates scored their two runs in the top of the third inning. Melissa Kern singled up the middle to lead off, but Sharron recovered to get McKenzie Richards to foul out. Mary Carroll Smith then came through with her second hit of the game, a perfect bunt single that left runner on first and second base. Marlena Kotynski then grounded sharply to Irish first base Andrea Loman, who fielded the ball cleanly enough to have a chance to turn the double play.
Loman stepped on first and threw towards second base, but the toss hit Smith in the back of the helmet and ricocheted deep into leftfield. By the time the Irish defense recovered, Kern and Smith had both scored to put the Pirates in front 2-0.
Schmidt was inserted in the top of the fourth – following the plan the Irish coaching staff had designed before the game. She kept the Pirates off the scoreboard the rest of the game, but the usual dependable Irish bats would grow silent a majority of the remaining innings.
The Notre Dame 1-2-3 hitters combined to go 0-for-13 as Beaver struck out six across the seven-inning contest.
The Irish finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth. After Jarrah Myers lined out to deep centerfield and Lizzy Lemire followed with another deep fly-out to rightfield, Loman hit a home run on a 1-1 pitch deep over the leftfield fence to cut the Pirate lead to one.
After Andria Bledsoe popped up to end the sixth, Schmidt worked an uneventful top of seven and the Irish were facing their final three outs.
Sharron stepped back in to lead off the ninth as the designated player and drove an 0-2 pitch deep down the rightfield line that just missed tying the game with a home run. After taking two balls, Sharron struck out looking when Beaver hit the outside corner of the plate for the first out of the inning.
Alexis Madrid worked a solid at bat next, going to a 3-2 count and fouling off numerous pitches before lining out sharply to leftfield. Notre Dame was down to its last out.
Back to the top of the order, Jenny Kriech came through with her second hit of the day, a triple to the right-centerfield gap that just missed a home run, hitting just two feet short of clearing the fence.
Danielle Klayman was then hit by a pitch to put two runner on, but Beaver got Melanie Alkire to bounce out to the shortstop to end the game.
The Irish will face Villanova at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow for the first elimination game of the tournament. A victory would move the Irish into a 2 p.m. contest against the winner of Seton Hall – Connecticut at 12 p.m.