April 6, 2008
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Two wins against BIG EAST Conference opponent Seton Hall on Sunday put the finishing touches on the University of Notre Dame softball team’s flawless four-game weekend. A 12-1 victory was followed by a 6-2 win at Ivy Hill Park gave the Irish a 4-0 mark for the weekend and ran the team’s current win streak to six games.
A pair of quick runs in the first inning of game one gave Notre Dame (22-10 overall, 5-1 BIG EAST) an early 2-0 lead and the visitors never looked back. Katie Fleury drove in Stephanie Mola and Sarah Smith with a single to right to give the Irish an edge that they would not relinquish to the Pirates (13-20 overall, 2-8 BIG EAST).
Five runs on five hits in the third extended Notre Dame’s edge to 7-0. Fleury’s second hit of the game set the stage for Katie Laing to deliver a two-run homer to right-center. After Linda Kohan worked the count for a walk, she took her time coming home when Ashley Ellis crunched the second homer of the inning for the Irish. A double by Beth Northway put her in position to score on Brianna Jorgenborg’s single.
Another five-run frame was posted after three defensive outs. The inning started with Fleury reaching base on a fielding error by third. With one on, Laing stroked her second bomb of the game to left. Kohan was walked again and Lux wore a pitch followed by Ellis reaching base with a walk. Northway pushed across a run with an infield ground out, and then Smith’s two-out single up the middle plated Lux and Ellis for two more scores.
The Pirates managed an unearned run in their half of the fourth on a pair of Notre Dame errors to keep from being blanked by Brittney Bargar (17-6). Bargar got the win by fanning six and allowing only three hits in 5.0 frames. She also walked one batter. Seton Hall’s Katie Stillwell (2-3) was pulled without recording an out in the first inning – but gave up to earned runs in the stanza – then checked in later to finish the game, taking the loss after going 2.0 innings and allowing four hits.
Smith, Fleury, and Laing had two hits apiece with Ellis leading the way with a perfect 3-for-3 game. Each of those four had at least two RBI, and Laing drove in a quartet herself.
Jenna Best had two hits in her two at-bats for Seton Hall. Each squad committed three errors and Notre Dame left eight runners on base but out-hit the Pirates, 11-3.
Kealan Waldron doubled home Leah Menichetti in the home half of the first to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead in the early stages of game two, with the Pirates adding one more with Brittany Schillizzi’s homer in the second.
Notre Dame got both runs back in the top of the third. Smith doubled down the leftfield line and scored behind Laing’s single to right. A two-out single up the middle by Ellis scored Laing to knot things up.
After holding Seton Hall scoreless in the bottom of the third, Jorgensborg creamed her first career homer to score two more runs for the Irish. The fifth run of the game came a few batters later when Laing drove in Fleury with a single through the right side of the infield.
Laing and Fleury teamed to make it a 6-2 contest in the sixth, when Laing drove in Fleury from second with a single that made its way through the infield.
Bargar earned the win by tossing the final 5.0 innings after stepping in for Jody Valdivia in the third. Bargar struck out three and gave up two hits without allowing a score. Seton Hall had two hits and two runs when facing Valdivia. Ashley Forsyth (7-10) went 5.1 frames in the loss for the Pirates, giving up 12 hits and six runs – four of which were earned – and walked one.
On the four-game weekend, Ashley Ellis hit .714 with 10 hits in her 14 at-bats, two doubles, one homer, and three RBI. She was 4-four-4 against the Pirates in game two. Laing and Smith each had seven hits in 16 at-bats, with Laing slamming three homers and 11 RBI.
–ND–