May 11, 2018
ATLANTA – The University of Notre Dame softball team was the first on the scoreboard with a third-inning solo home run, but top-seeded Florida State was quick to recover. The No. 10 Seminoles finished the game with a six-run surge to claim a 6-1 win over the Irish in the semifinal round of the 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship at Georgia Tech’s Mewborn Field.
How It Happened
The Notre Dame (32-21) defense worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the first inning to stall Florida State (46-10). The Seminoles were able to pack the bases following three walks with one out in their opening ups of the game. Irish starter Alexis Holloway (20-13) responded in kind by forcing a fly ball out to Abby Sweet in center field and notching a strikeout swinging to end the opening frame.
A pair of doubles for Florida State in the bottom of the second looked to keep the momentum rolling for the top-seeded Seminoles, but Holloway and the Notre Dame defense stood tall again. A foul out near first base and a strikeout looking slammed the door on the Florida State order.
Notre Dame rocketed into the lead to open the top of the third inning. Sara White waited on a 1-2 pitch and smashed a solo home run deep and gone over the wall in left center. White’s seventh home run of the season gave the Irish a 1-0 advantage.
Florida State stormed back with three runs in the bottom of the third to take a 3-1 lead, but a ground ball back to Holloway in the circle retired the Seminole side. A shutout frame for Holloway followed in the bottom of the fourth inning. A one-out walk offset a pair of fly balls that were caught in the outfield and a Florida State runner caught leaving base early.
An Irish error with two outs did provide Florida State with an insurance run and a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth, but Holloway immediately responded with a swinging strikeout to end the inning. Riding the surge, Ali Wester chopped a one-out infield single to reach for Notre Dame in the top of the sixth inning. Morgan Reed worked a full-count walk with two outs to bring up the tying run, but a strikeout for Florida State cancelled out the rally.
Up Next
Notre Dame awaits at-large selection into the 2018 NCAA Championship on Sunday.