PITTSBURGH, Pa. – In the first round of the ACC Championship Tournament, the fourth-seeded University of Notre Dame softball team dropped a 7-3 contest to the fifth-seeded and 15th-ranked Clemson Tigers at Vartabedian Field, hosted by the University of Pittsburgh. The loss is just the Fighting Irish’s 10th of the season as Notre Dame is now 39-10 on the season. Clemson improves to 38-14.
Graduate student Alexis Holloway started the game in the circle. Holloway worked 4.2 innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs and struck out two. Payton Tidd came on in relief. Tidd threw 2.0 innings, allowing two hits and two earned runs. Shannon Becker retired the one hitter she faced with a strikeout in the seventh.
The Irish offense was limited to just six hits in the contest, three going for extra bases. 2022 ACC Player of the Year Karina Gaskins hit her 13th home run. Carlli Kloss and Miranda Johnson each added a double and Leea Hanks had a bunt single and scored a run. In the seventh, Johnson added a single the other way and Sarah Genz had an infield hit.
The Irish got on the board first in the first inning. Hanks dropped down a bunt single and scored when Gaskins homered to left field to put Notre Dame up 2-0.
Clemson tied it with a two-run homer of their own in the top of the second from Alia Logoleo.
Another home run, this a solo shot from Cammy Pereira put the Tigers up 3-2 in the fifth. The rally wasn’t over yet as a single from Valerie Cagle and a walk put two on. Aby Vieira drove a double to left that scored two and extended the lead to 5-2.
A solo homer from Cagle in the seventh extended the lead to 6-2. Another run came in on a single after two walks put two on.
The Irish showed fight in the seventh, taking advantage of an infield hit and an error to score a run, but came up short with the winning run on deck.
Up Next
The Irish await their postseason fate Sunday as the NCAA Selection Show will begin at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.