April 21, 2015

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Due to the potential for dangerous wind conditions on Tuesday afternoon in the South Bend area, the scheduled University of Notre Dame softball game against DePaul has been canceled. There are currently no plans to make up the game this season.

No. 24 Notre Dame (37-11) is still scheduled to host Toledo on Wednesday at 5 p.m. (ET) at Melissa Cook Stadium. The contest will be the final nonconference home game of the regular season for the Irish.

Notre Dame looks to continue its current 23-game winning streak against Toledo (19-26), who travels to Melissa Cook Stadium for the second straight season. The Irish defeated the Rockets by a 17-2 final score in five innings on April 16, 2014 in the most recent meeting between the teams. Notre Dame is a perfect 17-0 all-time in its series with Toledo, dating back to the 1998 season.

For the latest news and updates on all things Notre Dame softball, visit www.und.com/softball, follow the Irish @NDsoftball and @NDcoachGumpf on Twitter and at Instagram.com/notredamesoftball, and Like the team at Facebook.com/NDSoftball.

–ND–

No. 24 Notre Dame vs. Toledo
April 22, 2015
Melissa Cook Stadium (1,250)
Notre Dame, Ind.

No. 24 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(37-11 in 2015)

Toledo Rockets
(19-26 in 2015)

Notre Dame Midweek Schedule

Wednesday, April 22
/WatchND

IRISH SLAP HITS

·    Notre Dame improved to 37-11 this season with its 23rd straight victory, a 12-0 win over Syracuse on Sunday at Melissa Cook Stadium. The Irish have now won their last 23 games at home dating back to a 7-2 triumph over Valparaiso on April 24, 2014.

·    During its current 23-game winning streak this season, Notre Dame has outscored opponents by a combined margin of 193-38.

·    The 2015 Notre Dame team became just the third Irish team in the 27-year history of the program to win 20 or more consecutive contests in a single season. The current Notre Dame squad’s streak of 23 straight wins is the second-most in Irish history, with the standard bearer remaining the 33 straight wins for the 2001 Notre Dame team that led the NCAA that season.

·    Senior co-captain and two-time All-American Emilee Koerner earned Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Week honors on Monday. Koerner was Notre Dame’s leading offensive player during a 5-0 week that carried the team’s current winning streak to 23 games. She batted .688 (11-for-16) with three doubles, one home run, 11 RBI and eight runs scored in five starts against Bowling Green, Northwestern and Syracuse. She also slugged 1.062 and checked in with a .667 on-base percentage.  

·    The Irish have won 16 consecutive games in ACC play dating back to a 12-0 win in five innings at No. 9/10 Florida State on March 15.

·    Sophomore All-American Karley Wester was named one of the Top 26 Finalists for the 2015 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award on April 8. Wester is the second Irish player to be selected as a finalist for the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award, joining two-time All-American Emilee Koerner (2013).

·    Irish softball is one of only two Notre Dame varsity athletic programs to have never posted a losing record. The softball team clinched its 27th straight season with a .500 record or above with an 8-0 win in six innings over Butler on April 8 at Melissa Cook Stadium. Notre Dame’s three-time national champion women’s soccer program has also logged 27 straight winning seasons since its inception at the varsity level in the fall of 1988.

On This Date…
Notre Dame has a combined 19-11 (.633) mark on April 22, the planned date of Wednesday’s midweek meeting against Toledo at Melissa Cook Stadium.

Strikeout Cancer Series Sweep Take Streak To 23
Notre Dame completed its fifth straight conference sweep by taking all three games during Strikeout Cancer weekend against Syracuse, with a 12-0 win in five innings closing the series on Sunday. The Irish have now won 23 consecutive games overall, with 16 of those triumphs coming in ACC play.

Notre Dame claimed a 13-4 edge in the hit column, with five Irish hits going for extra bases on Sunday. Notre Dame hitters also worked a total of five walks during the afternoon, while a pitch hit two batters to allow them to reach.

During the three-day Strikeout Cancer weekend, Notre Dame softball raised more than $35,000 for pediatric cancer patients in the state of Indiana.

Koerner Takes First ACC Player Of The Week Honor Of 2015
Senior co-captain and two-time All-American Emilee Koerner has propelled the University of Notre Dame softball team into the upper echelon of the Atlantic Coast Conference over the last month on offense. The ACC took note of Koerner’s sterling performance over her past five games, selecting her as the ACC Player of the Week on Monday.

Koerner is the second Notre Dame player to win the conference’s top weekly honor this season, joining classmate Katey Haus (Feb. 9, April 6), and has now been tabbed as either the ACC or BIG EAST Conference Player of the Week on five separate occasions during her career.

Koerner was Notre Dame’s leading offensive player during a 5-0 week that carried the team’s current winning streak to 23 games. She batted .688 (11-for-16) with three doubles, one home run, 11 RBI and eight runs scored in five starts against Bowling Green, Northwestern and Syracuse. She also slugged 1.062 and checked in with a .667 on-base percentage.

During Notre Dame’s current 23-game winning streak, Koerner is batting an impressive .559 with nine doubles, five home runs, 29 RBI and 32 runs scored while hitting second in the Irish order. She has added a team-high 14 multi-hit games over her last 23 starts.

Notre Dame Assumes The ACC Batting Lead
After clubbing 10 or more hits in six of its last 10 games overall, Notre Dame has assumed the ACC lead in batting average according to the most recent conference statistical updates. The Irish began the week with a .342 average through 48 games. Notre Dame also leads all ACC teams with 443 hits and 68 stolen bases.

Simon And Wester Rack Up The SB
Senior co-captain Jenna Simon and sophomore All-American Karley Wester etched their names into Notre Dame history by each stealing second base during an April 14 win over Bowling Green.

Simon became just the second Irish player to swipe 70 career bags with her stolen base in the sixth inning of that contest. Simon is six steals from tying Megan Ciolli (`05) for the Notre Dame program record of 76 career stolen bases, and along with Wester and Ciolli (2004-05) is one of only three players to steal 20 or more bases in consecutive seasons.

Wester became the fastest Notre Dame player to ever steal 50 career bases, swiping second later in the sixth inning against Bowling Green. Wester needed only 98 career games to reach the steals milestone, and leads all Irish players with 24 stolen bases this season.

Wester A Top 26 Finalist For USA Softball POY
The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball named sophomore All-American Karley Wester one of the Top 26 Finalists for the 2015 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award on April 8.

Wester is the second Notre Dame softball player in the last three seasons to be selected as a finalist for the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year award, joining two-time All-American Emilee Koerner (2013). Wester and Koerner, both sophomores at the time of their selection, are the only two Irish players in the history of the award to earn a finalist nod.

Notre Dame Remains Unbeaten In The Month Of April
Since the conclusion of its series at North Carolina State on March 8, Notre Dame has posted a 25-2 (.926) mark, which has included 16 consecutive ACC victories dating back to a 12-0 win in five innings over No. 9/10 Florida State on March 15. The Irish have outscored opponents 210-52 since downing Campbell 4-3 on March 10 to start the streak.

Irish Against The Opposition
Notre Dame is a perfect 17-0 against Toledo in a series that dates back to the 1998 season.