EAST LANSING, Mich. – The University of Notre Dame softball program earned an 8-0 six inning victory over the Michigan State Spartans Tuesday night in East Lansing. The win is the 24th of the season, and number 849 for head coach Deanna Gumpf. Gumpf now passes Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Muffet McGraw for the most wins in the history of Notre Dame Athletics. The Fighting Irish improve to 24-11-1 on the season with the victory.
Micaela Kastor and Shannon Becker combined for the team’s sixth shutout victory of the season. Kastor worked the first three innings, allowing just three hits and striking out one. Becker came on in relief in the fourth, throwing the final 3.0 innings, scattering a pair of hits and earning the victory.
Carlli Kloss led the offensive effort, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Leea Hanks, Macie Eck and Anna Holloway each added two hits. Hanks finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and scored twice. Eck added an RBI, and Holloway drove in two and scored once while hitting her second home run of the season. Karina Gaskins added a 1-for-3 effort with a home run, her 13th of the year. Joley Mitchell also added a hit, an RBI and scored once.
How It Happened
The Irish jumped on top early, stringing together four hits in the first inning to take the lead. Kloss led the game off with a single to left and immediately stole second. Mitchell knocked a single up the middle to score the first run of the game before taking second herself. A ground out and a walk put runners on the corners and a ground ball to the right side scored the second run of the day. Eck knocked a single the other way to score Orozco and put the Irish up 3-0 after the top of the first.
Notre Dame tacked on three more in the top of the third. Gaskins led off with a solo homer. A hit batter put a runner on as Holloway left the yard to score two and put the Irish up 6-0 after the top of the third.
The Irish tacked on solo runs in the top of the fifth and sixth innings to secure the run-rule shortened victory. A Jane Kronenberger sacrifice fly in the fifth added a run, and an infield single with runners on second and third scored the eighth run of the ball game.
Michigan State got a runner on with a single in the sixth, but it was erased with a lineout to Cassidy Grimm who took over at third base in the inning. Grimm caught the line drive and threw to Gaskins at first to get the runner who was heading back to first.
Up Next
The Irish return to action tomorrow as they take on the Indiana Hoosiers at 5 p.m. at Melissa Cook Stadium.