April 24, 2018
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A three-run first inning set the table for the University of Notre Dame softball team on Tuesday night, and the Irish were off to the races from there. A five-hit shutout for Alexis Holloway highlighted a 4-0 Notre Dame victory over Bowling Green in the final nonconference game of the 2018 season at Melissa Cook Stadium.
Notre Dame (30-18) closed the 2018 regular season with an 18-10 record against nonconference foes. The Irish also notched their eighth shutout of the year while limiting Bowling Green (25-20) to five hits and no free baserunners on the night.
How It Happened
Notre Dame fired on all cylinders out of the gate, with Alexis Holloway (18-11) setting the tone early with a scoreless top of the first inning against Bowling Green. Holloway erased a one-out single by notching a strikeout looking on a 1-2 offering to end the Falcons surge.
The Irish capitalized on the momentum shift with three runs in the bottom of the first. Abby Sweet was hit by a pitch and Katie Marino walked to spark a two-out rally. Cait Brooks flared an RBI single to right field one batter later that scored Sweet and put Notre Dame up 1-0. Melissa Rochford followed with a single of her own to left field, scoring both Marino and Brooks for the 3-0 Irish advantage.
Holloway refused to waver in the face of two Bowling Green singles in the top of the second inning. A bunt with two outs on the board was handled by Rochford at third and retired the side for the visitors.
Three groundouts to Rochford in the top of the third kept Bowling Green scoreless. A two-out single up the middle broke up the string of solid plays at the hot corner, but Notre Dame maintained its 3-0 lead.
Notre Dame looked to break out again in the bottom of the third frame, after Sweet was again hit by pitch and Morgan Reed ripped a double off the wall in right field to put a pair of runners in scoring position. A tricky lineout to shortstop and a pair of strikeouts cooled the Irish jets.
Holloway hit her stride in the top of the fourth inning, sitting Bowling Green down in order. A swinging strikeout, pop up to second base and groundout to shortstop fired Notre Dame toward an insurance run in the bottom of the inning. MK Bonamy led off the fourth with a scalding double to left center, and came home two batters later after Ali Wester ripped an RBI single back through the circle to extend the Irish edge to 4-0.
An infield single was all that Bowling Green could muster for the remainder of the game, with one out in the top of the fifth. Holloway ended that inning with a swinging strikeout on a 2-2 count to turn the Falcons aside. A 1-2-3 frame in the top of the sixth with a great stab in the circle on a line drive, a strikeout looking and a grounder to Bonamy at first kept Holloway rolling.
Notre Dame threatened on offense once more in the bottom of the sixth inning. Bonamy reached on a one-out error and moved to second base following a pinch-hit single to left field off the bat of Sara White. A sacrifice bunt from Alexis Bazos advanced both runners into scoring position, where they remained at inning’s end, but the momentum was firmly in the hands of the Irish.
Holloway made quick work of Bowling Green in the top of the seventh to close the game out. A swinging strikeout, a ground ball back to the mound and a pop out to Marino at second base put the finishing touches on the Notre Dame shutout.
Up Next
Notre Dame closes the 2018 regular season with a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) series against No. 8 Florida State this weekend at Melissa Cook Stadium.