May 10, 2018
ATLANTA – Morgan Reed and Cait Brooks wasted little time in vaulting the University of Notre Dame softball team onto the scoreboard Thursday, smashing back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning. The Irish would tack on four more runs and ride a two-hit complete game from Alexis Holloway with stellar defense in defeating Boston College 6-1 in the quarterfinal round of the 2018 ACC Championship at Georgia Tech’s Mewborn Field.
No. 5 seed Notre Dame (32-20) eliminated fourth-seeded Boston College (30-23) from the postseason for the second straight year, belting nine hits to the two of the Eagles. Brooks ultimately left the yard twice with a pair of home runs on the day, finishing with four RBI. Melissa Rochford added two hits and an RBI to the Irish offensive cause.
The win over Boston College was the 700th in the career of Notre Dame head coach Deanna Gumpf. Gumpf joined Hall of Fame women’s basketball mentor Muffet McGraw as the only coaches in Notre Dame’s fabled history to win 700 or more games at the helm of an Irish program.
How It Happened
With Notre Dame’s back against the wall in the top of the first inning with two outs, Morgan Reed and Cait Brooks took over. Reed began the rally with a solo home run over the wall in left center for her sixth long ball of the year, giving the Irish a 1-0 lead. One batter later, Brooks saw one pitch before depositing a home run of her own beyond the wall in right field. Brooks’ eighth homer of 2018 made it 2-0 Notre Dame.
It was three-up and three-down for Boston College in the bottom of the first against Alexis Holloway (20-12). Fly outs to both corner outfield posts and a ground ball out to shortstop capped the 1-2-3 inning.
Notre Dame kept pouring on the offense in the top of the third fame. Abby Sweet reached on a fielding error before Reed walked on five pitches. Facing a 1-2 count and nobody out, Brooks golfed a three-run blast over the wall in left center for her ninth home run of the season, and suddenly it was 5-0 Notre Dame.
An RBI single with one out in the bottom of the third put Boston College on the board at 5-1, and with the Eagles threatening Holloway and the Notre Dame defense shut the door. Groundouts to Katie Marino at second and Melissa Rochford at third base limited the damage.
A walk, single and hit by pitch loaded the bases for Boston College in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the biggest stand of the day for the Irish turned the Eagles aside. Holloway forced a strikeout looking and grounder to Marino at second to leave the bags full and hang a zero on the scoreboard.
With an 0-2 count against the leadoff Boston College batter in the bottom of the fifth, Rochford made an incredible stab on a sure-fire base hit down the line at third base, making the throw to MK Bonamy across the diamond for a tremendous first out. Ali Wester got in on the act with two away in the stanza, chasing down a hard-hit ball in the left field corner to end the inning 1-2-3.
Notre Dame rode the defensive momentum into the top of the sixth inning and tacked on an insurance run. Wester knocked a leadoff infield single to shortstop and ultimately advanced to second base after Brooks was walked with two outs. Rochford took advantage of the RBI opportunity to groove a single into center that plated Wester for the 6-1 Irish edge.
Boston College could muster no offense in the bottom of the sixth. A strikeout looking, a fly ball out to Sweet in center and a grounder to Marino at second finished the Eagles half.
Looking to rally in the home portion of the seventh inning, Boston College was stopped in its tracks by the Notre Dame defense. A popout to Reed at shortstop, a lazy fly to Wester in left and a grounder back to Holloway in the circle capped off the victory for the Irish.
Up Next
Notre Dame and top-seeded Florida State clash in the semifinal round of the 2018 ACC Championship on Friday at 1 p.m. (ET) at Mewborn Field. It marks the second straight year that the Irish and Seminoles will face off with a tournament final berth on the line.