NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame Softball (16-8, 9-6 ACC) will continue the 2021 home slate taking on Central Michigan on March 31 at 5 p.m. ET before traveling to Florida State for an Easter weekend four-game series April 2-4.
Notre Dame is fresh off a 4-0 week, complete with a combined no-hitter vs. Valparaiso and a series sweep vs. NC State. Senior Abby Sweet was again selected as the ACC Player of the Week, marking her third weekly conference honor of the season (tied for the most among any ACC softball players).
The Irish boast the ACC’s top three batters, with Sweet leading all conference players, batting .538. Gaskins follows in second with a .426 avg., and junior Emma Clark ranks third in the conference (.423).
THE DETAILS
Location: Melissa Cook Stadium (Notre Dame, IN)
Games:
- Wednesday, March 31: 5 p.m. ET (Note: original time was 5:30 p.m. ET, game was moved earlier due to weather forecast)
- Melissa Cook Stadium (Notre Dame, IN) – Attendance is limited for sports competing this spring to guests of competing Notre Dame student-athletes and coaches as well as current Notre Dame, Holy Cross and St. Mary’s College students.
- ACC Network
- Friday, April 2: 5 p.m. ET
- JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex (Tallahassee, FL)
- ACC Network
- Saturday, April 3: 1 p.m. ET
- JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex (Tallahassee, FL)
- ACC Network Extra
- Saturday, April 3: 3 p.m. ET
- JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex (Tallahassee, FL)
- ACC Network
- Sunday, March 28: Noon ET
- JoAnne Graf Field at the Seminole Softball Complex (Tallahassee, FL)
- ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: und.com/mediastats
BY THE NUMBERS
1: OF Abby Sweet is one of the nation’s best at the plate, ranking among the top not only in the ACC, but across Division I softball. Sweet’s .538 avg. leads the ACC and ranks sixth in the nation, while her 42 total hits are first in the ACC and tied for fourth in the nation. She also leads the conference in doubles (10, sixth nationally), on-base percentage (0.591, 14th nationally), runs per game (1.08), slugging percentage (0.936, 19th nationally) and total bases (73, 12th nationally).
1: Notre Dame has the best team batting average in the ACC, combining for a .317 rate.
2: Notre Dame pitchers have totaled two combined no-hitters so far this season. In both the games against Alabama State (Feb. 14) and Valparaiso (March 24), Ps Alexis Holloway, Morgan Ryan and Payton Tidd all pitched to keep both teams hitless and scoreless.
3: The Irish boast the ACC’s top three individual batters: OF Abby Sweet (.538) ranks first, IF Karina Gaskins (.426) is second and OF Emma Clark ranks third (.423).
3: Notre Dame came in at No. 3 in the preseason ACC Coaches poll, with IF Katie Marino on the preseason All-ACC team. Of the top six teams in the ACC, Notre Dame is one, and will face the other five in the regular season.
3: Deanna Gumpf announced the selection of three captains for the 2021 season: Seniors IF Sarah Genz, P Alexis Holloway and OF Abby Sweet. Holloway and Sweet are the eighth and ninth two-time team captains in program history. .
4: OF Abby Sweet was hit by four pitches in the second game of the March 27 doubleheader vs. NC State, totaling six HBP on the day (two from the first game). The four HBP are the most in a single game taken by any Division I player this season. In that game, Sweet never posted an at-bat, as she was hit on all four plate appearances, as the game ended her 16-game hit streak.
5: The Irish rank in the Top 5 of the conference in both batting average and pitching ERA. Notre Dame ranks first in the ACC in team batting average, boasting a collective .317, while the Irish rank fifth in the conference in collective ERA (2.08).
6: As the schedule stands for 2021, Notre Dame has faced or will face six teams that were ranked or receiving votes in the initial USA TODAY/NFCA poll: Alabama, Liberty, Duke, Clemson, Florida State and Virginia Tech (initial poll). Notre Dame was the first team to hand Duke a loss in 2021 (Feb. 20), and was the only loss on the Blue Devils’ record until March 27.
16: The Irish return 16 veterans in 2021, including every starter from the 2019-20 season. They are joined by six freshmen.
42: OF Abby Sweet has compiled a 42-game on-base streak, which began on Feb. 9, 2020 and has extended into this season. IF Karina Gaskins has also reached a milestone, piecing together a 19-game on-base streak, which includes every game in which she has played in 2021, while OF Leea Hanks joins the two, adding a 10-game on-base streak from March 13, 2021 to present.