CHAPEL HILL & DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA — RV Notre Dame will travel to the Research Triangle Feb. 18-21 to join all ACC teams in an ACC Pod Weekend. The Irish will first take on Syracuse in three games at host site North Carolina (Anderson Softball Stadium), before heading to Durham for a three-game series at No. 18/19 Duke.
Note: Both games on Feb. 18 were cancelled due to weather.
Notre Dame enters the second week of the season with a 2-1 record, notching run-rule wins over North Alabama (9-0, six innings) and Alabama State (13-0, five innings, combined no-hitter). Pitcher Alexis Holloway leads the Irish in the circle with a 0.00 ERA, allowing just one hit in two appearances (total 7.0 innings) and throwing a complete game shutout against North Alabama.
Outfielder Abby Sweet leads all Notre Dame batters with a .667 average, notching a 1.000 slugging percentage last weekend. Fellow outfielder Emma Clark tied the program’s single-game stolen base record with four vs. North Alabama, and totaled six steals on the weekend.
Weekend Schedule
Vs. Syracuse (at Anderson Softball Stadium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
- Game 1: Feb. 18, 11 a.m. ET – CANCELLED
- Game 2: Feb. 18, 1:30 p.m. ET – CANCELLED
- Game 3: Feb. 19, 4 p.m. ET
Live Stats: und.com/mediastats
No live stream available
At Duke (Duke Softball Stadium, Durham, North Carolina)
- Game 1: Feb. 20, 6 p.m. ET (Broadcast: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=d96da223-8058-4f91-bfb0-fd4bfc166495)
- Game 2: Feb. 21, 10 a.m. ET
- Game 3: Feb. 21, Noon ET (Broadcast: https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=9dc325c7-c8fc-4c7c-9b0a-ed0790327b3b)
Live Stats: https://goduke.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
By The Numbers
0.00: P Alexis Holloway (1-0) owns a 0.00 ERA after opening weekend, totaling 112 pitches (7.0 IP) and 10 strikeouts, allowing just one hit on the weekend. In 2020, she ranked second in the ACC with a 1.09 ERA.
0: Ps Alexis Holloway, Payton Tidd and Morgan Ryan combined for a no-hitter in the 13-0 win at Alabama State. Tidd earned the win, as Ryan started. Tidd and Ryan each pitched two innings, while Holloway entered to pitch the fifth and final inning.
1.000: OF Abby Sweet posted a 1.000 SLG on opening weekend in games vs. North Alabama, No. 8 Alabama and Alabama State. She scored four runs in the 13-0 win vs. Alabama State, the first Irish player to get home four times in a single game since Katie Marino at Virginia (4/19/2019). Sweet currently boasts a 19-game on-base streak.
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 Emma Clark wrote her name in the history books against North Alabama, stealing four bases to match a single-game program record. She joined Ruth Kmak as the only two players in Irish history to steal four bases in a game. Kmak’s record came vs. Loyola-Chicago (April 16, 1990). Clark batted 1.000 in her three at-bats, also notching an RBI.
5: IF Karina Gaskins racked up five RBI in the 13-0 win over Alabama State, the first Irish player to achieve the feat since All-American Cait Brooks at Pitt (April 27, 2019). Gaskins hit her first-career home run in the game, the first home run of the season for Notre Dame, scoring three runs on the play.
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: No. 8 Alabama, RV Liberty, No. 25 Duke, RV Clemson, No. 12 Florida State and No. 15 Virginia Tech (initial rankings).
7: The Irish totaled seven stolen bases in the 13-0 combined no-hitter at Alabama State, the most in program records since at least 2012.The last time Notre Dame posted four or more steals was in 2019 vs. Seattle (Feb. 21, Mary Nutter Classic). OF Emma Clark continued her stealing success with two steals (six total on the weekend), as OF Abby Sweet added three and OF Leea Hanks posted two.
16: The Irish return 16 veterans in 2021, including every starter from the 2019-20 season. They are joined by six freshmen.
750: Notre Dame head coach Deanna Gumpf posted her 750th career win on Feb. 28, 2020, in a 6-2 victory over Duke. Gumpf joined former Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach Muffet McGraw as the only coaches in Notre Dame history to achieve the feat.