SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball is back on the road for the first time in three weeks as the Fighting Irish head to Louisville for a matchup with the University of Louisville Cardinals. The series will feature a three-game set beginning Thursday night at 6 p.m., followed by matchups Friday at 5 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. Thursday and Frida’s games will be aired on the ACC Network Extra, with Saturday’s finale coming on the ACC Network.
The Irish enter the weekend with a 21-10-1 record, and are 5-6-1 in ACC action. Notre Dame’s last five wins have all been run-rule victories as the Irish offense has raised its average .080 points over the past 14 games, and have seen their home run numbers nearly double in comparison to the first 18 games of the season.
That surge in the Irish offense can be directly related to the middle of the order hitting its stride. Joley Mitchell, Lexi Orozco, Karina Gaskins and Carlli Kloss are all hitting over the .400 mark in the past 14 games. Mitchell leads the team with a .535 average in the last 14 games, hitting five home runs and driving in 20. Mitchell leads the team with a .370 average on the season, while stealing eight bases.
Orozco and Gaskins lead the power with 10 home runs each. Orozco leads the team with 31 RBI on the season, while Gaskins has driven in 27. That RBI total equals her total walks drawn for the season, leading the ACC and ranking in the top 10 nationally in walks per game.
The pitching staff is led by graduate student Payton Tidd. Tidd has appeared in 19 games, starting 14. She’s thrown in a team-high 93.1 innings and has struck out 78 hitters. Freshman Micaela Kastor adds 19 appearances with eight starts. She leads the team with three saves and limits opponents to a .212 average against. Shannon Becker worked a complete game her last time out, her second of the season. She’s appeared in a team-high 20 games, throwing 61.2 innings and striking out 51 hitters.
Louisville enters the weekend with a 24-10 record, going 9-2 in its conference action. Last time out, the Cardinals took care of business against Syracuse, sweeping a doubleheader before the final game of the series was canceled. Previous to that, Louisville dropped a midweek to Kentucky and swept an ACC series against NC State.
As a team, the Cardinals hit for a .316 average led by Sarah Gordon’s .406 mark. In 34 games this season, she’s hit nine doubles, five home runs and driven in 29. Korbe Otis adds a .400 average with a team-best 41 runs and is a perfect 15-for-15 in stolen base attempts. Daisy Hess leads the team with 18 stolen bases in 20 attempts, while hitting for a .323 average with 18 RBI. Taylor Roby leads the offense with 14 home runs, driving in a team-best 40 this season.
Roby also leads the Louisville pitching staff. The graduate student leads the team with 14 starts, appearing in 20 games and owning a 1.86 ERA. She’s thrown 71.1 innings, striking out 47 and allowing just 12 extra-base hits. Alyssa Zabala adds 20 appearances with 12 starts. She edges out Roby for the most innings this season at 71.2, while holding opponents to a .239 average against. She’s thrown four complete games and picked up a save. Same Booe adds a 1.68 ERA in 25.0 innings. Gabby Holloway and Cassie Grizzard each have an ERA just above 4.00, throwing 22.1 and 22.0 innings, respectively.