SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team plays host to the top team in the ACC this weekend as the Fighting Irish welcome No. 4 Florida State to Melissa Cook Stadium this weekend. The series is set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, playing at 6 p.m., 1 p.m., and noon, respectively. Friday night’s matchup will air live on ACC Network, with the final two games being streamed on ACC Network Extra. There will be recognitions of each of the senior class and our graduate students throughout the weekend, with the full senior day ceremony celebrating Brooke Marquez, Leea Hanks, Lexi Orozco, Macie Eck, Payton Tidd, Miranda Johnson and Joley Mitchell prior to first pitch of the final game of the series.
The Irish enter the weekend at 29-13-1 overall and 11-9-1 in the ACC. Notre Dame is tied for the league lead with 121 runs scored in conference play. Notre Dame has won the series against its last three conference opponents, taking two of three games at Louisville and Boston College, with a home series victory over nationally ranked Virginia Tech.
Notre Dame’s offense is one of the top in the ACC, hitting for a league-best .328 average. Joley Mitchell leads the Irish offense with a .388 average and 14 stolen bases. Mitchell has started every game at third base this season, connecting on 50 hits, seven doubles, nine home runs and bringing in 39 runs. Carlli Kloss adds a .372 average and a .435 on-base percentage at the top of the lineup. She’s tied for the team with 20 extra-base hits, with a team-best 14 doubles and 40 runs scored. Karina Gaskins and Lexi Orozco have traded the home run title throughout the season. Gaskins currently leads the team with 14 home runs, with another 39 RBI. Orozco leads the team with 42 RBI, having hit 13 home runs of her own.
Payton Tidd leads the pitching staff. The graduate student owns a 2.75 ERA in a team-best 26 appearances, with 21 starts. She’s logged 135.0 innings and ranks 10th in the conference with 99 strikeouts. With one more strikeout, it’ll be just the second time in her five-year career that she’s eclipsed the 100 strikeout plateau in a season, and the first time since her freshman season. Micaela Kastor owns a 2.16 ERA, ranking near the top in the conference. In her 23 appearances, she’s logged 71.1 innings, striking out 65 and holding opponents to a .218 average against. Shannon Becker adds seven wins in 25 appearances in the circle. She’s picked up a pair of saves as she’s thrown 70.2 innings. She adds 56 strikeouts and has thrown two complete games in her 12 starts.
Florida State enters the weekend as the top dog in the ACC, and one of the top teams in the nation. The Seminoles at 16-2 in league action, having won all six conference series to this point, and are coming off of a sweep of No. 22 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. FSU has dropped conference games to Virginia at home and Duke on the road, both of which game in the second game of the series, and each were decided by a single run.
The offense hits for a .308 team average, led by Jahni Kerr. Kerr owns a .364 clip in 45 games. She adds 10 doubles, eight homers and has driven in 28. Kaley Mudge, Hallie Wacaser and Katie Dack each have a .333 average. Mudge adds 18 extra-base hits, Dack leads the team with 10 home runs and Wacaser has 10 doubles. The Seminoles exercise a patient approach up and down the lineup, drawing 203 walks, tops in the ACC and ranking second nationally behind a team that Notre Dame defeated earlier this season, UNC Greensboro (217).
FSU’s pitching staff is one of the best in the country, owning a 1.66 ERA across seven pitchers. Freshman Makenna Reid is 10-0 in her rookie season, owning a 1.01 ERA. She’s thrown 55.2 innings, allowing just eight earned runs and recording four saves. Kathryn Sandercock is the workhorse on the Seminole staff, recording 117.1 innings, allowing just 18 earned runs and opponents hit .185 against her. She leads the FSU staff with 18 wins and six saves while owning a 1.07 ERA. Allison Royalty, Ali DuBois and Mack Leonard each have over 10 appearances on the season. Every FSU pitcher has made a minimum five appearances out of the bullpen. In 48 games, Sandercock is the only pitcher to have gone this distance with six complete games.