April 16, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Doubleheaders at Villanova (April 18) and Rutgers (April 19) will mark the end of a seven-game road trip this weekend for the Notre Dame softball team. The Irish (27-13 overall, 9-3 BIG EAST Conference) have won nine of their last 10 games – with the lone loss coming in an extra-inning bout versus No. 22 DePaul – and 19 of the last 22 contests. Notre Dame is third in the BIG EAST standings behind Louisville (37-5, 12-2) and DePaul (27-9, 11-2), while Villanova (18-15, 4-11) and Rutgers (15-24, 3-11) both sit near the bottom of the 13-team pack.
Live stats for each of this weekend’s games will be available at UND.com. For up-to-the-minute scores and highlights, sign up or IRISH ALERTS text messaging services at UND.com.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
27-13 overall / 9-3 BIG EAST
[UND.com • BIGEAST.org]
Villanova Wildcats
18-15 overall / 4-11 BIG EAST
[Villanova.com • BIGEAST.org]
Villanova Softball Field • Villanova, Pa.
Saturday, April 18 • 12:00 p.m. (ET) / 2:00 p.m.
Live stats: UND.com
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
15-24 overall / 3-11 BIG EAST
[ScarletKnights.com • BIGEAST.org]
Rutgers Softball Complex • Piscataway, N.J.
Sunday, April 19 • 11:00 a.m. (ET) / 1:00 p.m.
Live stats: UND.com
One-Hitters …
• Patience at the plate pays its dividends, and Notre Dame has certainly shown its patience this season … through the first 15 games of the season the Irish hit just six home runs … currently, the team total stands at 48 … the mark is already third-best in a single season (49 in 2003 and 54 in 2002) … the Irish have sent at least two home runs out of the park in 14 games while ranking ninth nationally with 1.21 home runs/game … the team has posted streaks of 11- and seven-straight games with a home run … two games have seen four home runs leave the park … 20 of those home runs have been belted against BIG EAST teams, the best of any conference program … Louisville is second with 15.
• Christine Lux has been a key contributor to the flurry of Irish home runs this season … Lux set a single-season record with 15 home runs in 2008 and has 13 home runs in 2009 … after not hitting a home run until the 15th game of the season, she now ranks eighth nationally with 0.34 home runs/game … furthermore, her 42 RBI are good for a 1.05 RBI/game average which is 22nd-best in the country (she had 42 RBI in 2008) … Lux has 31 career home runs which puts her in a three-way tie for second all-time … Jarrah Myers is the program leader with 36 round-trippers.
• While her bat has earned quite a bit of attention, Lux’s glove has helped her post some noteworthy stats as well … her 1,105 putouts ranks fourth all-time as she recently passed Irish assistant coach Kris Ganeff (1,040) on the charts … the first baseman has just one error this season – and seven throughout her career – for the program’s top fielding percentage of .944.
• Linda Kohan has 90 career walks which ranks second all-time … she recently passed Andrea Loman (87) but will have to keep the bat on her shoulder to pass first-place Meagan Ruthrauff (112).
• Only three Notre Dame teams have finished a season with a batting average of .300 or better … Notre Dame is hitting .301 this season, the 25th-best clip in the nation … the team’s 5.61 runs/game is also 25th … entering the week, the team’s .521 slugging pct. was 11th nationally … the single-season team record in that category is .457 (set in 2001) … Notre Dame’s .556 slugging pct. in BIG EAST play ranks first in the league … the Irish are reaching base at a rate of .377 this season, with the program-best mark of .373 coming in 2001 … once again, the patience at the plate has led to more quality at-bats which is apparent with the team’s 148 strikeouts … while it’s not the prettiest stat, it looks like a beauty queen when placed next to last year’s strikeout total of 290.
• With all the happenings at the dish, Brittney Bargar has stabilized her status as one of the most dominating pitchers in Irish history this season … her 159 appearances ranks second all-time (Heather Booth is first with 167) … Bargar is third on the charts with 84 wins, and her 92 complete games ranks first … she is second in innings pitched with 885.2 behind Booth (901.1) … her 755 strikeouts rank fourth.
• Dani Miller has played in 30 games this season and has recorded a hit in all but five of those contests … in fact, she currently boasts a team-best 16-game hit streak that is also the longest in program history … next in line is two-time All-American Andrea Loman, who recorded a hit in 15 consecutive games in 2005.
–ND–