March 2, 2007
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Notre Dame’s softball team (6-6) defeated Jacksonville University (3-15), 7-2, on its second game of the day at the Crispers/JU Invitational in Jacksonville, Fla. on Friday, March 2. The Irish had three different players with two RBI in the game.
The Irish attack came out firing in the first inning with four runs. Senior Stephanie Brown (Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol) was hit by a pitch to start in the inning. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Linda Kohan (Westminster, Calif./Westminster) then walked to put runners on the corners. Brown would come in to score the first run on the single from Heather Johnson (Los Alamitos, Calif./Mater Dei). The Irish plated a second run on the fielder’s choice from junior Katie Laing (Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol) in which she also reached base. After a ground out, both Johnson and Laing would score the third and fourth run on Gessica Hufnagle’s (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge) single up the middle.
Notre Dame added a three-spot in the second inning. Sophomore Stephanie Mola (Naples, Fla./St. John Neumann) drove a leadoff single through the left side. Brown followed with a walked and Beth Northway (Kentwood, Mich./Kentwood) was hit-by-a-pitch to load the bases. A Kohan double scored Mola and Brown for the first two runs of the inning. Johnson would drive in the final run of the frame on a sacrifice fly.
Jacksonville picked up a run in the fifth inning, as Alexis Novak had an infield single to start the frame. Novak would come in to score the first run on the two-out single from Amber Mosley.
The Dolphins crept a run closer in the sixth inning on the sacrifice fly from Novak but that was a close as they would get as Notre Dame defeated Jacksonville 7-2.
Senior Kenya Fuemmeler (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury) (1-4) was spectacular for the Irish going the first four innings and not giving up a hit with four strikeouts in winning her first game of the season. Sophomore Christine Farrell (La Habra, Calif./Sonora) pitched the last three innings for the first save of her career.
Kohan was one-for-two with two RBI and a run scored. Johnson also had two RBI and a run scored, while Hufnagle was two-for-three with a pair of RBI.
Notre Dame will continue its play in the Crispers/JU Invitational with a second game against host school Jacksonville starting at 12 p.m. on March 3.
Irish Notes: Farrell’s three innings was the longest outing of her career … Brown is three-for-five with three runs scored in the first two games of the tournament.