SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame softball team heads to the Empire State for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series with the Syracuse Orange this weekend. The Fighting Irish enter after taking two of three from Georgia Tech on the weekend, and handing sixth-ranked Northwestern its sixth loss of the season Tuesday night.
Notre Dame has won 12 of the last 13 games, with the one loss being a one-run game in the series opener with Georgia Tech. In ACC play this season, the Irish have taken two of three series including a sweep at Pitt. The Irish took the lone game that was played in the series with top-10 ranked Duke.
The Irish offense ranks second in the ACC and 14th nationally with a .331 team average. Karina Gaskins and Abby Sweet lead the offense, hitting .417 and .411 respectively. Leea Hanks adds a .374 average from the lead-off spot with a team-leading 10 doubles, four triples and four home runs. Sweet leads the team with 15 stolen bases as Notre Dame’s 1.66 stolen bases per game average ranks 33rd nationally and is the second-most per game in the conference.
In the circle, the trio of Payton Tidd, Alexis Holloway and Shannon Becker have held it down this season. Tidd leads the Irish with 90.2 innings of work in 14 starts and 21 appearances this season. She owns a 2.93 ERA with 63 strikeouts, holding opponents to a .204 average. Holloway has nine wins in 13 starts this season. She’s totaled 69 strikeouts in 80 innings. Becker leads the team with a 1.62 ERA in 18 appearances. She’s thrown 60.2 innings with 54 strikeouts.
Syracuse enters at 19-12 and 3-8 in conference play. The Orange have competed against NC State, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Pitt. Syracuse won its last two games, defeated Pitt 5-4 and 1-0 in a doubleheader last Saturday. Prior to the series with the Panthers, Syracuse was swept at Georgia Tech but had won its previous seven games.
The Orange offense is led by graduate infielder Neli Casares-Maher. Casares-Maher is hitting at a .378 clip in all 31 games. She’s homered six times with eight doubles and scored a team-best 29 runs. Angel Jasso hits for a .368 average in 29 starts. She’s hit a team-best 10 doubles with two homers and driven in 19. She leads the team with 13 stolen bases in 15 attempts. Another hitting over the .300 line is Kelly Breen. She’s driven in 24 runs, the most on the team this season to go with a team-best seven home run. Breen is hitting at a .307 average, scored 15 runs to go with seven doubles.
Syracuse pitching has been solid this season, as five pitchers have combined for a 3.55 team ERA. Lindsey Hendrix has 16 appearances and 11 starts, logging 60.0 innings. She’s limited opponents to a .238 average, striking out 67 hitters and earning a 6-3 record. Cummer Clark is 7-1 on the season, working 46.2 innings. She’s held opponents to a .172 average against, but has not pitched in two weeks. Ariana Adams is the team-leader with 19 appearances, earning a 5-6 record with a 3.57 ERA.
Syracuse Scuffles
The series with Syracuse goes as far back as 2001 when both schools competed as part of the BIG EAST conference. The Irish hold a 28-10 advantage. Since both teams have joined the ACC, Notre Dame’s advantage has slimmed winning 8 of the 13 ACC matchups. The Orange have had the better end of the last two meetings. In 2019, Syracuse took two of three at Skytop Softball Stadium, and in 2021 the Orange took a neutral site game in February. The Irish own a 10-6 series advantage in New York, but have not taken a three-game series.
Thou Shalt Not Steal
The catching combination of Shelby Grimm and Carlli Kloss have limited the opponents running game better than any tandem in the ACC. Kloss has thrown out four of nine attempted base stealers, and Grimm has tossed out eight of 17 attempts. Combined, the Irish have thrown out 12 of 26 attempted base stealers and the .538 stolen base allowed percentage is the lowest in the conference. Grimm also picked off a runner this season.
Getting Out of the Blocks
Notre Dame has scored 46 runs in the first inning of games this season, and 128 runs in the first three innings this season. When scoring in the first inning, the Irish are 15-2 this season and when scoring the first run of the game Notre Dame is 22-2 on the season. The Irish have hit seven of their 35 home runs in the first inning this season. The only other inning with as many home runs is the fourth inning.
Scoring in ACC Series
Notre Dame scored 36 runs in the three-game series with Georgia Tech this weekend. Its the most runs scored in a three-game ACC series in program history, outscoring the 35 that Notre Dame scored in a three-game series in Charlottesville in 2014.
The Irish scored 36 runs in a three-game series against Seton Hall as a member of the BIG EAST in 2010. The 12 runs per game in the series is the highest average runs per game in a conference series in since 2000 when Notre Dame average 12.5 in a doubleheader with Providence in South Bend.
National and ACC Player of the Week
Karina Gaskins had one of the most productive weeks in all of NCAA softball two weeks ago, leading the Irish to a 5-0 record and a three-game ACC sweep at Pitt. She finished the week 12-for-16 with a double, two home runs, eight runs scored and 11 RBI. She had at least one hit and one RBI in all five games, four of which were multi-hit and multi-RBI games.
Over the last 10 games, she’s hitting at a .594 average with four home runs, 20 RBI and scored 12 runs.
Record Setting Night
In the home opener against Detroit Mercy, the Fighting Irish scored 18 runs, tying a school record for runs scored and the largest margin of victory. The original record was set March 11, 1994 in an 18-0 victory over Robert Morris. Eight of nine starters had a hit and five players who didn’t start the contest registered one of the 18 hits. 15 different players scored a run in the victory.
Any Means Necessary
Offensive stand out Abby Sweet picked up right where she left off after a record-setting on-base percentage in 2021 (.537). She’s second on the team with a .519 OBP this season. (Gaskins – .540 OBP) Sweet owns a .411 batting average, drawn 11 walks and has been hit by 13 pitches. The 13 hit by pitches in 35 games ranks 9th nationally in HBP per game. Her .701 slugging percentage is second-highest among the Notre Dame regulars. (Gaskins – .771)
Bench Bombs
The Notre Dame bench came up big last week, helping the Irish go 4-1. In the midweek games, Rachel Allen hit her first career homer against Loyola Chicago. In the series with Georgia Tech, the Irish were 3-for-6 pinch hitting. Carlli Kloss and Quinn Biggio each had a hit off the bench. Joley Mitchell had a pinch hit appearance in the bottom of the eighth in the series finale, a walk-off three run home run to take the series. In total, Notre Dame pinch hitters are 20-for-65 (.308) this season.
Lineup Shuffle
After starting the season 14-4, Notre Dame made a move in the lineup switching Leea Hanks and Abby Sweet. Hanks took over in the lead off role and Sweet assumed Hanks’s role in the 3-spot. Since that move, the Irish are 14-3, Sweet is hitting for a .412 average with three doubles and three home runs. Hanks has five doubles, three triples and found her power game with four home runs. The biggest difference in the lineup has come from cleanup hitter Karina Gaskins. Since the move, Gaskins is hitting .574 with 27 RBI, seven home runs, seen an 2:1 BB:K ratio and has scored 16 runs.
Working in TRANsistion
Emily Tran has appeared in 25 games this season, all of which have come as a pinch runner. In that role, she’s scored 11 times, and is 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts. She’s the primary speedster off the bench for the Irish. She entered as a pinch runner in the finale with Georgia Tech, forcing pressure as she scored with a passed ball and two wild pitches in the fourth inning.
An Extra Run
After averaging five runs per game in 2021, the Irish offense has upped that number to 6.86 per game this season, ranking 11th nationally and second in the ACC. Abby Sweet and Leea Hanks have each scored 39 runs, tied for 18th nationally in runs per game.
Top 25 wins
Against LSU, the Irish rallied late, using a fifth inning home run from Payton Tidd to tie it, and Miranda Johnson drove in the game-winning runs in the seventh. Tidd shut the door as the Irish earned the 8-6 win.
Notre Dame followed that with a 9-2 win over then No. 9-Texas. A 7-run fifth inning paved the way for the first win over a top 10-nationally ranked opponent since beating No. 3 Florida State in Tallahassee in 2019.
The Irish added a top 10 win after knocking off No. 7 Duke at home. Notre Dame used a 3-for-3, 4 RBI performance from Karina Gaskins and got a dominant start from Payton Tidd. Tidd worked 7.0 innings and allowed just one hit in the 8-1 victory.
In a midweek matchup with #6 Northwestern, Tidd again shined in the circle. throwing a complete game, allowing just five hits and two earned runs. The Irish offense got a run early with a Kronenberger double and rallied for two in the sixth. Hanks drove in the game-winning run with a double.
Sister Sister
Notre Dame softball has a pair of sisters on its roster this season. Shelby and Cassidy Grimm are playing their second collegiate season together in 2022. Alexis and Anna Holloway are playing their first year of softball together this season. The extra year of eligibility for Alexis allowed for her to stay at Notre Dame long enough to play with her younger sister.