NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame (22-12, 13-10 ACC) faces its final road series of 2021 as the Irish travel to Blacksburg to take on No. 15/13 Virginia Tech. Notre Dame enters the series off a five-game win streak, including a series sweep of Virginia last weekend.
OF Abby Sweet (.477) continues to lead the conference in batting average, as she has for the past six weeks. OF Emma Clark is tied for third in the conference in batting average, posting .423.
Entering the home stretch of the regular season, Notre Dame will attempt its fourth series win in 2021.
THE DETAILS
Location: Tech Softball Park (Blacksburg, VA)
NOTE: Schedule has been amended due to expected inclement weather.
Games:
- Friday, April 23: 2 p.m. ET vs. Virginia Tech
- Friday, April 23: 4 p.m. ET vs. Virginia Tech
- Saturday, April 24: 9 a.m. ET vs. Virginia Tech
- Sunday, April 25: Noon ET vs. Virginia Tech
Live Stats: und.com/mediastats
BY THE NUMBERS
1: OF Abby Sweet is one of the nation’s best at the plate, ranking among the top not only in the ACC, but across Division I softball. Sweet’s .477 avg. leads the ACC and ranks 12th in the nation, while her 51 total hits are first in the ACC and tied for 14th in the nation. She is also the toughest player to strike out in the ACC, striking out just five times on 107 at-bats. Sweet ties for the conference lead in doubles (13, T-10th nationally), and leads the ACC in total bases (85, 39th nationally) and on-base percentage (0.545, 29th nationally).
2: Notre Dame pitchers have totaled two combined no-hitters so far this season. In both the games against Alabama State (Feb. 14) and Valparaiso (March 24), Ps Alexis Holloway, Morgan Ryan and Payton Tidd all pitched to keep both teams hitless and scoreless.
2: The Irish boast two of the ACC’s Top 4 individual batters. OF Abby Sweet (.477) ranks first, and OF Emma Clark is tied for third (.413). Sweet leads the ACC in hits (51), while Clark ranks tied for fourth with 45 hits.
2: For the first time in program history, the Irish have two graduate students on the roster. IF Katie Marino and IF Chelsea Purcell each took advantage of the NCAA’s extra year afforded to student-athletes in 2020.
3: OF Abby Sweet and OF Leea Hanks have each hit three triples this season, which ties for fourth-most in the conference.
3: Notre Dame came in at No. 3 in the preseason ACC Coaches poll, with IF Katie Marino on the preseason All-ACC team. Of the top six teams in the ACC, Notre Dame is one, and and was scheduled to face the other five in the regular season.
3: Deanna Gumpf announced the selection of three captains for the 2021 season: Seniors IF Sarah Genz, P Alexis Holloway and OF Abby Sweet. Holloway and Sweet are the eighth and ninth two-time team captains in program history.
3/13: The ACC’s top batter, OF Abby Sweet has led the conference in batting average since March 13, 2021 (six-straight weeks).
4: OF Abby Sweet was hit by four pitches in the second game of the March 27 doubleheader vs. NC State, totaling six HBP on the day (two from the first game). The four HBP tied for the most in a single game taken by any Division I player in NCAA history, and are the single most this season. In that game, Sweet never posted an at-bat, as she was hit on all four plate appearances, as the game ended her 16-game hit streak.
4: Through this point in the season, Notre Dame has faced four teams that were either ranked or receiving votes at the time of those games (Alabama, Duke, Liberty and Florida State). Notre Dame was the first team to hand Duke a loss in 2021 (Feb. 20), and was the only loss on the Blue Devils’ record until March 27. The Irish are also set to face Virginia Tech, who is currently ranked No. 15/13.
5: Notre Dame ranks in the ACC’s Top 5 in team batting average and pitching. The Irish are third in the conference with a collective .302 batting avg., while they rank fifth in the conference with a 2.38 ERA.
6: IF Katie Marino led the Irish to the sweep of Virginia, batting .455 and totaling 6 RBI, while also being an impressive force in the field with 10 putouts and 10 assists on the weekend. She hit two solo home runs, one of which came in the eventual 3-2 win over the Cavaliers. In that win, with the Irish and Cavaliers tied 2-2 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Marino drew a walk, the last pitch of which was wild, allowing Abby Sweet to speed home for the win.
12: Irish pitchers are dangerous in the batter’s box, totaling 12 extra-base hits on the season. P Payton Tidd has hit eight extra-base balls this season, with five doubles and three home runs, accumulating 10 RBI on 11 total hits. She was named Honorable Mention for the Nation’s Best Hitting Pitchers by Justin’s World of Softball. P Alexis Holloway has also made a significant mark at the plate, hitting two doubles and two home runs, along with two singles, and totaling nine RBI on the season.
14: The Irish have won 14-straight games at home, beginning with a four-game win streak to end the 2019 home slate, as the Irish did not play a home game in 2020. The streak began with an April 13, 2019 win over NC State and extends to the present. Seven of those 14 wins have comes as part of two ACC series sweeps: vs. NC State (March 24-26) and vs. Virginia (April 16-18).
16: The Irish return 16 veterans in 2021, including every starter from the 2019-20 season. They are joined by six freshmen.
64: IF Chelsea Purcell, currently in her fifth season (graduate student), leads the team in defensive assists with 64. Seeing most action at shortstop in her four previous seasons, she made the switch to third base in 2021 and has made a significant mark in the infield.