The Notre Dame softball team hits the road for a midweek contest at Northwestern on Tuesday evening. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT and the contest can be seen on BTN Plus via BTN2Go. The Irish are coming off a three-game sweep of Boston College in ACC play this weekend at Melissa Cook Stadium, while the Wildcats enter following a three-game sweep of Nebraska in Big Ten action.
2019 Notes & Numbers
- The Irish have played 12 games this season against teams ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes, with seven games against top-10 opponents (at the time of the game).
- Notre Dame has won 12 consecutive non-conference games. The Irish won two games at the Red Desert Classic before sweeping five contests at the FAU/FIU Parents’ Weekend Tournament, winning at FIU and at home against Western Michigan and IUPUI.
- Ali Wester’s 265 career hits rank third in the nation among active players, trailing only Oklahoma’s Sydney Romero (286) and Florida’s Amanda Lorenz (271).
- This season, Ali Wester has notched 53 hits, ranking second in the ACC and 15th nationally. In the league, she trails only Georgia Tech’s Breanna Roper (57), while George Washington’s Sierra Lange leads the nation with 63 hits.
- Ali Wester has struck out once every 21.3 at-bats this season, making her the second-toughest hitter in the ACC to strikeout. Donna Friedman of Virginia leads the league at 21.5 at-bats per strikeout.
- Cait Brooks ranks 17th in the nation and second in the ACC with 13 home runs this season. NC State’s Brigette Nordberg leads the conference with 14 round trippers.
- Cait Brooks ranks second in the ACC in slugging percentage, checking in at a clip of .828. She ranks 27th in the nation in the category.
- Katie Marino’s 1.08 runs per game slots third in the ACC and 19th in the nation.
- Abby Sweet has driven in runs on four sacrifice flies this season, 14th in the country and second in the ACC. The national leaders are at seven each and Virginia Tech’s Caitlyn Nolan leads the league with five.
- Cait Brooks earned ACC Co-Player of the Week honors on March 19 after hitting four homers with six RBI to go along with her .429 average on the week. Her two-run shot in the fourth inning helped power the Irish to a 7-4 win in game two of the series at No. 3 Florida State.
- During its nine-game spring break trip, Notre Dame had five players hit at least .360 during the stretch. Abby Sweet paced the group with a .500 average, while Cait Brooks hit .423 and Ali Wester posted a .419 average. Katie Marino (.370) and MK Bonamy (.360) rounded out the group.
- The Irish collected two weekly ACC honors on March 5 as Katie Marino was named Co-Player of the Week and Payton Tidd earned Co-Pitcher of the Week. Notre Dame went 2-0 at the Red Desert Classic with wins over Utah Valley (16-0) and No. 24 Baylor (14-1).