Jan. 10, 2007
PROVIDENCE, R.I.- The Notre Dame softball team has been selected to finish third in the BIG EAST Conference for the upcoming 2007 season, in a vote by the leagues coaches. The Fighting Irish are coming off a season in which the team finished 42-21 and had a 17-5 record in BIG EAST regular-season play. The team took home the BIG EAST Tournament title for the fifth time and made an NCAA Regional appearance for the eighth consecutive season and 11th time overall.
The Irish received a first-place vote and totaled 104 points to finish behind front-runner Louisville and South Florida. Louisville secured seven first-place votes to nudge out South Florida’s four votes in the league’s head coaches poll. Louisville and South Florida are both beginning their second seasons in the BIG EAST Conference and finished first and second, respectively in the regular-season standings during the 2006 campaign.
Notre Dame welcomes back two of its top returners from a season ago in senior outfielder Stephanie Brown (Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol) and junior infielder Katie Laing (Chandler, Ariz./Corona del Sol). Brown, after setting a BIG EAST record for hits in a single season in 2006 with 38, was a unanimous all-BIG EAST first team selection, while Laing was a second-team choice.
The Irish will start their `07 slate by traveling to Auburn, Ala., to participate in the Tiger Invitational on Fri., Feb. 16 against host institution Auburn at 3 p.m. Notre Dame opens the home schedule with a game against IUPUI on Thurs., March 22 at 5 p.m. at Ivy Field. The team’s BIG EAST opener is a home doubleheader versus St. John’s on Sat., March 24 starting at noon.