Feb. 16, 2007
AUBURN, Ala.- Sophomore Erin Glasco (Johnston City, Ill./Johnston City) started the Irish season off the right way with a game-winning single down the right-field line, to give Notre Dame a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind victory over host school Auburn at the Tiger Invitational on Friday, Feb. 16.
The thrilling seventh inning started with the Tigers scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the frame. Ashley Arcuri singled to start the inning. She went to second on sacrifice bunt, took third on a pass ball and came in to score the run on a sacrifice fly from Myesha Finney.
The Notre Dame half of the frame began well with Stephanie Brown (Chandler, Ariz./Corona Del Sol) fighting off several tough pitches, before looping a single to center. Stephanie Mola (Naples, Fla./St. John Neumann) moved Brown to second with her sacrifice bunt. Junior Katie Laing (Chandler, Ariz./Corona Del Sol) then ripped a single through the left-side to put runners on the corners. A walk to Linda Kohan (Westminster, Calif,Wesminister) loaded the bases. Heather Johnson (Los Alamitos, Calif./Mater Dei) hit a sacrifice fly to score Brown and tie the score at two all. Glasco then delivered the big blow of the game, with a single down the right-field line to score Laing with the game-winning run.
Sophomore hurler Brittney Bargar (Corona, Calif./Corona) had a solid first start for Notre Dame, going the distance seven strikeouts and only five hits allowed to pick up her first win of the year.
The Irish threatened in the second inning. Glasco was hit-by-a-pitch with one out to start the inning. Fellow sophomore Beth Northway (Kentwood, Mich./Kentwood), who had pinch ran for Glasco, moved to second on a pass ball. A two-out walk by Gessica Hufnagle (Middlebury, Ind./Northridge) put runners on first and second but a strikeout ended the threat.
Auburn put together a rally of its own in the fourth. Holly Currie started the trouble with an infield single. Brittany Day, pinch ran for Currie and went to second on a pass ball. A Notre Dame error put runners on first and second. Day came in to score the first run of the game on Nicole Russo’s single up the middle.
The Irish tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. Kohan singled off the pitcher to start the frame to break up the no-hitter. Sophomore Brittany Glynn (Seymour, Conn./St. Joseph) pinch ran for Kohan and moved up a base on pass ball. Johnson first single of her career moved Glynn to third base. Freshman Ashley Ellis (Pikeville, Tenn./Bledsoe County) then pinch ran for Johnson in her first action of the season. After a pitching change to Currie, Ellis stole second to advance into scoring position. She then moved to third on a fielders choice, in which Glynn was tagged at the plate. Ellis would score the tying run on a Tiger’s wild pitch.
Notre Dame continues its play in Tiger Invitational with a game against Alabama-Birmingham at 6 p.m. on Feb. 16.