March 10, 2005
The University of Notre Dame softball team (9-7) began the University of Hawai’i’s Spring Fling Tournament with a bang on Wednesday, dispatching Campbell (17-10) 6-1 and defeating the host team, Hawai’i, 9-1 in five innings. The Irish will continue the tournament on Thursday, March 10, with a single contest against Virginia (who lost to Campbell 4-2 on Thursday) at 12 noon.
Notre Dame finally found the hitting stroke it had been looking for early in the 2005 season. The Irish reached season highs for hits and runs scored in the consecutive games and forced both teams to use three pitchers on the day. Several factors played a part in Notre Dame’s success on Wednesday – great pitching (Notre Dame pitchers allowed just five hits in the two games), poor defense by the opposing team (Campbell made one costly error, while Hawai’i committed three errors) and timely hitting (when the other team made a mistake, Notre Dame posted the big hit it needed to blow the game open).
Stars for the Irish on the day included –
Senior centerfielder Megan Ciolli – after a rough first game (0-4, 2 K), Ciolli rebounded in game two to go three for three with two doubles and an RBI.
Junior first base Meagan Ruthrauff – finished the day two for four with three RBI, including two sacrifice fly balls and a solo home run in the first game.
Sophomore catcher Gessica Hufnagle – two for three in game one with an RBI, her first multi-hit game of her career and first two hits of the 2005 season.
Sophomore rightfielder Stephanie Brown – pounded out five hits in the two games (three for three, two runs vs. Campbell, two for four, RBI vs. Hawai’i.
Senior designated player/pitcher Carrie Wisen – went three for three with two RBI vs. Hawai’i and pitched two scoreless innings vs. Campbell.
Click on the following links for complete recaps of Wednesday’s games, including boxscores: