CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina — No. RV Notre Dame (7-5) will face the Tar Heels of North Carolina (8-6) in a four-game series March 12-14 in Chapel Hill. The Irish enter the series coming off a rare midseason open week.
The matchup will feature two of the longest-tenured Division I college softball coaches in the nation, as Notre Dame’s Deanna Gumpf (759-326-1, 20th season) and North Carolina’s Donna Papa (1,313-744-5, 37th season) will meet at the plate.
The two squads have met on 23 previous occasions, with the Irish leading the matchup 15-8. The last meeting was on March 25, 2018, when the Tar Heels emerged with a 1-0 victory over Notre Dame at Melissa Cook Stadium (Notre Dame, Indiana).
The Details
Location: Anderson Softball Stadium, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Games:
- Friday, March 12: 6 p.m. ET
- ACC Network Extra: https://es.pn/2OjRfEf
- Saturday, March 13 (DH1): 1 p.m. ET
- ACC Network Extra: https://es.pn/38rrHf9
- Saturday, March 13 (DH2): 4 p.m. ET
- ACC Network: https://es.pn/3rthSF0
- Sunday, March 14: Noon ET
- ACC Network Extra: https://es.pn/3v7ZTpS
Live Stats: und.com/mediastats
BY THE NUMBERS
0: Ps Alexis Holloway, Payton Tidd and Morgan Ryan combined for a no-hitter in the 13-0 win at Alabama State. Tidd earned the win, as Ryan started. Tidd and Ryan each pitched two innings, while Holloway entered to pitch the fifth and final inning.
2: OF Abby Sweet owns a .487 batting average on the season. Just one ACC player has a higher batting average. OF Emma Clark ranks fourth in the conference with a .444 batting average.
2.03: The Notre Dame pitching staff has combined for a 2.03 ERA through 12 games, a figure which ranks fourth 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 will 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.
4: OF Emma Clark wrote her name in the history books against North Alabama, stealing four bases to match a single-game program record. She joined Ruth Kmak as the only two players in Irish history to steal four bases in a game. Kmak’s record came vs. Loyola-Chicago (April 16, 1990).
5: IF Karina Gaskins racked up five RBI in the 13-0 win over Alabama State, the first Irish player to achieve the feat since All-American Cait Brooks at Pitt (April 27, 2019). Gaskins hit her first-career home run in the game, the first home run of the season for Notre Dame, scoring three runs on the play.
6: As the schedule stands for 2021, Notre Dame has faced or will face six teams that were ranked or receiving votes in the initial USA TODAY/NFCA poll: No. 8 Alabama, RV Liberty, No. 25 Duke, RV Clemson, No. 12 Florida State and No. 15 Virginia Tech (initial rankings).
7: The Irish totaled seven stolen bases in the 13-0 combined no-hitter at Alabama State, the most in program records since at least 2012.The last time Notre Dame posted four or more steals was in 2019 vs. Seattle (Feb. 21, Mary Nutter Classic).
9.2: P Alexis Holloway is striking out batters at a clip of 9.2 per every 7.0 innings. That rate ranks fourth in the ACC.
16: The Irish return 16 veterans in 2021, including every starter from the 2019-20 season. They are joined by six freshmen.
28: OF Abby Sweet has compiled a 28-game on-base streak, which began on Feb. 15, 2020 and has extended into this season. OF Emma Clark has also reached a milestone, piecing together a 10-game on-base streak, which began Feb. 14, 2021.
750: Notre Dame head coach Deanna Gumpf posted her 750th career win on Feb. 28, 2020, in a 6-2 victory over Duke. Gumpf joined former Notre Dame women’s basketball head coach Muffet McGraw as the only coaches in Notre Dame history to achieve the feat.