NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame (31-12, 10-10 ACC) will take on the 2021 ACC Tournament as the No. 5-seed, playing its opening game in the quarterfinal round against No. 20/20 Virginia Tech, the No. 4-seed. The game will take place Thursday, May 13 at 1:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network. All games in the ACC Tournament will be held at Don Dobina Field at Ulmer Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Irish head into the tournament on a 14-game win streak, which began on April 7 against Western Michigan. This past weekend, they completed the third undefeated home season in program history, going 15-0. In total, Notre Dame has strung together 19-consecutive home wins, which spans back to 2019.
Notre Dame leads the ACC in batting average (.308), ranking fifth in ERA (2.22). Six Irish players earned seven total All-ACC honors, led by OF Abby Sweet, the ACC’s top batter for eight weeks running, who was selected First Team All-ACC for the first time in her career.
THE DETAILS
Location: Don Dobina Field at Ulmer Stadium (Louisville, Kentucky)
Games:
- Thursday, May 13, 1:30 p.m. ET: Quarterfinals vs. No.20/20 Virginia Tech
- Friday, May 14, 1 p.m. ET: Semifinals
- Saturday, May 15, Noon ET: Championship
- ESPN
BY THE NUMBERS
1: OF Abby Sweet is one of the nation’s best at the plate, ranking among the top not only in the ACC, but across Division I softball. Sweet’s .466 avg. leads the ACC and ranks 11th in the nation, while her 61 total hits are second in the ACC and tied for 25th in the nation. Sweet boasts 16 doubles on the season, which leads the conference and ranks ninth in the nation. She leads the conference in on-base percentage (0.557 – 18th nationally), is the second-toughest player to strike out in the ACC (18.7 at-bats per strikeout) and ranks third in slugging percentage (0.748), fifth in total bases (98) and fourth in runs-per-game (0.93).
2: Notre Dame pitchers have totaled two combined no-hitters so far this season. In both the games against Alabama State (Feb. 14) and Valparaiso (March 24), Ps Alexis Holloway, Morgan Ryan and Payton Tidd all pitched to keep both teams hitless and scoreless.
2: The Irish boast two of the ACC’s Top 7 individual batters. OF Abby Sweet (.466) ranks first, and OF Emma Clark is seventh (.410).
2: For the first time in program history, the Irish have two graduate students on the roster. IF Katie Marino and IF Chelsea Purcell each took advantage of the NCAA’s extra year afforded to student-athletes in 2020.
3: The Irish have swept four (of eight) ACC series this season, winning all games against NC State, Virginia, No. 15/13 Virginia Tech and Boston College.
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.
3/13: The ACC’s top batter, OF Abby Sweet has led the conference in batting average since March 13, 2021 (eight-straight weeks).
4: OF Abby Sweet was hit by four pitches in the second game of the doubleheader vs. NC State, totaling six HBP on the day (two from the first game). The four HBP tied for the most in a single game taken by any Division I player in NCAA history, and are the single-most this season. She ranks second in the ACC and eighth in the nation in HBP per game (0.42). .
5: Notre Dame ranks in the ACC’s Top 5 in team batting average and pitching. The Irish lead the conference with a collective .308 batting avg., while they rank fifth in the conference with a 2.22 ERA.
6-7: Notre Dame is 6-7 this season against teams who are currently ranked. The Irish were the first team to hand Duke a loss in 2021 (Feb. 20), the only loss on Duke’s record until March 27, and then took a game from Liberty at Liberty’s home field. The Irish swept No. 15/13 Virginia Tech in four games at Virginia Tech’s home park. Through this point in the season, Notre Dame has faced five teams that are now ranked (Alabama, Duke, Liberty, Florida State and Virginia Tech).
7: Notre Dame student-athletes earned seven total All-ACC selections, as OF Abby Sweet made the first team, OF Emma Clark and DP Karina Gaskins were selected to the second team and 2B Katie Marino, P Alexis Holloway and P Payton Tidd were voted to the third team. Gaskins was also named to the All-Freshman team.
14: Notre Dame owns an 14-game win streak, following three-consecutive series sweeps of Virginia, No. 15/13 Virginia Tech and Boston College, with the doubleheader sweep of Charlotte, as well as a midweek win over Western Michigan.
13: Irish pitchers are dangerous in the batter’s box, totaling 13 extra-base hits on the season. P Payton Tidd has hit eight extra-base balls this season, with five doubles and three home runs, accumulating 10 RBI on 12 total hits. She was named Honorable Mention for the Nation’s Best Hitting Pitchers by Justin’s World of Softball. P Alexis Holloway has also made a significant mark at the plate, hitting two doubles and three home runs, totaling 13 hits and 10 RBI on the season.
19: The Irish have won 19-straight games at home, including every 2021 home game, beginning with a four-game win streak to end the 2019 home slate, as the Irish did not play a home game in 2020. The streak began with an April 13, 2019 win over NC State and extends to the present. 10 of those 14 wins have comes as part of three ACC series sweeps: vs. NC State (March 24-26), vs. Virginia (April 16-18) and vs. Boston College (May 7-8).
16: The Irish return 16 veterans in 2021, including every starter from the 2019-20 season. They are joined by six freshmen.
25: On April 23, OF Abby Sweet was named one of 25 finalists for USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year Award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women’s collegiate softball. Sweet is the third player in Irish history to be selected as a Top 25 Finalist for the award, joining Emilee Koerner (2013) and Karley Wester (2015 & 2016).
87: IF Chelsea Purcell, currently in her fifth season (graduate student), leads the team in defensive assists with 87. Seeing action at shortstop and third base, she has made a significant impact in the infield, including a showstopping defensive performance at No. 15/13 Virginia Tech.