Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

#RV/RV Irish Host Charlotte for Strike Out Cancer Doubleheader

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — RV/RV Notre Dame (26-12, 17-10 ACC) will play host to Charlotte (27-13, 11-5 C-USA) in a doubleheader for the 10th-annual Strike Out Cancer celebration on Saturday, May 1, beginning at 1 p.m. ET.

The Irish enter the weekend on a nine-game win streak after two-consecutive ACC series sweeps over Virginia and then-No. 15/13 Virginia Tech. Additionally, Notre Dame has won 14-straight home games, a stint that stretches all the way back to 2019.

Senior pitcher Alexis Holloway was named ACC Pitcher of the Week for the second time in her career on April 27, 2021, after a lights-out performance in the circle at No. 15/13 Virginia Tech last weekend.

Holloway went 2-0 with two complete games, including one that went 9.0 innings. She threw 11 strikeouts and allowed just two earned runs for a 0.88 ERA on the weekend. In the four-game sweep of the Hokies, she also made her mark in the batter’s box, hitting a seventh-inning home run off fellow top ACC pitcher Keely Rochard to tie the April 24 game and send it to extra innings. The Irish eventually won the game in the ninth inning with a 4-3 final score.

STRIKE OUT CANCER

The May 1 weekend marks the 10th-annual Strike Out Cancer celebration, which raises funding and awareness for pediatric cancer patients and their families. The Irish encourage fans to wear orange, the color for childhood leukemia, and post their photos and videos with #NDStrikeOutCancer. Learn more about Strike Out Cancer here.

THE DETAILS

Click for Game Notes

Location: Melissa Cook Softball Stadium (Notre Dame, IN) 

Games:

Live Stats: und.com/mediastats

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 .471 avg. leads the ACC and ranks 13th in the nation, while her 57 total hits are second in the ACC and tied for 14th in the nation. She is also the second-toughest player to strike out in the ACC, striking out just seven times on 121 at-bats. Sweet leads the conference in doubles (15, T-eighth nationally) and on-base percentage (0.540, 28th nationally).

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 5 individual batters. OF Abby Sweet (.471) ranks first, and OF Emma Clark is fifth (.402).

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: OF Abby Sweet and OF Leea Hanks have each hit three triples this season, which ties for fourth-most in the conference.

3: Notre Dame ranked No. 3 in the preseason ACC Coaches poll, with IF Katie Marino on the preseason All-ACC team. Of the projected top six teams in the ACC, Notre Dame has faced four of the other five.

3: The Irish have swept three ACC series this season, winning all games against NC State, Virginia and No. 15/13 Virginia Tech.

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 (seven-straight weeks).

4: OF Abby Sweet was hit by four pitches in the second game of the March 27 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. In that game, Sweet never posted an at-bat, as she was hit on all four plate appearances, as the game ended her 16-game hit streak.

5-7: Notre Dame is 5-7 this season against ranked teams. The Irish were the first team to hand Duke a loss in 2021 (Feb. 20), which was the only loss on the Blue Devils’ record until March 27. Notre Dame swept then-No. 15/13 Virginia Tech in four games at Virginia Tech’s home park April 23-25. Through this point in the season, Notre Dame has faced five teams that were either ranked or receiving votes at the time of the games (Alabama, Duke, Liberty, Florida State and Virginia Tech).

5: Notre Dame ranks in the ACC’s Top 5 in team batting average and pitching. The Irish are second in the conference with a collective .299 batting avg., while they rank fifth in the conference with a 2.29 ERA.

9: Notre Dame owns a nine-game win streak heading into the doubleheader with Charlotte, following two-consecutive series sweeps of Virginia and No. 15/13 Virginia Tech, as well as a midweek win over Western Michigan.

10: The May 1 doubleheader marks Notre Dame’s 10th-annual Strike Out Cancer celebration, which raises funds and awareness for those battling pediatric cancer and their families.

12: Irish pitchers are dangerous in the batter’s box, totaling 12 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 11 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.

14: The Irish have won 14-straight games at home, 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. Seven of those 14 wins have comes as part of two ACC series sweeps: vs. NC State (March 24-26) and vs. Virginia (April 16-18).

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).

75: IF Chelsea Purcell, currently in her fifth season (graduate student), leads the team in defensive assists with 75. 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.