May 17, 2001
The University of Notre Dame softball team (52-5) began the quest for its first NCAA regional title in style on Thursday, posting an impressive 8-0, five-inning victory over Western Illinois (33-20). The Irish will play in the again double-elimination tournament tomorrow (Friday, May 18) against an opponent yet to be determined.
Hoping to shake off a two-game elimination from last weekend’s BIG EAST Championship, head coach Liz Miller surprised her team by making a uniform switch to green jerseys early on Thursday morning. The traditional Notre Dame athletic motivational tool paid off, as the Irish would end up pounding out 13 hits and display a renewed focus at the plate and in the field.
Notre Dame jumped all over Westerwind starting pitcher Melanie Dobson in the bottom of the first. Jenny Kriech (Indianapolis, Ind.) drew a walk to lead off, then moved to second on a perfect sacrifice bunt by Alexis Madrid (Temecula, Calif.). After a Dobson wild pitch moved Kriech to third, Melanie Alkire (Union City, Calif.) came through with her first of three hits on the day, a single to rightfield that allowed Kriech to score.
After Kas Hoag (Wallingford, Conn.) came in to run for Alkire, Jarrah Myers (Carbondale, Kan.) singled through the hole on the left side and Lizzy Lemire (Irvine, Calif.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Andrea Loman (Riverside, Calif.).
Loman drilled a grounder to third base and Western Illinois forced out Hoag at home plate. Andria Bledsoe (Higley, Ariz.) then came through with a hard grounder that Westerwind shortstop Chrissie Beebe smothered, but could not make a throw to first base. Myers scored without a throw and the Irish had a two-run lead to start the game.
Irish starting pitcher Jen Sharron (Agoura Hills, Calif.), who has a history of solid pitching performances in the NCAA tournament, kept that tradition alive against Western Illinois. The senior captain would surrender just one hit in the five-inning contest (a liner that dropped behind the circle) and strike out six.
Even as Sharron kept the Westerwind offense off the scoreboard, the big story for the Irish on the day was the performance of Melanie Alkire at the plate. She would finish three-for-four, including ending the game on a three-run rocket home run in the bottom of the fifth.
Other offensive stars for the Irish included Sharron, who doesn’t limit her contributions to the pitching circle during the regionals, with two hits (including a double), Bledsoe (two-for-three with an RBI), and Kriech (one-for-three, two runs scored).
Notre Dame will move on to face an opponent yet to be determined on Friday at 7 p.m. Western Illinois will meet the loser of Iowa – Illinois State at 7 p.m. this evening, and the victor will face the loser of South Carolina – DePaul (4:30 p.m., Thursday). The winner of that contest will face the Irish.
GAME NOTES: Notre Dame knocked out Dobson with just one out in the first inning … The Irish scored seven of their eight runs in the game with two outs in the inning … Alkire’s home run in the fifth came on a 0-1 pitch and easily cleared the 15-feet Pearl Field … Liz Miller’s team appeared in green jerseys for the first time in Notre Dame softball history … the Irish had access to the jerseys all season, but the coaching staff decided to keep them a secret until the NCAA Championship.