May 20, 2001
The most successful season in Notre Dame softball history has come to an end. NCAA Region VII tournament host Iowa took full advantage of its crowd support and home field advantage to eliminate Notre Dame from the NCAA Championship with a 6-2 victory at Pearl Field.
The Hawkeyes utilized a capacity crowd to its full extent on Saturday and Sunday of the tournament, handing the Irish both of the losses that knocked them out of the tournament (6-0 on Saturday and 6-2 on Sunday).
Kristin Schmidt (Houston, Texas) started the game for Notre Dame and ended up with a shaky first inning, much like her previous two outings in the tournament. The Irish freshman proved to be able to settle down after the first inning, though, and she did that again today against the Hawkeyes.
She walked Kristin Johnson on four pitches to start the game and soon after Johnson stole second. Lisa Rasche then hit a deep ground ball to Melanie Alkire (Union City, Calif.) at short stop for an infield hit, but Johnson was forced to remain at second.
The Hawkeyes attempted a double steal, but Notre Dame’s Jarrah Myers (Carbondale, Kan.) threw out Johnson at third base for the first out of the inning. Schmidt would manage to settle down and get Alicia Gerlach to pop out and Jessica Bashor to ground out to escape the inning.
Notre Dame seemed to have the ability to steal back some momentum in the bottom of the first. Jenny Kriech (Indianapolis, Ind.) led off with a double down the line and advanced to third on a passed ball. Iowa starting pitcher Kristi Hanks, who was eventually named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament by earning all four Hawkeye victories, then struck out Alexis Madrid (Temecula, Calif.) for the first out of the inning.
Alkire was due next and the Irish tried to catch the Iowa defense napping with a squeeze bunt. The Hawkeyes defended the play perfectly, though, as Hanks threw Kriech out at home for the second out of the inning and succeeded in taking away any Irish momentum. Myers would fly out to leftfield to end the inning.
The momentum-turning play at home plate in the first inning carried over to the Iowa bats in the second. Christina Schmaltz was hit by a pitch and Erin Doud laid down a bunt to move Schmaltz to second. Irish third base Andria Bledsoe (Higley, Ariz.) bobbled the attempted throw to second base and both runners were safe. Laura Chipman followed with a single through the left side that loaded the bases for pinch hitter Liz Dennis.
Dennis came through, knocking a double down the leftfield line to give her team a two-run lead and keep runners at second and third. After Johnson lined out to leftfield, the Hawkeyes decided to try the squeeze play and executed the play perfectly, as Rasche was thrown out at first base and Chipman scored easily on the play.
Schmidt ended the inning by getting Gerlach to fly out to centerfield.
The Irish attempted to get back into the game in the third inning. Designated player Jen Sharron (Agoura Hills, Calif.) led off with her first of three hits in the game, a single to leftfield. Danielle Klayman (San Diego, Calif.) followed with a single up the middle to put runners at first and second. After Kriech moved the runners over with a ground out to second base, Lisa Mattison (Granger, Ind.) was inserted to pinch hit for Madrid for the key RBI opportunity. Mattison popped the first pitch up to the catcher, though, and Hanks was one out away from getting out of the inning with Alkire due up. The Irish senior hit the ball hard, but much like many of the bounces during the weekend, another ricochet went for the Hawkeyes. Alkire smacked a pitch that seemed destined to go right up the middle, but the ball hit Hanks, bounced directly to Schamaltz at second base and she threw Alkire out by a step at first base to end the inning.
Similar to the Iowa at-bat in the second inning, the momentum-swinging defensive play carried over into the Hawkeye offense in the fourth. Schmidt seemed to have the inning under control, getting Doud and Chipman to pop-out harmlessly. Amber Morrow chipped another routine pop up that seemed to end the inning, but Alkire dropped the ball at short stop and Morrow reached safely. Johnson took advantage of the opportunity by tripling into the right-centerfield gap to score Morrow. Johnson would then come home on a Rasche double and the Irish were faced with a five-run deficit.
Sharron took over the pitching duties in the fifth inning and another rash of Irish defensive miscues would give the host team another run in the sixth. After Chipman singled and stole second, Morrow grounded out to shortstop to move the runner to third. Johnson then ripped a shot to Madrid at second base, but the ball ricocheted off her leg into centerfield and Morrow trotted home with the sixth Hawkeye run of the game.
Two of the five Notre Dame seniors made sure that the Irish would not end up with a zero in the run column on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh. Sarah Kirkman (Kokomo, Ind.) pinch hit to lead off the inning and scalded a single to leftfield. Sharron followed with a two-run homer to leftfield, her third of the season and her third hit of the ball game (including a single, double and home run). The short Irish rally ended when Klayman grounded out to first base, Kriech was hit by a pitch, Madrid flied out and Alkire popped out to end the game.
After the game, Sharron, Schmidt and Bledsoe were named to the Region VII All-Tournament team.