Feb. 23, 2005
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2005 Palm Springs Classic (Palm Springs, Calif.)
Field of Dreams Complex
Friday, Feb. 25
Notre Dame vs. Loyola Marymount, 3:00 p.m. (at Yankee Field)
Notre Dame vs. #3/4 UCLA, 8:30 p.m. (at Wrigley Field)
Saturday, Feb. 26
Notre Dame vs. #NR/20 Pacific, 5:30 p.m. (at Yankee Field)
Notre Dame vs. Arizona State, 8:00 p.m. (at Yankee Field)
Sunday, Feb. 27
Notre Dame vs. #5/6 Tennessee, 9:00 a.m. (at Wrigley Field)
Other teams competing this weekend at the tournament site: Long Beach State, Northwestern, Washington, California, Texas, CS Fullerton, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Long Island, Bethune-Cookman and BYU.
Irish hope to escape the rain in the desert this weekend:
The University of Notre Dame softball team (4-2), coming off a frustrating rained out weekend in San Diego, heads west again this weekend to take part in the Palm Springs Classic for the second consecutive weekend. Oregon State serves as the host of the tournament in Palm Springs, Calif., at the Field of Dreams Complex.
One of the better fan-oriented softball complexes in the nation, the Field of Dreams Complex features three signature fields – modeled after Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Stadium and Fenway Park – in addition to several other satellite fields.
Notre Dame took part in the inaugural Palm Springs Classic last season, winning its first game of the tournament 4-3 over Utah before losing three straight to Pacific, #8 Stanford and the U.S. Olympic Team in an exhibition. A matchup with Tennessee was rained out on the final day.
The Irish will get a chance at redemption against Pacific this weekend, as the 20th-ranked Tigers appear on Notre Dame’s schedule Saturday afternoon (5:30 p.m.). Pacific dealt Notre Dame its worse loss of the season last year, drilling the Irish 12-1 in five innings.
This weekend’s tournament will be the most challenging of the season. Notre Dame lost three games against ranked teams to inclement weather this past weekend, but will come back to face #3/4 UCLA (USA Today/NFCA ranking first, followed by ESPN.com/USA Softball), #NR/20 Pacific and #5/6 Tennessee this weekend, in addition to Loyola Marymount and Arizona State (which is receiving votes in both national polls).
Notre Dame quick hits:
What you need to know about the Irish for this weekend’s action:
• Notre Dame will be facing its fifth, sixth and seventh games against a ranked team this season. The Irish split a pair of games with #19 Florida and #21 South Florida on their first weekend out Feb. 10-13.
• Senior RHP Steffany Stenglein, who recently became the third Irish pitcher to reach 500 strikeouts in a career, is averaging 10.2 strikeouts per seven innings this season (28 Ks in 19.1 innings pitched).
•Notre Dame is making its second appearance in Palm Springs this weekend and, after losing four games to inclement weather last weekend, is anxious to just get out on the field and play softball.
Frustrating trip to San Diego leaves the Irish four games behind this season:
Notre Dame’s cross-country trip to San Diego for the Campbell-Cartier Classic ended up as a wasted flight last weekend, as the tournament was plagued by heavy rain and schedule problems. The Irish did play their first game of the tournament in on Friday, Feb. 18, (after a six hour delay), defeating Utah 3-2 behind 11 strikeouts by senior RHP Steffany Stenglein. A second game on Friday was scheduled between Fresno State and Notre Dame, but was deemed to late to play (approximate starting time would have been 10:30 p.m. PT).
Saturday’s action was completely rained out and cancelled Notre Dame’s first game this season with UCLA (the Irish and Bruins will play this weekend as well) and San Diego State. Due to Long Beach State’s last-minute decision not to attend the tournament, Notre Dame was switched to Central Michigan (after some discussion of playing Florida International) on Sunday. Central Michigan ended up as the opponent, but another rain storm ended the game in the fourth inning with the Irish ahead 1-0. Flight status dicatated the end of the game and the field would remain unplayable for the rest of the tournament.
Rain has limited Notre Dame’s early-season tournament schedule before, but last weekend’s San Diego trip marked the first time since 2002 the Irish have failed to play at least three games in a weekend. In the `02 season, the Aggie Invitational was affected by rain, limited Notre Dame to two games vs. La.-Lafayette and Illinois State.
Series history vs. opponents:
Here is a quick look at Notre Dame’s history against this weekend’s opponents:
Loyola Marymount – The Irish and Lions will be meeting for the sixth time, with Notre Dame winning all five previous meetings. The last game between the two teams was played at LMU in 2000, a 4-0 victory for the Irish.
#3/4 UCLA – One of the traditional powers of collegiate softball, UCLA and Notre Dame have met just twice previous to this season, both Bruin victories in 1994 and 1998.
#NR/20 Pacific – Pacific’s 12-1 victory over the Irish last season at the Palm Springs Classic was the first meeting between the two teams.
Arizona State – The Irish and Sun Devils will be meeting for the eighth time. ASU leads the all-time series 6-1, including a 3-2 victory in 2002. Notre Dame’s lone win in the series was a 5-1 victory over #10 Arizona State on March 17, 2001.
#5/6 Tennessee – The Irish and Volunteers will be meeting for the third time. Notre Dame won the previous two meetings in 1999 (5-0) and 2000 (4-0). Notre Dame and Tennessee have come close to meeting twice the last two years. Both teams were scheduled to play last year at the Palm Springs Classic but the game was rained out. The teams were also part of the same regional last season, but did not meet in the postseason.
Palm Springs tournament third of six consecutive weekends on the road:
Notre Dame is not the only school in the nation that travels for a large majority of its early-season schedule, but the Irish pride themselves in taking on some of the best teams in the nation during that stretch. This weekend’s tournament will mark the third of six consecutive weekends of travel for the team, which began in Gainesville, Fla. (Feb. 11-13), then San Diego, Calif. (Feb. 18-20), followed by Palm Springs, Calif. (Feb. 25-27), the Los Angeles area (March 6-7), to Hawaii (March 9-12) and to Columbus, Ohio (March 19-20).
Ciolli becomes first Notre Dame NPF draft selection:
National Pro Fastpitch announced its 2005 Senior College Player Selections last week and current Irish senior Megan Ciolli was selected by the Chicago Bandits with the first selection of the second round (seventh overall).
Due to NCAA regulations, an active college player may not sign with her respective franchise until their 2005 college season is finished. Senior selections expire on July 15, 2005.
The NPF officially announced that it will enter the 2005 season with six teams – the Akron Racers, Arizona Heat, Chicago Bandits, New England Riptide, NY/NJ Juggernaut and the Texas Thunder. The California Sunbirds will remain part of the league but will suspend play in 2005 to restructure the franchise.
The Bandits will be competing in their first season in the NPF and have already signed Olympic Team standout Jennie Finch. The season will run through June 2 through August 28 and will consist of a 48-game regular season schedule for each team, an all-star game, playoffs and a Championship Series. NPF continues to be the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball and has recently developed a new alliance with ASA/USA Softball and the International Softball Federation (ISF). This alliance will help promote international play by inviting teams from China, China Taipei, Japan, Canada, Puerto Rico, Australia and Venezuela to play against NPF teams. A finalized schedule will be released in March.
Stenglein records her 500th career strikeout:
In a dominating performance against Utah on Friday, Feb. 18, senior Steffany Stenglein became the third Irish pitcher to reach 500 strikeouts in her career. Pitching six of seven innings against the Utes, Stenglein struck out 11 (her second consecutive double-digit strikeout performance) to push her career total to 508. She trails Terri Kobata (907) and Jennifer Sharron (728) on the all-time list.
Booth approaching strikeout milestone as well:
Junior Heather Booth has 396 strikeouts to her credit so far in just over two years at Notre Dame and she is looking to become just the fourth Irish pitcher to reach the 400-strikeout plateau (Kobata, Sharron and Stenglein). Booth and Steffany Stenglein have combined for 904 strikeouts in 1,019 inning pitched in their careers, a ratio of 6.2 strikeouts per seven innings.
Hartmann closing in on 100 RBI:
Senior 3B Liz Hartmann enters the 2005 season with 97 RBI and needs three more to become the eighth Notre Dame player to drive in 100 or more runs a their career.
Hartmann is currently ninth on the all-time RBI list, one behind Elizabeth Perkins (1994-97) in eighth place and 28 behind Andria Bledsoe (2000-03) for seventh place.
Notre Dame claims first initial weekend tournament title since 2001:
Notre Dame’s three consecutive victories in the GRU Classic (Feb. 10-13) in Gainesville, Fla., pushed the Irish through to the tournament title. The first weekend tournament victory marks the first for Notre Dame since the 2001 season, when the Irish swept through the Holiday Inn Invitational at South Florida with a 5-0 record.
First back-to-back ranked wins since 2001:
Notre Dame’s victories over #21 South Florida (5-1) on Saturday, Feb. 12, and #19 Florida on Sunday, Feb. 13, marked the first time since the 2001 season the Irish have posted two consecutive wins over a ranked opponents.
During the 2001 season, the Irish swept a doubleheader from #10 DePaul on April 19. To find the last time the Irish defeated two consecutive different ranked teams, you will fall back to 2000, when Notre Dame defeated #16 La.-Lafayette and #6 Oklahoma on March 18 at the Kia Klassic.
Five steals vs. South Florida two off the school record:
The Irish were aggressive on the basepaths on Saturday, Feb. 12, in their 5-1 victory over #21 South Florida. The Irish swiped five bases in the contest, led by three from senior OF Megan Ciolli.
The school record for team stolen bases is seven, most recently set in 1996 against Connecticut. Ciolli was one off the individual record of four by Ruth Kmak against Loyola-Chicago in 1990.
Stenglein hits double-digit strikeout total for sixth and seventh time:
Senior RHP Steffany Stenglein struck out 10 batters in Notre Dame’s 5-1 victory vs. #21 South Florida on Saturday, Feb. 12, marking the sixth time in her career she has struck out 10 or more batters. Her career high came last season when she sat down 14 in a six-inning perfect-game performance at Valparaiso.
Stenglein’s final stat line vs. USF: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K.
She began the Campbell-Cartier Tournament in San Diego last weekend with a similar performance, sitting down 11 Utes in six innings of action (both Utah runs came off reliever Carrie Wisen in the sixth inning).
Hartmann notches first triple of her career:
Senior 3B Liz Hartmann entered the 2005 season with 43 career extra base hits, but never posted a triple in her career until last weekend. In Notre Dame’s 5-1 victory over #21 South Florida, Hartmann tripled down the rightfield line for the first three-bagger of her career.
Hartmann now has 24 career home runs, 19 career doubles and one triple.
Ciolli looks to continue her climb up the career charts:
Along with classmate Liz Hartmann, 2004 third-team All-American and BIG EAST Player of the Year Megan Ciolli has been a three-year starter since stepping on campus in 2001-02. Batting at the top of the lineup for a majority of her career (second freshman season, first sophomore season, third junior season), Ciolli has established herself as one of the top offensive players to ever don an Irish uniform.
Her current career rankings include second in batting average (.368 entering the weekend), fourth in stolen bases (46), seventh in runs scored (120), eighth in hits (220), ninth in home runs (10) and 10th in triples (seven). She also is poised to break into the top 10 in games played and doubles this season. A complete list of current Notre Dame players threatening career records appear on page seven of this notes package.
Ciolli on USA Softball Player of the Year watchlist:
The Amateur Softball Association (ASA), the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, has announced its initial watch list for the fourth-annual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award. Senior centerfielder Megan Ciolli (Terre Haute, Ind.) was among the 40 players named to the list, which will eventually be pared down to proclaim the collegiate player of the year in 2005.
Considered the Heisman Trophy of collegiate softball, past winners of the award include UCLA’s Stacey Nuveman, Texas pitcher Cat Osterman and Florida State’s Jessica Van der Linden.
Ciolli appears on the initial watch list for the second consecutive season in 2005. The catalyst for the Irish offense in 2004, Ciolli hit a team-high .397 with 81 hits, 23 RBI and 20 stolen bases. The ’04 BIG EAST Player of the Year, Ciolli compiled an outstanding offensive season, finishing third on the all-time single season list for hits and second for stolen bases. Her .367 career batting average currently ranks third all-time at Notre Dame.
Named team captain by a vote of her teammates earlier this semester, Ciolli will continue her climb up the career offensive charts in 2005. She currently ranks ninth all-time in career hits (212), ninth in home runs (10) and fourth in stolen bases (43).
A list of 25 candidates for the award will be released on April 5, with another list of 10 following on May 10. Three finalists will be announced on May 31 with the winner proclaimed at the 2005 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
Irish boast a veteran group in 2005:
In just one season, Notre Dame has moved from a somewhat inexperienced team (an entirely new infield took the field in `04) to a veteran group that boasts 761 games started in the senior and junior classes. In those two classes, Liz Hartmann (178 GP, 176 GS), Megan Ciolli (181 GP, 180 GS), Mallorie Lenn (120 GP, 120 GS) and Meagan Ruthrauff (123 GP, 122 GS) have been every-day starters since they joined the team, while Sara Schoonaert (117 GP, 71 GS), Kellie Middleton (55 GP, 32 GS) and Nicole Wicks (67 GP, 60 GS) have all seen a significant amount of starts. Add in the 164 games started by senior pitchers Steffany Stenglein and Carrie Wisen, along with the 66 career starts by junior Heather Booth, and the Irish junior and senior classes have a whopping 991 combined career games started.
Snapshot of the Irish:
After just six games this season, it is difficult to get a complete look of the Irish softball team this season. Starting pitchers senior Steffany Stenglein (2-1, 1.86 ERA) and junior Heather Booth (2-1, 0.86 ERA) have been dominate at times – including 21 strikeouts thrown by Stenglein in her last two outings.
The Irish offense did not wake up until the end of the GRU Classic (Feb. 10-13), but All-American senior OF Megan Ciolli brought her usual dependable game, going 6-17 last weekend with three RBI and three stolen bases. She followed up that performance by going two for three with two doubles in Notre Dame’s 3-2 win over Utah on Feb. 18.
Junior OF Kellie Middleton has been steady in her first action after coming back from an injury last season, going 6-19 at the plate with the team’s only home run of the season. Freshman SS Katie Laing was also impressive at the plate, banging out three doubles in six.
Sophomore Gessica Hufnagle has stepped in at catcher this season has been excellent on defense, throwing out three of eight base stealers so far in 2005.
Position changes will be a key for the 2005 team:
Two big position switches will be developed by the Irish during the early-season tournament schedule. Junior Sara Schoonaert has switched to second base, with freshman Katie Laing taking over at shortstop.
Schoonaert’s shift to second has pushed sophomore Stephanie Brown to rightfield, giving the Irish another great athlete in the outfield to pair with the speedy Megan Ciolli (center) and Kellie Middleton (left).
In addition, junior Mallorie Lenn’s knee problems have ended her career at catcher, but sophomore Gessica Hufnagle has impressed the Irish coaches with her improvement during the offseason. Hufnagle won the starting catchers job in the preseason and performed well during Notre Dame’s first six games.
South Bend plays host to the 2005 BIG EAST Championship:
For the third time in the last four years, the BIG EAST Softball Championship will be held in a neutral/off-campus site in 2005.
After Salem, Va., served as the tournament’s site in 2002 and 2003, the City of South Bend, Ind., will welcome the 2005 BIG EAST Softball Championship to the Belleville Complex on the far west side of town.
The Belleville Complex is one of the best softball-only facilities in Indiana and served as host to over 3,000 fans when the U.S. Olympic Team played an exhibition doubleheader in July of 2005.
Irish picked to finish first in the BIG EAST:
The University of Notre Dame softball team has been picked to win its 10th consecutive BIG EAST Conference regular-season crown by the league’s coaches, as announced by the conference on office on Tuesday, Jan. 11. The conference’s 10 head coaches rank every team except their own, with Notre Dame garnering all nine possible first place votes.
The Irish will return a veteran team in 2005, led by ’04 All-American senior CF Megan Ciolli and two of the top pitchers in the nation – senior Steffany Stenglein and junior Heather Booth. Ciolli was named the ’04 BIG EAST Player of the Year while Stenglein earned the league’s pitcher of the year award last season.
Head coach Deanna Gumpf’s team graduated just one player last season, first-team all-BIG EAST pick OF Nicole deFau. The Irish are expected to be back at full strength, however, with senior 3B Liz Hartmann, junior C Mallorie Lenn and junior OF Kellie Middleton all back to full strength after dealing with an assortment of injuries over the past offseason.
Seton Hall, who bested the Irish in four games late last season, was picked to finish second in the league, followed by Villanova, Boston College and Syracuse.
The league falls to 10 teams in 2005 with the movement of Virginia Tech to the ACC. The conference will bounce back in 2006, however, as it welcomes DePaul, Louisville and South Florida into the league – three of the top programs in the nation.
California girls:
While three trips to the west coast gives the Irish an opportunity to face several of the top teams in the country this season, Notre Dame’s appearances in San Diego (Feb. 18-20), Palm Springs (Feb. 25-27) and the Los Angeles area (March 6-7) also will provide the seven California natives on the team will a chance to play in their home state.
Heather Booth (Riverside), Liz Hartmann (Novato), Carissa Jaquish (Highland), Mallorie Lenn (Garden Grove), Meagan Ruthrauff (La Mirada), Steffany Stenglein (Huntington Beach) and Carrie Wisen (Fullerton) are the seven California natives on the `05 Irish roster.
Incoming freshman class of 2006:
University of Notre Dame head softball coach Deanna Gumpf has announced the signing of seven student-athletes to national letters of intent last week, landing one of the top recruiting classes in the nation.
Brittney Bargar (Corona, Calif.), Christine Farrell (La Habra, Calif.), Erin Glasco (Johnston City, Ill.), Linda Kohan (Westminster, Calif.), Alexandra Kotcheff (Beverly Hills, Calif.), Stephanie Mola (Naples, Fla.) and Beth Northway (Kentwood, Mich.) will make up the class of 2009.
“This is one of the best recruiting classes I have seen in my career and I feel it is the best in the country,” Gumpf says of the group.
“The quality and diversity of this class is second to none. The entire staff is excited to have this group of players join the Notre Dame family.”
The class hails from across the country with four California natives, plus players from Michigan, Illinois and Florida. The group also is made up of two pitchers (Bargar, Farrell), a catcher (Glasco), an infielder (Kohan), two outfielders (Kotcheff, Mola) and an infielder/outfielder (Northway) – giving the class excellent balance at all positions.
BIG EAST loses one team before gaining three in 2006:
With the shift of Virginia Tech to the ACC for the `05 season, the BIG EAST drops down to 10 teams this season before expanding to 13 teams next year when DePaul, South Florida and Louisville join the league (Marquette and Cincinnati to do not compete in softball).
With the addition of three traditional powers, the BIG EAST Conference will quickly become one of the best softball conferences east of the Mississippi.
High school teammates:
Sophomore Stephanie Brown and freshman Katie Laing are just the third combination of high school teammates to play for the Irish since the program began. Both Brown and Laing played for Corona del Sol in the Chandler, Ariz., area during their prep careers. Debbie Boulac and Stephanie Pinter, both from South Bend, Ind., and St. Joseph High School, played together from 1990-93. Jennifer Sharron and Jessica Sharron, the first second set of sisters to play for the Irish, were on the Notre Dame roster together in 2000 and 2001.
Sisters Debbie and Diane Boulac both played for the Irish, but were not on the same team together.
Schedule adjustment:
The Notre Dame – Loyola-Chicago game, scheduled for March 31, has been previously released as a home game for the Irish. The game will be played in Chicago on Loyola’s campus.
Schedule adjustment II:
There has been another shift in the Irish schedule. The previously scheduled home game vs. Illinois-Chicago on April 14 has been shifted to an away contest at UIC for 7 p.m. The road game at UIC on April 27 has been cancelled.
Notre Dame Nabs Top Spot In Directors’ Cup Standings:
Notre Dame stands first in the final set of fall sports standings released in the 2004-05 United States Sports Academy Division I Directors’ Cup all-sports competition sponsored by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (formerly known as Sears Directors’ Cup). This marks the first time in the 12-year history of the all-sports program that Notre Dame has ranked number one, surpassing a second ranking in the 2004-05 second set of fall standings.
Fall NCAA competition earned the Irish 337 points based on their NCAA title in women’s soccer (100 points), their fourth-place finish in women’s cross country (80), 11th-place finish in men’s cross country (57) and second-round NCAA appearances in men’s soccer and volleyball (50 each).
Michigan (333 points) stands second, followed by Stanford (332), Duke (327) and UCLA (297).
The current standings include results from NCAA fall competition in volleyball, field hockey, men’s water polo, men’s and women’s cross country, and men’s and women’s soccer and football. In previous years in which the Directors’ Cup competition has been held, Notre Dame has finished 11th in ’93-’94, 30th in ’94-’95, 11th in ’95-’96, 14th in ’96-’97, 31st in ’97-’98, 25th in ’98-99, 21st in ’99-’00, 11th in ’00-’01, 13th in ’01-02 and ’02-’03 and 19th in ’03-’04.