Feb. 10, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Five games – including a bout against defending national champion and preseason No. 1 Washington – are on tap for the Notre Dame softball team as the Irish travel to Arizona State’s Kajikawa Classic (Feb. 12-14) to open the 2010 season.
“This is a great opportunity to see where we stand against some of the nation’s best competition,” Irish head coach Deanna Gumpf said. “Our team is excited to get back onto the field, and this is the first step in defending our BIG EAST Conference Tournament title and advancing deeper into the NCAA Tournament. What we do in February will certainly help us down the road.”
Live stats for each game will be available at UND.com. For up-to-the-minute scores and highlights, fans can sign up for IRISH ALERTS text-messaging services at UND.com. In-game updates will also be available at twitter.com/NDSoftball.
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Kajikawa Classic
Host: Arizona State University
Live stats: und.com
Text alerts: und.com
Notre Dame Athletics Twitter: @und_com
In-game Twitter: @ndsoftball
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(0-0 overall / 0-0 BIG EAST)
[und.com – bigeast.org]
Friday, Feb. 12 – 11:00 a.m. (ET)
Creighton Bluejays
(0-0 overall / 0-0 Missouri Valley)
[gocreighton.com – mvc-sports.com]
Series: Tied, 1-1
Series streak: Creighton, W1
First meeting: April 11, 1992 – Notre Dame, 2-1
Last meeting: March 4, 1994 – Creighton, 9-5
Friday, Feb. 12 – 1:30 p.m. (ET)
Oregon Ducks
(0-0 overall / 0-0 Pacific-10)
[goducks.com – pac-10.org]
Series: Tied, 2-2
Series streak: Notre Dame, W1
First meeting: March 6, 1993 – Oregon, 5-2
Last meeting: March 10, 2002 – Notre Dame, 9-3
Saturday, Feb. 13 – 6:30 p.m. (ET)
Auburn Tigers
(0-0 overall / 0-0 Southeastern)
[auburntigers.com – secsports.com]
Series: Notre Dame, 4-1
Series streak: Notre Dame, W3
First meeting: Feb. 22, 1997 – Notre Dame, 4-2
Last meeting: Feb. 16, 2007 – Notre Dame, 3-0
Saturday, Feb. 13 – 9:00 p.m. (ET)
Oregon State Beavers
(0-0 overall / 0-0 Pacific-10)
[osubeavers.com – pac-10.org]
Series: Oregon State, 4-1
Series streak: Oregon State, W1
First meeting: March 7, 1998 – Oregon State, 7-1
Last meeting: Feb. 18, 2006 – Oregon State, 5-0
Sunday, Feb. 14 – 12:30 p.m. (ET)
No. 1 Washington Huskies
(0-0 overall / 0-0 Pacific-10)
[gohuskies.com – pac-10.org]
Series: Tied, 1-1
Series streak: Notre Dame, W1
First meeting: March 2, 1996 – Washington, 7-1
Last meeting: Feb. 17, 2001 – Notre Dame, 3-2
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One-Hitters …
– Notre Dame enters its 22nd season of varsity competition with an all-time record of 844-399-3 (.679) … the program boasts 14 NCAA Championship appearances (11 consecutive) and six BIG EAST Conference Tournament titles, the latest coming in 2009.
– Last year’s season-opener: Notre Dame head coach Deanna Gumpf started her coaching career against the nation’s top team (No. 1 Arizona) nine years ago, and found herself in a similar spot in 2009 at top-ranked Alabama … the Irish stood up to the challenge early but eventually fell to the Crimson Tide, 10-1, in the abbreviated five-inning game on a wet and overcast evening at the University of Alabama Softball Complex.
– Head coach Deanna Gumpf is 3-5 (.375) in season-openers at Notre Dame, while the Irish are 8-13 (.380) overall in their first game of a new campaign.
– Looking ahead to the Feb. 14 meeting with No. 1 Washington: Notre Dame is 0-3 against top-ranked teams (lost to No. 1 Arizona in 2002 and twice to No. 1 Alabama in 2009).
– Notre Dame is 72-62 (.537) in the month of February, and 65-47 (.580) on neutral turf … under Gumpf, Notre Dame is 108-77 (.584) at neutral sites.
– Christine Lux, a third-team All-American in 2009, headlines a returning Irish cast which includes 13 Monogram winners … the Irish return three NFCA All-Region performers (Lux, Erin Marrone and Dani Miller) … Lux and Miller were each first-team all-BIG EAST selections last season, with Jody Valdivia and Marrone earning second-team nods.
–ND–