The University of Notre Dame softball team continues to push itself into uncharted territory in 2001. The Irish are now 30-3 after completely shutting down Connecticut (9-18, 0-4 in the BIG EAST) 6-0 and 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. It is by far the fastest a Notre Dame team has ever reached the 30-win plateau (the previous best was 30 wins in 39 games last season) and also is the 12th consecutive victory and 6th consecutive doubleheader sweep for the Irish.
The Huskies could manage just two hits off the Irish starting pitching duo of All-American Jen Sharron (7.0 innings pitched, one hit, four strikeouts in game one) and rising freshman star Kristin Schmidt (7.0 innings pitched, one hit, three strikeouts in game two) over the course of the twin bill.
The Irish had no trouble putting runs on the board in the first game. Needing three innings to settle into the surroundings, Notre Dame posted three runs in the fourth and fifth inning to put the game out of reach.
Melanie Alkire started the scoring surge with a solo home run over the left-centerfield fence on a 0-2 count to put the Irish ahead 1-0 in the top of the fourth. The shot was Alkire’s second of the season and 27th of her career – leaving her alone atop the Notre Dame school chart for career home runs (surpassing Sara Hayes, 1992-95). The Irish senior shortstop already owns the school record for RBI in a career (151).
Lizzy Lemire followed Alkire’s homer with a two-out walk and immediately stole second. Thievery on the base paths would be a common occurrence for the Irish in the doubleheader, as the team would post six stolen bases on seven attempts over the course of the afternoon. Andrea Loman then singled to third base, advancing Lemire to third and eventually putting herself in scoring position by stealing second base.
Andria Bledsoe, who is third on the team in RBI this season, flashed that run-production ability by driving in Lemire and Loman with a single up the middle and hand her team a 3-0 cushion.
Not that Sharron needed much of a cushion to ensure her 16th victory of the season. The Irish lefthander allowed just one hit, an infield single on a bang-bang play at first base, over seven innings of work and lowered her season ERA to 1.60.
Notre Dame would tack on three insurance runs in the fifth inning. Jenny Kriech singled with one out, stole second and scored on an Alexis Madrid single. Alkire and Myers then drew walks and after a Huskie pitching change, Lemire singled to centerfield to knock in the fifth and sixth runs of the game for the Irish.
The Irish would continue to post hits against the Huskies in the second game, but were only able to get one across the plate. Loman needed little help in her run-scoring endeavor, however, as she blasted a solo home run far over the leftfield fence to provide the winning run of the ballgame. Notre Dame’s first base finished the doubleheader four-for-six and raised her season batting average to .367 with her performance this afternoon.
Schmidt would cruise to her 14th victory of the season, allowing just two Connecticut runners to reach second base (after a HBP and a walk). The lone hit Schmidt surrendered was a soft line drive to leftfield that just escaped the reach of Notre Dame shortstop Alkire. The Irish freshman’s ERA now stands at a miniscule 0.78.
Notre Dame jumped on a bus shortly after the Connecticut matchup for the trip to Syracuse, NY, for a doubleheader with the Orangewomen tomorrow. This is Syracuse’s first season of BIG EAST competition and marks the first meeting between the two teams. First pitch is set for 12 p.m., local time.