Feb. 26, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame softball team earned a split with tournament host Arkansas, dropping the first game 4-2, but then recovering with a 2-1 win in the second half of the doubleheader Saturday at the Morning News Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark. The Irish, 1-3 for the tournament, moved to 5-4 on the year, while the Lady Razorbacks went to 9-10 for the season.
In game two, Notre Dame sophomore pitcher Michelle Moschel (Naples, Fla.) ended a three-game losing streak on the mound by recording a career-high 10 strikeouts and holding Arkansas to just three hits.
Notre Dame got on the board early in game two in the top of the first when freshman Andrea Loman (Riverside, Calif.) walked, stole second and then scored on an RBI double by junior Melanie Alkire (Union City, Calif.). The team tacked on another run when Loman doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly from classmate Andria Bledsoe (Higley, Ariz.). The Lady Razorbacks threatened in the top of the seventh inning, scoring one run and then advancing the tying run to third and the winning run to first with two outs. Moschel, however, tallied her third strikeout of the inning to end the threat and win the game.
“Michelle Moschel threw a great game, ” Irish head coach Liz Miller said. “It really was a confidence booster for her because she was able to shut someone down when the pressure was on.”
Game one was scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when Arkansas scored two runs on a RBI single by Erin Stokey. The Lady Razorbacks scored two more runs an inning later in the sixth to move the score to 4-0.
The Notre Dame bats finally started going in the bottom of the sixth when sophomore Jennifer Kriech (Indianapolis, Ind.), who went 3-for-3 for the game, doubled down the left field line and scored on a single by Alkire. Alkire eventually came around to score on a RBI triple by Loman to draw the Irish within two at 4-2.
Arkansas pitcher Tammy Kincaid picked up her third save of the season, however, retiring the Notre Dame side in order in the bottom of the seventh. Jennifer Sharron (Agoura Hills, Calif.) picked up her first loss of the year to move to 3-1, while Rachel Talley (2-4) was the winning pitcher for Arkansas.
The Morning News Invitational concludes Sunday with Notre Dame facing Virginia in another doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m.