March 27, 1999
· Game One Box Score
· Game Two Box Score
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame softball team (15-11) kicked off its home schedule with a pair of victories over Toledo (7-15) Saturday afternoon at Ivy Field. The Irish won 9-0 in the first game and then defeated the Rockets 10-0 in the second. Both games were called after five innings because of the eight-run rule.
In the first half of the double header, the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the third when Notre Dame scored all nine of its runs on eight hits. Irish co-captain Amy Laboe (Monroe, Mich.) led off the inning with her second home run of the season and of her career to give her team the early 1-0 lead. Rocket pitcher Amy Lukowski then gave up three more runs on an RBI double by freshman Jarrah Myers (Carbondale, Kan.) and a two-RBI single from freshman Kas Hoag (Wallingford, Conn.) before being replaced by Tracy Riepenhoff. Riepenhoff didn’t fair much better, however, as the Irish scored five more runs and ended the inning and later the game with a 9-0 advantage. Melanie Alkire (2-1) picked up her second win of the season, while Lukowski (4-8) took the loss.
Game two saw similar results as the Irish scored eight runs in the bottom of the second and added two more in the bottom of the third to come away with a 10-0 victory. Irish pitchers Angela Bessolo (Lakewood, Calif.) and Michelle Moschel (Naples, Fla.) were just three outs away from posting a combined no-hitter, until Toledo’s designated player Carla Fortune lead-off the top of the fifth inning with a single to right field. Moschel (1-0), who pitched the last three innings, picked up her first collegiate win for the Irish, while Toledo’s Kristy Kassotis (2-4) took the loss.
Notre Dame plays host to Bowling Green (3-10) Sunday, March 28 at 12 p.m. for another double header at Ivy Field.