April 3, 2001
The University of Notre Dame softball team (28-3) displayed a number of talents in its first-ever doubleheader sweep of Purdue (25-12-1) Tuesday in West Lafayette, Ind..
First, Notre Dame’s potent lineup can pile up hits as fast as the a scoreboard operator can input the numbers. The Irish pounded out a season-high 14 hits and 10 runs against the Boilermakers in the first game.
Second, Notre Dame’s pitching staff proved why it is one of the best in the Midwest and the nation. Senior All-American Jen Sharron (Agoura Hills, Calif.) baffled Purdue batters all day with her changeup in the first game, striking out seven, surrendering just four hits and giving up just one earned run. The Irish starter in the second game, freshman Kristin Schmidt (Houston, Texas), battled through a game without her typical overpowering pitch repertoire and never gave up the back-breaking hit that Purdue hoped to post at any moment.
Third, the Irish flashed the ability to rally and put runs on the board when needed.
It took awhile for the Notre Dame offense to wake up in the first game, but once conscious the Irish never looked back. Danielle Klayman’s (San Diego, Calif.) RBI single in the second inning scored the first run of the game, knocking in Andrea Loman (Riverside, Calif.) who had reached on bases-on-balls and was moved to second my an Andria Bledsoe (Higley, Ariz.) sacrifice bunt.
After Sharron worked a one-two-three second inning, the Notre Dame batters jumped all over Purdue starting pitcher Nicole Crouse (8-3). Jenny Kriech (Indianapolis, Ind.) walked to begin the inning. Alexis Madrid (Temecula, Calif.) singled with a swinging bunt to the pitcher. Melanie Alkire (Union City, Calif.) followed with an RBI single to centerfield.
Crouse was pulled in favor of Leighann Burke and Notre Dame attempted a double steal that Purdue played perfectly. Alkire was thrown out diving back to first and Madrid was unable to score from third base. Jarrah Myers (Carbondale, Kansas), who would finish four-for-six for the day, came through with an RBI single that allowed Madrid to score. Lizzy Lemire (Irvine, Calif.) continued the hit parade with an RBI single after Myers stole second base. Loman drove in the fourth run of the inning with a double as the Irish continued to keep the heat on Burke. The Purdue pitcher escaped the inning when Bledsoe popped into a double play that caught Loman straying too far off second base.
Purdue got on the board in the fourth when Katie Crabtree walked and eventually scored on a Heidi Foster double to leftfield.
The Irish offensive storm continued with three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth. Nicole deFau (Southington, Conn.) got in on the act with an RBI single in the fifth while aggressive base running led to the Irish posting two additional unearned runs in the sixth.
Sharron earned her 15th victory of the season, allowing just four hits in her ninth complete game of the season.
Even though Notre Dame dominated the first game of the twin bill, Purdue came out determined to earn a split against the 11th-ranked Irish. After Myers led off the second inning with a double and eventually scored with a perfect slide on a suicide squeeze, the Boilermakers jumped ahead with two runs in the bottom of the inning.
Schmidt’s usually reliable rise ball was getting hit hard by the Purdue batters in the early innings. Sara Hall led off the bottom of the second with a single, followed by an Angi Roembke single. Schmidt was able to knock down a hard grounder from Purdue’s Laura Martin and make the throw to third to pick off the lead runner for the first out of the inning.
The Irish freshman was close to escaping unscathed after she struck out Nicole Austin on three straight pitches, but Andrea Roush would load the bases with two outs with her first of two hits in the game.
Tortorelli, who would prove to be the toughest out in the Boilermaker lineup all day, put her team on the board with an RBI single. Schmidt then walked Crabtree on a full count, forcing in a run and Notre Dame faced its first deficit of the day. Foster followed with a hard ground out to the shortstop to end the inning.
It would take Notre Dame two innings to get the run back. After Myers drew a lead-off walk in the fourth, Lemire moved her to second with a sacrifice bunt. Loman came through once again with an RBI single to tie up the game.
Both pitchers kept the offenses quiet until the top of the sixth. Myers led off Notre Dame’s half of the inning with a laser beam single to leftfield. Lemire once again executed the perfect sacrifice bunt to move Myers into scoring position. Purdue decided not to let Loman hurt them again and intentionally walked the Irish sophomore (who finished the day four-for-five). The plan worked when Bledsoe lined out sharply to third base and Myers was caught leaning off of second for a double play and the Boilermakers escaped the inning.
Leading off for Purdue in the bottom of the sixth, Roembke singled to right field and stole second. As the tie-breaking run stood on second base, Schmidt buckled down once again in the pitchers circle. She struck out Martin on a full count, sat down Austin on three straight pitches and induced Roush into a ground out to third base to end the scoring threat.
Needing a run in the top of the seventh, the Irish offense failed to hit the ball sharply for the first time all day. Lisa Mattison (Granger, Ind.) grounded out, Klayman popped out and Kriech flied out to send the game into the bottom of the seventh.
The Boilermakers were ready to seize the chance to knock off the Irish. Tortorelli doubled to the wall on a 1-2 count to place the winning run on second base with no outs. Crabtree sacrificed her teammate over to third on a bunt and the Purdue winning run sat just 60 feet away from home plate.
Liz Miller immediately intentionally walked Foster and Jesse Jones to set up the force play at the plate. Schmidt would rise to the occasion once again and make sure that force play was never needed. She got Hall to pop up a 1-2 pitch to third base, then induced Roembke to pop-foul out to Myers, who made a great play right in front of the Notre Dame dugout to end the inning.
The momentum of the great Irish pitching and defensive effort in the seventh inning came through in the top of the eighth. After Kas Hoag (Wallingford, Conn.) ground out sharply to second base for the first out of the inning, Alkire crushed the first pitch she saw off the top of the wall in leftfield for a stand-up double. The Irish All-American shortstop was just inches away from a home run, as her line-drive shot fell victim to a strong wind that kept the ball in the park.
Purdue decided to intentionally walk Myers to get to Lemire, but this time the free bases-on-balls would end up costing the home team. Lemire got a hold of a 1-2 pitch and drove it to the wall in left-centerfield, allowing both Alkire and Myers to score easily and put the Irish ahead to stay.
Loman lined into a double play to end the Notre Dame threat in the eighth, but Schmidt would ensure that the two runs would be enough. After Martin singled to lead off the Purdue half of the eighth, Schmidt struck out Austin for the third time, got Roush to fly out to leftfield on the first pitch and Tortorelli grounded out to shortstop to end the game.
Next up for the Irish will be the team’s first BIG EAST road trip to Connecticut (April 7) and Syracuse (April 8).