March 12, 2000
SAN DIEGO – The Notre Dame softball team kept their winning streak alive by grabbing a doubleheader from San Diego State Sunday at the San Diego State Softball Field. The Irish, who won game one 3-0 and then game two 11-3, picked up their eighth and ninth straight wins to move to 13-4 overall, while the Aztecs dropped to 10-15.
In game one, Notre Dame pitcher Jennifer Sharron (Agoura Hills, Calif.) earned her seventh win of the season (7-1) by allowing just four hits. Sharron’s victory also was her fourth consecutive shutout in as many chances and her fifth in 2000. The Irish got on the board in the top of the third when Lizzy Lemire (Irvine, Calif.) singled to lead off the inning and then scored on a fielding error by the San Diego State shortstop. Notre Dame, which tallied its fifth straight shutout, would add two more runs in the top of the sixth when freshman Alexis Madrid (Temecula, Calif.) and Rebecca Eimen (Mannford, Okla.) both scored.
The Aztecs came back in game two by scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning and ending Notre Dame’s streak of shutouts at 36 innings. The two team’s then traded runs with the Irish tallying their first run of the game in the top of the third and SDSU adding to its lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth. Notre Dame, however, rallied in the top of the fifth when junior Melanie Alkire (Union City, Calif.) launched a grand slam over the fence in left field to give the Irish a 5-3 edge. Notre Dame then padded their lead with six runs in top of the sixth, highlighted by a two-run RBI double by Alkire and a two-run home run by sophomore Jarrah Myers (Carbondale, Kan.). San Diego State then failed to score in the bottom of the sixth inning with the game ending due to the eight-run rule, 11-3.
Alkire (3-0) also picked up the win on the mound after coming in to pitch in relief of Irish starter Michelle Moschel (Naples, Fla.).
The Irish will be back in action Tuesday when they travel to Loyola Marymount for a single game scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.