May 4, 2012
Stats: Notre Dame | BIG EAST | NCAA
Twitter: @NDsoftball | @NDcoachGumpf | @NDsidJorge
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame puts its 12-game winning streak on the line this weekend as the Irish travel to Pittsburgh to close the regular season with a three-game BIG EAST Conference softball series at Vartabedian Field.
The Irish (33-13 overall, 13-3 BIG EAST) have won eight straight league contests to help clinch a spot in next week’s BIG EAST Championship. With six teams having already qualified for the league tournament, Pittsburgh (26-23, 8-11) will be vying for one of the two remaining spots in the eight-team field.
Live stats for each of this weekend’s contests will be available at UND.com. Fans are also encouraged to follow the action on Twitter (@NDsoftball, @NDcoachGumpf, @NDsidJorge) or sign up for Irish Alert text message updates at UND.com.
—
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(33-13 overall, 13-3 BIG EAST)
[und.com – bigeast.org]
Pittsburgh Panthers
(26-23 overall, 8-11 BIG EAST)
[pittsburghpanthers.com – bigeast.org]
Saturday, May 5 – Noon (ET)
Saturday, May 5 – 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Sunday, May 6 – Noon (ET)
Vartabedian Field – Pittsburgh, Pa.
—
Series record: Notre Dame leads, 23-2 (22-2 BIG EAST)
Series streak: Notre Dame, W3
First meeting: April 3, 1999 – Notre Dame, 6-1
Last meeting: May 4, 2011 – Notre Dame, 8-0
Last Pittsburgh win: April 4, 2009 – Pittsburgh, 5-2
Notre Dame’s record at Pittsburgh – 11-1
—
One-Hitters …
– Alexa Maldonado carries a career batting avg. of .545 against Pittsburgh, tallying six hits in 11 at-bats (including three during a matchup in 2011) … Dani Miller has collected six hits in 15 at-bats against the Panthers with seven home runs … Brittany O’Donnell and Laura Winter have combined to limit Pittsburgh to only seven hits without an earned run in 13.0 innings.
– Miller became the first player in program history to record double-digit home runs in each of her four seasons with the Irish, and belted round-trippers in four consecutive games from April 24-28 … now with a team-high 14 home runs, Miller’s career total of 46 is four shy away from matching Christine Lux’s career mark set from 2007-10.
– Miller is tied for fourth on the career charts with 167 RBI and ranks second with a .637 slugging pct. … Maldonado is tied for fourth with 11 triples and ninth in both walks (69) and stolen bases (42) … Kristina Wright is first all-time with a .994 fielding pct. with Miller (6th – .991) and Amy Buntin (9th – .984) also appearing on the list … Winter is first in strikeout-to-walk ratio (9.31).
– In 19 home contests, Notre Dame went 17-2 against the opposition including winning streaks of eight and nine games (active) … Jenna Simon boasted a team-high .415 batting average as Buntin led all players with 24 RBI … Miller sported a .692 slugging pct. with six home runs and four doubles … Winter went 13-1 at Melissa Cook Stadium with a 1.47 ERA, striking out 87 batters in 90.2 innings
– Laura Winter fired home her second career no-hitter with a 3-0 silencing of DePaul on April 21 as the Irish would go on to sweep the Blue Demons for the first time since 2006.
– Head coach Deanna Gumpf notched her 450th career win when the Irish defeated DePaul on April 21.
–ND–