May 5, 2001
The University of Notre Dame softball team wrapped the 2001 regular season with a doubleheader sweep of Rutgers, 5-1 and 4-0, in Piscataway, NJ, on Saturday. The Irish are now 51-3 on the season, finishing the BIG EAST schedule with a perfect 20-0 mark. The Scarlet Knights dropped to 21-26 on the season and 4-14 in conference play.
In a fitting end to the most successful season in Irish softball history, the Notre Dame team used its highly efficient pitching staff and assorted displays of its powerful lineup to earn its 16th-straight doubleheader sweep.
The Irish started the first game a little lethargic coming off their doubleheader sweep of Villanova less than 24 hours prior to the matchup with Rutgers. After Jarrah Myers (Carbondale, Kan.) led off the second inning with a single, she overran the bag at second on a Lizzy Lemire (Irvine, Calif.) sacrifice bunt and the Scarlet Knight defense threw behind her for the unusual double play. Rutgers starting pitcher Leah Black ended the inning by striking out Andrea Loman (Riverside, Calif.).
The offense would finally be able to establish a scoring rally in the top of the third inning. Andria Bledsoe (Higley, Ariz.) began the inning by hammering the first pitch deep over the rightfielder’s head for a stand-up double. Irish starting pitcher Jen Sharron (Agoura Hills, Calif.) then drew a walk to put runners on first and second. After an Alexis Madrid (Temecula, Calif.) strikeout, Jenny Kriech (Indianapolis, Ind.) hit into a fielder?s choice deep in the hole. RU shortstop Meaghan Asselta tried to catch Bledsoe at third, but the Irish third base beat the throw to load the bases for Danielle Klayman (San Diego, Calif.).
Klayman bounced a grounder to third base that Dana Komar fielded cleanly, but RU catcher Danielle Minkel came off the plate at home and Bledsoe scored the first run of the game. Melanie Alkire (Union City, Calif.) stepped in next and Black was able to induce another ground ball and Sarah Kirkman (Kokomo, Ind.), who was re-inserted into the lineup to run for Sharron, was thrown out at home.
Irish cleanup hitter Myers would come through with the biggest hit of the inning, bouncing a single up the middle to score two runs and give the Irish a 3-0 lead.
Rutgers would be able to come back to score a run in the bottom of the third after Jennifer Jacoby singled, stole second and scored on a Melissa Bradford single to leftfield. Sharron would not allow another run to cross the plate the rest of the contest, as the Irish lefthander scattered seven hits and struck out eight to earn her 26th victory of the season.
Black was able to keep the Irish off the scoreboard until the top of the sixth when two of Notre Dame?s power hitters posted back-to-back homers. Alkire led off the inning with her fourth home run of the season, easily clearing the left-centerfield fence on a 1-2 pitch. Myers followed with her seventh homer of the season, muscling a 2-0 pitch over the leftfield fence for the fifth Irish run of the game.
As both teams hit the field for the second game, the New Jersey weather turned a little ugly as the temperature dropped and rain started to fall. Notre Dame would post 12 hits in the ballgame, but also strand 12 runners on base to keep the Scarlet Knights in the ballgame.
It would end up taking five innings for the Irish to put some runs on the board. After Alkire struck out to start the inning, Myers drew a four-pitch walk and Lemire singled to put runners on first and second. Loman followed with a laser beam double off the wall in leftfield, scoring Myers and advancing Lemire to third.
Bledsoe then posted her third hit of the day, a double into the leftfield gap to score Loman and Lemire. The final Irish run came on designated player Lisa Mattison?s (Granger, Ind.) RBI double down the leftfield line.
As the Irish have already learned this season, any lead with Kristin Schmidt (Houston, Texas) on the mound is sufficient enough. The freshman completed her first BIG EAST season without surrendering a single run to a conference opponent, going all seven innings against Rutgers for her 10th BIG EAST shutout of the year. Schmidt, who entered the week fourth in the country in ERA, lowered that mark to 0.40.
Her shutout streak would only be challenged once in the ballgame. After getting the first out of the inning, Schmidt gave up back-to-back singles, followed by a bunt-single to load the bases. The freshman hurler escaped the inning by getting Jacoby to line out to second base and striking out Brittney Neer on three pitches. Schmidt is now 24-1 on the season.
Next up for the Irish will be the BIG EAST Championship, a four-team, double-elimination tournament at Villanova starting on Thursday. Notre Dame and Villanova have already clinched the top two spots in the field, while Seton Hall, Connecticut and Virginia Tech are competing for the other two seeds.