Notre Dame stays on the road for two more weeks with a West Coast swing.

West Coast Swing Starts At UNLV Invitational

March 6, 2009

Game Notes Get Acrobat Reader

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Irish softball head coach Deanna Gumpf and her crew not only head to Las Vegas this weekend for the UNLV Invitational, but hope to get through a complete game for the first time in nearly two weeks when they open the tournament Saturday against Texas Tech. Only Mother Nature has been victorious in Notre Dame’s last four scheduled games, and fortunately rain is not in the coming Las Vegas forecast.

“We could not be more excited to hit the field again,” Gumpf said. “This is a very competitive team, and they’ve put together some great practices recently. You can tell that their fire is burning and I can’t wait to see them take the field. We have a big couple of weeks ahead of us, and we’re ready for the challenge.

Notre Dame will stay on the road for one week after the UNLV Invitational. The Irish travel to UCLA on March 10, and then take part in the Judi Garman Classic (March 12-14) at Cal Sate Fullerton.

Live stats will be available for each of Notre Dame’s contests at UND.com. For up-to-the-minute results, sign up for IRISH ALERT text messaging services at UND.com.

UNLV Invitational
Eller Media Stadium • March 7-8
UNLV • Las Vegas, Nev.
Live stats: UND.com

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
3-5 overall / 0-0 BIG EAST
[UND.com • bigeast.org]

UNLV Runnin’ Rebels
12-8 overall / 0-0 Western Athletic
[unlvrebels.com • wacsports.com]
Sunday, March 8 – 2:30 p.m. (PT)

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
11-7 overall / 0-0 Big West
[ucsbgauchos.com • bigwest.org]
Saturday, March 7 – 12:15 p.m. (PT)

Texas Tech Red Raiders
5-13 overall / 0-0 Big 12
[texastech.com • big12sports.com]
Saturday, March 7 – 10:00 a.m. (PT)
Sunday, March 8 – 9:00 a.m. (PT)

One-Hitters …
• Notre Dame split its four games at Stanford’s Nike Invitational … two wins over Sacramento State balanced a pair of losses to No. 5 Stanford … four of Notre Dame’s five losses this season have been to top 5 teams … Brittney Bargar tossed 16.0 innings without allowing an earned run … Alexa Maldonado batted .500 in the four games including two triples.
• Notre Dame last played in Las Vegas in 2006, going 2-3 at the UNLV Desert Classic to launch the 2006 season … the Irish are 3-1 all-time against UNLV and 2-1 on the Runnin’ Rebels’ home turf … Notre Dame has won the last two meetings with Texas Tech after dropping the series opener in 1999, and are 3-1 versus UC Santa Barbara … the Irish and Gauchos squared off in the 2000 UNLV Classic with Notre Dame pulling out a 3-0 win.
• Among the BIG EAST Conference’s statistical leaders, freshman Alexa Maldonado is tied for second with two triples … Brittney Barger’s 1.18 ERA is sixth overall as the Irish pitching staff ranks third with a .228 opposing batting average.

When It Rains, It Pours …
Notre Dame’s last four scheduled games have been called off due to rain (Western Kentucky at Stanford’s Nike Invitational and each of the three games at North Carolina’s Wolfpack Invitational).

Bargar Brings It …
Brittney Bargar is now third all-time in appearances after breaking a sweat in 136 contests … her three appearances at Stanford’s Nike Invitational pushed her ahead of All-American Jennifer Sharron … Steffany Stenglein (2002-05) is second on the list with 154 appearances … Bargar is one game (75) behind Sharron (76) on the complete games list … Bargar’s ERA of 1.96 is currently 10th all-time in Notre Dame history … she was part of the BIG EAST’s weekly honor roll on Feb. 23.

Maldonado In Palo Alto …
First-year outfielder Alexa Maldonado had her coming-out party at Stanford’s Nike Invitational … after not recording a single hit in her first four games with the Irish, Maldonado went 5-for-10 with a pair of multi-hit affairs against Stanford and Sacramento State … she scored a pair of runs and hit two triples over the four-game stretch at The Farm.

Flying Past the Hornets …
Notre Dame’s offense exploded during a Feb. 21 affair versus Sacramento State … in the 11-0 blanking of the Hornets, Notre Dame buzzed through with a seven-run seventh inning courtesy of six hits in the frame … each of the six hits were singles … last season, Notre Dame posted totals of 10 and eight runs in separate innings against Charleston Southern … Heather Johnson had a career-high four hits in four at-bats and scored her first run of the season against Sacramento State … she also drove home four scores.

Not a Rookie Anymore …
Second-year infielder Katie Fleury broke out of her freshman shell with a game-winning solo home run against East Carolina (Feb. 14) at the Bama Bash … it took Fleury 40 games to hit her first home run in 2008 … each of Notre Dame’s four freshmen this season have already seen significant action on the field … Dani Miller stepped in and had a pair of hits with one RBI against Sacramento State (Feb. 21) … Kasey O’Connor scored a run against No. 1 Alabama (Feb. 13) in her first career contest … Kristina Wright has made five starts at catcher, two of those coming against top-5 squads … Alexa Maldonado had a pair of triples with a .263 average through the season’s first two weeks.

Finding February …
Notre Dame is 72-62 (.537) all-time in the month of February, with an away record of 7-15 and 64-47 on neutral turf … last season, the Irish were 4-5 in the season’s first month … Notre Dame has never played a home game in February.

Take a Load Off …
It’s great to open a fresh season with a win, and head coach Deana Gumpf has done that on three occasions in eight tries with the Irish … Gumpf’s first-ever game as Notre Dame’s leader was against a top-ranked team, when Gumpf and the Irish fell to No. 1 Arizona, 3-0, in Tucson during the 2002 Arizona Pepsi Classic … it was the program’s only contest ever against a top-ranked team until this season’s Feb. 13 lid opener at Alabama.

Notre Nuggets …
The Irish are slated to play games in at least 12 different states this season – Alabama, California, North Carolina, Nevada, Indiana, Florida, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Kentucky – in addition to a trip to the District of Columbia … head coach Deanna Gumpf and her staff has compiled nearly 300 wins in just over eight seasons in addition to earning conference and regional coaching staff of the year honors in 2002 and 2004 … with its 38-win total in 2008 Notre Dame secured its 20th season with at least 30 wins, dating back to the program’s inaugural 1989 campaign.

— Looking Back at 2008 —

Seven Out of Nine Ain’t Bad …
Seven of Notre Dame’s nine starters earned all-league honors at the BIG EAST Conference’s annual championship banquet … the Irish had more selections than any other conference team, trailed by DePaul and South Florida who both placed five on the squad … Notre Dame placed seven players on the all-conference team in 2004, 2002, 2000 and 1999 … nine Irish athletes were part of the all-conference teams in 2005 and 2001.

The South Bend 800 …
Notre Dame notched the 800th win in program history in a game-one win at Syracuse (May 4) with style … junior pitcher Brittney Bargar blanked the Orange by tossing the fourth no-hitter of her career and the 35th no-no recorded in 20 seasons of Irish softball.

Launches By Lux …
Christine Lux slammed a pair of solo homers in game two at Syracuse (May 4) … her total of 15 in 2008 set a new single-season school record … Notre Dame led the BIG EAST with 39 overall homers during the regular season, 22 of which were hit in conference games … Lux had eight round-trippers against league foes, one short of the conference record.

Tale of Three Seasons …
The 2008 season started with Notre Dame winning seven of its first 15 games … a 17-2 run soon followed and then Notre Dame went 13-10-1 over the last 24 contests … the team had winning streaks of seven and eight games, and dropped at least two consecutive games on five occasions.

Where There’s a Will, There’s a Northway …
Junior Beth Northway had hits in eight of 10 games from April 20-29 … three of those games were multi-hit affairs, capped off by a 3-for-3 day at Valparaiso (April 29) … she batted .367 over that stretch to raise her overall average from .218 to .256.

The Bri Spree …
Freshman Brianna Jorgensborg had only one multi-hit game through 49 contests heading into an April 26 doubleheader with Providence … she lit the Friars for two hits in three at-bats, then posted three hits including a home run one day later against UConn (April 27) … Jorgensborg was also 2-for-3 with two RBI at Valparaiso (April 29).

Mother Nature 1, Notre Dame 0 …
Game two of an April 24 doubleheader with Loyola-Chicago ended in a 2-2 tie when lightning forced an end to the contest … the Irish had Katie Fleury on first base in the bottom of the seventh with no outs when a bolt flashed over Melissa Cook Stadium … the tie was just the third in the 1,186 games played in Irish history and the first that did not extend beyond the regulation 7.0 innings … the last Irish tie came in 1992 when a 6-6 stalemate with Indiana State ended in the 11th inning of an April 28 ballgame.

Gettin’ Lucky In Kentucky …
The April 19 sweep over Louisville snapped a three-game losing streak to the Cardinals and marked the first time Notre Dame has taken a two-game league series from UofL … Notre Dame last beat Louisville, 1-0, during a BIG EAST Conference Tournament game in 2006 when the Cardinals were ranked 18th in the nation … after an Irish loss to the Cardinals in the 2008 conference tournament the all-time series record still favors UofL, 7-4.

Erin-It-Out …
Erin Marrone made her debut at catcher against Wisconsin (April 16) and started each of Notre Dame’s games after that from behind the plate … the freshman has also started games for Notre Dame in right field and the designated player spot throughout the season … she finished Notre Dame’s game against UC Davis (March 1) at first base when the defensive lineup was shifted due to an injury to Heather Johnson early in the game.

Melissa Cook Stadium Unveiled …
The rain in the South Bend area may have washed out an April 12 BIG EAST Conference doubleheader between Notre Dame and Rutgers, yet the day may still go down as one of the most significant in Irish history … Notre Dame unveiled its new playing facility – Melissa Cook Stadium – during a morning ceremony held just outside the complex … University president Rev. John Jenkins, C.S.C., blessed the site which will house the Irish softball program for years to come, and remarks were given from then-athletics director Dr. Kevin White, head softball coach Deanna Gumpf, senior tri-captain Katie Laing, and benefactors Lisa Hoffman and Paul and Linda Demo … the Demos, parents of Melissa Cook, also helped bless a bronze relief of the former Irish player that sits just inside the main entrance of the stadium … areas of the stadium made possible by gifts from the Delahanty and Hoffman families were honored as well.

Four Means More …
A school-record three home runs in the fourth inning helped Notre Dame overcome a 5-0 deficit to post an 11-5 non-conference win over Wisconsin (April 16) … the three homers were the most ever for Notre Dame in a single inning as the Irish totaled four homers in the contest, the first time the team has done so since an April 9 meeting at Pittsburgh in 2006 … Meagan Ruthrauff had three blasts in that game with Linda Kohan – who tallied a career-high two round-trippers against the Badgers – adding the fourth … Kohan was joined in the home run department by Katie Fleury and Christine Lux … Fleury had hit her first career homer – and the first Irish home run in Melissa Cook Stadium – two days earlier against Rutgers (April 14) … the first bomb of the day for Kohan christened the scoreboard in left-center by leaving a noticeable point of impact.

Just a Couple of Benjamins …
A win over Villanova (April 13) gave the Notre Dame program its 200th BIG EAST Conference regular-season win … the Irish are 208-45 (.822) in regular-season games since joining the league … the program is 272-53 (.837) in overall regular-season conference games, posting a 64-14 (.821) mark as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference from 1989-95.

Spin Cycle …
Sophomore first baseman Christine Lux was batting .182 heading into an April 9 doubleheader against Eastern Michigan … two games and a few hits later, that average was bumped up to .223, aided especially by a record-setting performance at the plate … Lux hit for the cycle over the two-game swing, knocking a homer, double and single in game one … she settled for a triple and one single in the second contest … Lux tied a school record with seven RBI to open the day, matching Meagan Ruthrauff’s total from a 2006 conference game at Pittsburgh, which was played exactly two years prior, though Lux accomplished the feat in an abbreviated five-inning game, seeing the plate only three times … Ruthrauff had four hits in her five at-bats, including three home runs … senior Katie Laing totaled seven RBI during Sunday’s series at Seton Hall (April 6), with four in game one and three in the capper.

Long, Strong Ivy …
The home of Notre Dame softball since the program’s inception in 1989, Ivy Field saw its final pair of games when the Irish swept Eastern Michigan (April 9) in a non-conference doubleheader … Notre Dame finished with an all-time record of 288-48-2 (.855) within the friendly confines, including wins in each of the four home games played on its turf in 2008.

The Queens of Queens (N.Y.) …
Notre Dame stayed flawless against St. John’s with a doubleheader sweep on April 5 … the team is now 26-0 all-time against the Red Storm, but the last two didn’t come easy … the Irish needed all of 12 innings in their 8-4 win to finish the twinbill, which was the largest margin of victory in program history in a game extending past the regulation 7.0 innings … the last time Notre Dame won in a 12-inning contest was in 1994 when it defeated Indiana on May 20 by a count of 3-1.

More Than Just Downing DePaul …
Jody Valdivia and Brittney Bargar teamed to help the Irish defeat No. 17 DePaul to wrap up a March 30 conference doubleheader … Valdivia got the win and went 5.2 innings and struck out three with Bargar stepping in to finish the final 1.1 frames to earn her first save of the 2008 campaign … the duo’s efforts put an end to DePaul’s 25-game regular-season conference winning streak that dated back to April of 2006 … it was also Notre Dame’s first win at DePaul since the 2005 season … the win also signified the first time that Notre Dame beat an opponent that carried a No. 17 ranking, and was the 16th time the Irish shut out a ranked foe … Notre Dame has 49 all-time wins against ranked opponents.

–ND–