April 13, 2018
by Tony Jones
Notre Dame vs. Duke
April 13-14, 2018
Melissa Cook Stadium
Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(27-13, 10-4 ACC in 2018)
Duke Blue Devils
(21-21, 6-9 ACC in 2018)
Notre Dame Weekend Schedule
Friday, April 13
Notre Dame vs. Duke ââ’¬” 4 p.m. (ET)
Saturday, April 14
Notre Dame vs. Duke ââ’¬” 1 p.m. (ET)
Notre Dame vs. Duke ââ’¬” 3 p.m. (ET)
NOTRE DAME, Ind. ââ’¬” The eighth annual Strikeout Cancer celebration awaits the University of Notre Dame softball team. Due to the potential of inclement weather, the Irish and Duke are set to begin a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) series on Friday at 4 p.m. (ET inside Melissa Cook Stadium.
Both teams will clash in the Strikeout Cancer series on Saturday, with first pitch of the doubleheader scheduled for 1 p.m. (ET). Notre Dame (27-13) has raised upwards of $250,000 toward its Strikeout Cancer initiative to directly benefit pediatric cancer patients since the event was established in 2011.
Irish Split With Loyola
The go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth inning backed up stellar pitching from senior Katie Beriont for Notre Dame on Wednesday night. Following a tough 8-4 loss in the opening game of the evening to Loyola, the Irish bounced back with a 1-0 shutout victory in the nightcap at Melissa Cook Stadium.
Beriont scattered five hits in her second consecutive shutout in as many starts, and counting a scoreless stanza of relief from game one of the day blanked Loyola over eight total innings of work on Wednesday. Beriont has won eight straight decisions dating back to March 13, and is now a perfect 4-0 with an 0.53 ERA in her first six appearances (four starts) at Melissa Cook Stadium thus far this season.
Abby Sweet‘s Standout Sunday
Over the course of the three-game series sweep of Syracuse, Abby Sweet led the way for the Notre Dame offense by batting a sizzling .700 with a double, home run, five RBI and two runs scored. After picking up the winning RBI in the sixth inning of Saturday’s 2-1 victory, Sweet notched hits in each of her final six at-bats of Sunday’s twin bill and drove in the game-winning run in game three against the Orange.
Irish Pitching Staff Controls The Orange
Alexis Holloway earned her second win of the Syracuse series with a complete-game four-hitter in Sunday’s second contest, walking four and striking out three in seven innings of one-run softball. Holloway limited Syracuse to 10 base hits in 14.0 innings over the weekend, with only one for extra bases, and struck out nine batters to post a 1.00 ERA in a pair of victories. Katie Beriont tossed a mere 65 pitches in a five-hit shutout to open Sunday’s doubleheader, logging no walks and adding one strikeout. Beriont has won eight straight decisions dating back to March 13 at North Florida, posting a 1.04 ERA in her last 47.1 innings in the circle.
Notre Dame At Home In 2018
What was an uncharacteristic slow start at home for Notre Dame at Melissa Cook Stadium was rejuvenated by a weekend sweep of Syracuse in conference play last weekend. The Irish are outscoring the opposition 40-24 during a 6-4 home schedule to date.
Abby Sweet is batting .483 (14-for-29) in her first 10 career home starts, adding five doubles, a triple, a home run and nine RBI to her offensive totals. Ali Wester has matched Sweet with 14 hits and has added a team-high five stolen bases at home, while Katie Marino has scored eight runs to pace all Notre Dame players.
Katie Beriont has been lights out in the Melissa Cook Stadium circle over her first six home appearances (four starts), spinning a 4-0 record with a 0.53 ERA to lead the Notre Dame pitching attack. Alexis Holloway picked up her first two career home victories during last weekend’s series against Syracuse, and the Irish stable of Beriont, Holloway, Cait Brooks and Morgan Ryan have posted a 1.54 ERA and limited visitors to a mere .208 batting average inside Melissa Cook Stadium this season.
Irish Against The Opposition
Notre Dame and Duke will meet for the first time in series history this weekend. The Blue Devils joined the ACC at the start of the 2018 season.
–ND–
Tony Jones, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2012 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame softball, men’s soccer and swimming and diving programs. A native of Jamestown, New York, Jones is a 2011 graduate of St. Bonaventure University, and prior to arriving at Notre Dame held positions at the University of Louisiana Monroe and with the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills.