April 5, 2018
by Tony Jones
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse
April 7-8, 2018
Melissa Cook Stadium
Notre Dame, Indiana
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(23-12, 7-4 ACC in 2018)
Syracuse Orange
(18-14, 4-7 ACC in 2018)
Notre Dame Weekend Schedule
Saturday, April 7
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse – 3 p.m. (ET)
Sunday, April 8
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse – 10:30 a.m. (ET)
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse – 12:30 p.m. (ET)
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – With no break in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schedule in sight for the University of Notre Dame softball team and Syracuse, conference play motors on this weekend at Melissa Cook Stadium. The Irish and Orange are slated for a three-game ACC Atlantic Division set that is tentatively expected to run Saturday through Sunday, weather permitting, on the Notre Dame campus.
For the latest news and updates on all things Notre Dame softball, visit www.und.com/softball, follow the Irish @NDsoftball and @NDcoachGumpf on Twitter and at Instagram.com/notredamesoftball, and Like the team at Facebook.com/NDSoftball.
Irish Win Series At Virginia Tech
Opening the day with a gritty 5-4 win over Virginia Tech, Notre Dame went all-in for the series victory in the second game of the afternoon on March 31 in Blacksburg. Three runs in the top of the eighth inning book-ended a complete-game gem for Alexis Holloway in a 3-1 triumph to clinch the series at Tech Softball Park.
Notre Dame bounced back from a 2-1 defeat at the hands of host Virginia Tech in game one to earn its second ACC series win of the year. The Irish have won the last four series against the Hokies dating back to the 2015 season. After dropping the opening game of the series on Friday Night, Notre Dame did not trail over the final 15 innings against Virginia Tech to close the weekend.
Holloway’s Saturday At Virginia Tech
A game effort from freshman pitcher Alexis Holloway made Notre Dame’s Saturday doubleheader sweep and series victory at Virginia Tech a reality.
In relief of both Katie Beriont, the winning pitcher of game two, and Cait Brooks, Holloway spun 1.2 innings of one-hit softball out of the Irish bullpen to nail down a 5-4 victory. Getting the ball for the rubber match in game three, the Notre Dame right-hander threw all eight innings of the finale against Virginia Tech, scattering a mere two hits and striking out four in a 3-1 Irish win.
Over 9.2 combined innings Holloway threw down an 0.72 ERA on Saturday against Virginia Tech, limiting the Hokies to an .097 batting average against.
Irish In The ACC Statistics Standings
After 35 games played in 2018, Notre Dame ranks third in the ACC in batting average with a .298 clip. The Irish also rank third in the conference with 170 runs and a .425 slugging percentage, and fourth with 273 hits and a .367 on-base percentage.
Individually, Ali Wester ranks second in the conference with a .436 batting average despite only batting in 29 of 35 games for Notre Dame, and is fourth in the league with 41 hits. Abby Sweet has logged a league-high 14 times hit by pitch for a .451 on-base percentage.
Ali On Fire Over The Previous 10 Games
In her last 10 starts for Notre Dame dating back to March 17 at Louisville, Ali Wester has been a lightning rod out of the leadoff spot for the Irish. The junior slap hitter is batting a team-high .412 in that span, ripping 14 hits and adding four RBI and three stolen bases. Wester’s four multiple-hit games over her last 10 games, including tying a career high with four hits against Eastern Michigan on March 27, also pace all Notre Dame batters.
Upcoming Changes To The Notre Dame Schedule
Inclement weather and travel plans have forced a pair of changes already to the weekend Notre Dame softball slate against Syracuse, as Friday’s series opener has been moved up to 5 p.m. (ET) due to probable inclement temperatures as the night progresses. Sunday’s series finale against the Orange will begin at 11:30 a.m. to allow Syracuse ample travel time following the completion of play.
Flipping the calendar to next week, Notre Dame’s April 10 matchup with Detroit Mercy has been cancelled and will not be made up, allowing the Titans to reschedule previous Horizon League games that were postponed by the unseasonable start to spring. Notre Dame will now face Loyola in a nonconference doubleheader on April 11 at Melissa Cook Stadium, with game one’s first pitch set for 4 p.m. (ET).
Irish Against The Opposition
Notre Dame enters this weekend with a 24-7 all-time record against Syracuse in a series that dates back to 2001 across both the BIG EAST Conference and ACC. The Irish own a 13-3 mark at home against the Orange in series history, despite the last eight meetings overall between the teams evening out at 4-4.
–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.