Irish open with four wins
By RACHAEL PROTZMAN
Sports Writer
The Irish grabbed four wins and a loss in their season opener at the University of Nevada Las Vegas Tournament this past weekend.
"Overall I thought it was a good weekend," Notre Dame head softball coach Liz Miller. "We did better as a team and the freshmen did a good job stepping up to the competition."
Junior Melanie Alkire led the Irish offensively with a .563 batting average with five RBI's over the three-day tournament while pitcher Jennifer Sharron holds a 3-0 record after giving up only one earned run.
"Sharron did a good job at being in control on the mound, in all areas of pitching," Miller said.
Notre Dame started the weekend with a 5-3 win over Portland State on Friday.
Sharron led the Irish defensively by allowing just four hits while striking out 10. Sophomore Jennifer Kriech finished 3-for-3 offensively while Alkire grabbed an RBI and a run.
Michelle Moschel and Alkire combined to shut out Southern Utah 8-0 while giving up just two hits and striking out eight. The Irish grabbed nine hits in the five-inning game with Alkire leading with a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth.
Notre Dame fell to Oregon 11-3 Saturday for their only loss of the tournament.
With the Ducks leading 3-1, Notre Dame gave up six runs in a single inning. The Irish closed the gap to 9-3 in the top of the fifth before Oregon grabbed two more for the early win in the bottom of the inning.
Against the University of California at Santa Barbara, freshman Andrea Loman slammed a three-run homer over the fence with two outs in the fifth inning to hand Notre Dame a 3-0 win.
Freshman Andria Bledsoe finished 4-for-4 at the plate for Notre Dame while Kriech was 2-for-4 with a triple. Notre Dame combined for a total of 14 hits against UC-Santa Barbara.
Defensively, Sharron grabbed her second win by allowing three hits and striking out eight.
Notre Dame ended its weekend with a 2-1 win over Utah.
In the top of the first inning, Rebecca Eimen, a pinch runner for Sharron, scored on a double by Alkire to give Notre Dame the lead. Utah retaliated in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. With two outs in the top of the third, Alkire scored on a single by junior Lizzy Lemire to secure the Irish victory.
Sharron allowed just three hits in her third straight win of the season.
"Overall, I think we swung the bats aggressively," Miller said. "As a team, this was our first big step in developing strengths among ourselves."
The Irish struggled as they played outside for the first time this season, particularly in running the bases.
"We did not anticipate or make the best judgements in base running," Miller said. "This is where our lack of outdoor practice really showed, but we adjusted quickly for the conditions."
Notre Dame travels to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend to participate in the Morning News Invitational.
"Five games were tough to do," Miller said. "It was physically draining, but we were able to handle that. The big test will be six games this weekend."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 22, 2000
