Irish sweep doubleheader; look ahead to Western Michigan today
By ANTHONY BISHOP
Sports Writer
The blustery South Bend afternoon didn't bother the Irsh pitching staff, as it only gave up three hits in Notre Dame's two-game sweep of Valparaiso
The Irish easily defeated the Crusaders 6-0 and 4-0 to move to 20-3 on the season.
In the first game, senior Jen Sharron pitched a complete game, allowing only two hits and no runs in seven innings. Sharron felt she played "great, but there is always room for improvement. My pitches all seemed to work well and [catcher] Jarrah Myers and I were in sync."
The game started out fast as Sharron struck out two of the first three batters. She finished the game to move to 11-2 overall with a 1.80 ERA. In the bottom of the first, a line-drive double by Myers into right-center field scored in two runners give the Irish a 2-0 lead.
Notre Dame's bats became quieter as the game progressed as the Irish stranded base runners innning after inning. But Sharron kept the Irish ahead with dominating pitching. She struck out a total of 14 batters in the game, a new personal best.
The Irish came alive again in the fifth inning. A Danielle Klayman single, followed by a double by Jenny Kriech, put both runners in scoring position.
Melanie Alkire singled, bringing in Klayman. On the first pitch Myers faced, she belted the ball 240 feet into leftfield, sailing well over the wall. It was Myers fourth home run of the season and her 22nd RBI.
In the second game, freshman Kristin Schmidt echoed Sharron's strong pitching performance by striking out 11 and allowing only one hit. Schmidt moved to 9-1 on the season with a 0.88 ERA. Sharron closed out the game with two strikeouts and never gave up a hit.
Alkire knocked in Alexis Madrid in the first inning with a double and then a hit by Lizzy Lemire moved Alkire around the bases to again start the Irish with a 2-0 lead. Andria Bledsoe walked in the second inning and then stole second. She moved to third on a ground ball and scored on a wild pitch by the Crusaders.
Alkire later reached base and stole second to be knocked in on a Lemire single.
"The pitchers threw great," said head coach Liz Miller. "It was a strong performance. The offense is a little up and down and is relying on streaks right now. We need to become a bit more aggressive."
With the win, the Irish jumped up to No. 11 in the latest national poll released.
The Irish next turn their focus to today's rescheduled doubleheader against Western Michigan. The game was postponed due to unplayable weather conditions.
Western Michigan will enter Tuesday's games with a 6-11 record, including a 1-3 mark in the MAC Conference this will be the 12th and 13th meeting in the series, with the Irish holding a 7-4 advantage over the Broncos.
Last year, Notre Dame posted a 6-1 victory, as the Irish pounded out 13 hits.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, March 29, 2001
