Irish sweep Friars, split doubleheader with Huskies
By RACHAEL PROTZMAN
Sports Writer
Notre Dame softball moved to 26-9 overall and 3-1 in the Big East following weekend play.
The Irish earned two conference wins as they defeated Providence on Sunday.
"I was really pleased with our offense today. I think that we came out and hit the ball well," said head coach Liz Miller. "We maintained that offense throughout both games which was important especially going into game two. A lot of times when you score a lot of runs in game one, you tend to let down for game two."
Notre Dame racked up 14 hits for a 16-0 win in game one.
Melanie Alkire scored from first on a double by Jarrah Myers to kick off the Irish in the top of the first, before they combined for eight runs in the bottom of the second. Junior Lizzy Lemire doubled and scored while Danielle Klayman and Sharron both singled to drive in runs. Freshman Andrea Loman doubled to drive in three runs while Bledsoe also doubled to gain a RBI before scoring herself.
Notre Dame racked up six more runs in the bottom of the third. Sophomore Rebecca Eimen doubled to deep center to drive in a run before Alkire slammed a three-run home run over the fence. Freshman Lisa Mattison doubled to drive in a run before scoring on a single by Hoag. The Irish scored once more in the bottom of the fourth as Mattision doubled again to drive in the final run.
Sharron grabbed her eighth shutout of the year while allowing just two hits and striking out six.
In game two action, Notre Dame continued to win the offensive battle with eleven hits to Providence's three. Notre Dame grabbed five runs in the second and one in the third. Providence showed a strong effort in the fourth as they scored three runs, but the Irish matched them in the bottom of the inning with three of their own for the final score of 9-3.
"We always need improvement," said Miller, "We didn't get some bunt situations. We didn't execute them well so we're really going to focus on those."
The Irish kicked off the weekend with a split decision to Connecticut Friday.
With a 5-4 loss in game one, Notre Dame lost its first conference game since 1998.
The Huskies grabbed an early lead with two runs in the top of the second before Jennifer Kriech singled in the bottom of the inning to drive in a run for the Irish.
Connecticut scored three more in the fifth to extend their lead to 4-1. In the bottom of the seventh, Notre Dame's Kas Hoag doubled to send in two runs before scoring herself on a single by Jennifer Sharron, bringing the final score to 5-4.
The Irish came back strong in game two as they defeated the Huskies 3-0. Freshman Andria Bledsoe grabbed an infield single with bases loaded to drive in Notre Dame's first run. Kriech singled in the bottom of the sixth to drive in the last two Irish runs. Pitcher Michelle Moshel (6-4) earned her third shutout while allowing just three hits.
The Irish, after a cancellation of today's games against DePaul, will play again on Thursday as they travel to Western Michigan.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, April 4, 2000
