Softball: Irish make history, earn first No. 1 regional seed
By PETE FRASSO
Sports Writer
As students, parents, and faculty and the President of the United States gather this weekend for graduation and Commencement at Notre Dame, the Irish women's softball squad still has some work to do.
The team began its march to the College World Series and a shot at a national title Thursday. The Irish finished the season ranked eighth in the nation, and are seeded first in Region Seven hosted by Iowa. This marks the first time the Irish softball team has been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Because the team is playing, the graduating seniors will not be able to participate in this weekend's ceremonies.
The Irish finished the season with a 51-5 record, the best in team history, going 20-0 in Big East play. They headed into the Big East Tournament on a 33-game winning streak. Unfortunately, the Irish ran into bad luck, losing 2-1 to Seton Hall, then were eliminated by Villanova, 1-0.
Despite this, the Irish are still the favorites to make their first appearance in the College World Series, the playoff of the eight regional champions to determine who wins the national title.
The team began tournament play Thursday against No. 6 seed Western Illinois. Also in Region Seven are Illinois State, DePaul, South Carolina and Iowa.
The results of Thursday's games were not known when The Observer went to press Wednesday night.
Notre Dame has had successes against this field earlier in the season. On Feb. 18, the Irish shut out South Carolina 1-0 to capture the Holiday Inn Invitational title. On April 19, they swept a road doubleheader against DePaul 7-6 and 5-1.
The Irish are enjoying the No. 1 seed after having the most successful season in team history. They set a team record for wins, breaking the old mark of 48 in 1996. They currently hold a 0.76 team ERA, on pace to smash the old record of 1.14 set in 1993.
On May 10, Notre Dame swept the three major awards at the Big East Softball Championship awards banquet. Staff of the Year was given to Notre Dame head coach Liz Miller, associate head coach Deanna Gumpf and assistants Traci Conrad and John Gumpf.
Senior All-American Jen Sharron won an impressive fourth consecutive Pitcher of the Year award, posting a 0.32 ERA in league competition, and a 10-0 record.
Lizzy Lemire received the Player of the Year award, becoming the third player in school history to do so. She hit .383 in conference play,
Additionally, Kristin Schmidt received the Rookie of the Year award. .
surrendering a single run. She was also named to the All Rookie Team.
Members of the All Big East First Team included Notre Dame players Sharron, Schmidt, Lemire, Andrea Loman, Melanie Alkire, Jenny Kriech and Lisa Mattison. Named to the second team were Jarrah Myers and Alexis Madrid.
In addition, Sharron, Myers and Danielle Klayman were all named to the Verizon Academic All-District V softball team, with an upcoming opportunity to be named to the national Academic All-America team.
All Sports Stories for Friday, May 18, 2001
