Notre Dame roundup: Softball sweeps NC State, extends win streak to six
Notre Dame softball was struggling, losing its first four Atlantic Coast Conference games. But over the past 10 days, the Irish have stormed back.
Led by ace graduate pitcher Alexis Laudenslager‘s 13 2/3 innings pitched across two outings, the Irish (20-10, 5-4 ACC) swept North Carolina State 5-3, 9-4 and 2-0. The series win extended Notre Dame’s win streak to six, along with a 4-2 win Tuesday against Michigan State and two victories over Georgia Tech on March 16 and March 17.
Laudenslager allowed only two earned runs in her busy weekend, pitching a shutout in Sunday’s win. Junior pitcher Shannon Becker threw 6 innings Saturday and she was also spectacular, allowing only 1 hit.
Notre Dame’s offense came from up and down the lineup, with the weekend’s lone home run coming from senior infielder Karina Gaskins. She blasted a 3-run shot to right field during the third inning Saturday, shortly after the Irish put up 6 runs in the opening frame.
With the sweep, Notre Dame rose to sixth in the ACC standings, with only one game separating the Irish and ninth-place North Carolina. The Irish travel to Chapel Hill, N.C. for a three-game set this coming weekend after a mid-week home matchup with Central Michigan on Tuesday.
Notre Dame baseball takes home series vs. Miami
Badly needing ACC success after starting 0-6 in league play, the Irish got it this past weekend. Notre Dame took two out of three from Miami, winning 6-2 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday before falling in a 12-10 extra-inning barnburner Sunday.
The Irish improved to 14-9 (2-7 ACC) and climbed out of the Atlantic division basement with the series victory.
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Notre Dame did it through small-ball offense, totaling 19 hits throughout its two wins. Leadoff hitter and senior outfielder T.J. Williams paved the way, driving in 2 runs Friday and another Saturday. He added 4 more hits and 2 RBIs on Sunday as the Irish kept pace with the red-hot Hurricanes, but Miami scored 2 runs in the 10th inning to salvage the series finale.
After a mid-week home game against Bowling Green at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Notre Dame travels to Raleigh, N.C. for a three-game series against the Wolfpack starting at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.
MK Doherty the hero again for women’s lacrosse in double-OT
Notre Dame senior midfielder MK Doherty is starting to make this a habit. She fired home her third game-winning goal in as many games Friday, this time in walk-off fashion.
Doherty’s golden goal gave the No. 6 Irish (9-2, 3-2 ACC) a 14-13 win over Clemson in double-overtime. Two days later, Notre Dame traveled to Mercer and took care of the Bears, winning 20-6 after a dominant second half. Four players — graduate midfielder Kasey Choma, senior midfielder Keelin Schlageter, graduate attack Madison Ahern and graduate attack Arden Tierny — posted hat tricks with 3 goals each.
The Irish are back in action at 11 a.m. ET Saturday against Pittsburgh in South Bend.
