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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

ND SOFTBALL: Rain cancels 4 of 5 games at San Diego

The Irish figured they would need strong pitching, good def-ense and solid hitting heading into this weekend's Campbell-Cartier Tournament in San Diego. As it turned out, the only thing they needed was an umbrella.Heavy rains forced Notre Dame to cancel most of the games scheduled for this weekend, including a matchup against No. 4/No. 3 UCLA, and limited the team to just a single game, a 3-2 victory over Utah Friday afternoon. Since the San Diego area experienced more rain in the last month than in the previous year combined, games were canceled against No. 21/No. 18 Fresno State and San Diego State.Leadoff hitter Stephanie Brown went 2-for-2 against the Utes with two runs and a triple, and centerfielder and Player of the Year candidate Megan Ciolli was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs. Continuing the team's dominant pitching performance from their tournament victory at the GRU Classic the previous weekend, Steffany Stenglein once again recorded double-digit strikeouts, this time sitting down 11 batters while giving up two hits over six innings. She left the game with the Irish up 3-0, but returned after reliever Carrie Wisen gave up a two-run homer in the top of the sixth that cut the Irish lead to one. The win over Utah was Stenglein's second victory of the year and her first save.Stenglein was spotted an early lead thanks to a quick start by the offense. Brown led off the bottom of the first with a single to left, and after Middleton reached on an error, Ciolli doubled to the right field wall to put the Irish up 2-0.The Irish extended their lead in the fourth when Brown hit a triple down the leftfield line with two outs. Middleton's RBI single then made the score 3-0. Notre Dame attempted to play a final game on Sunday before leaving San Diego, looking to continue their momentum from Friday's victory over Utah. They led Central Michigan 1-0 in the fourth inning before rain once again forced a cancellation.