At 8-7 on the season, Notre Dame softball will play its final event before ACC action begins in Southern California this weekend. The Irish will compete at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California, with Cal State Fullerton serving as the host. Notre Dame will face No. 4 UCLA (5:30 p.m.) and Cal State Fullerton (10:30 p.m.) on Thursday, No. 6 LSU (3 p.m.) and No. 23 San Diego State (5:30 p.m.) on Friday and No. 10 Arizona (2:30 p.m.) on Saturday.
The Irish are 1-1 against ranked opponents this season, as they lost to Tennessee but walked off Missouri at the NFCA Leadoff Classic three weeks ago. Last weekend, they moved above .500 for the first time this season, going 3-2 at the Mardi Gras Classic in Mobile, Alabama. Notre Dame defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Maine and Lipscomb but lost twice to the hosting South Alabama. Senior right-hander Shannon Becker headlined the event with a no-hitter against the Black Bears on Saturday afternoon.
Senior catcher Rachel Allen and sophomore infielder Addison Amaral continue to lead the Irish offense, with Allen slashing .364/.421/.515 and Amaral at .357/.431/.500. Amaral’s 15 hits, three doubles and 13 runs batted in all pace the team. Senior outfielder Mickey Winchell has come on strong lately as well, going 7-for-18 in Mobile to bring her batting average up to .379. Her six stolen bases lead Notre Dame by a fairly wide margin as well.
While it’s still early, the Irish have the highest earned run average among ACC pitching staffs at 4.62. Becker (3.05 ERA), sophomore right-hander Kami Kamzik (3.86 ERA) and junior right-hander Micaela Kastor (4.20 ERA) have all been pretty good, but none of them great so far. Kastor leads the staff with 31.2 innings pitched and 35 strikeouts, but she and the group will be tested by this weekend’s slew of ranked opponents.
UCLA aiming for another Oklahoma City trip
The most successful program in college softball history, UCLA has a great shot at its 33rd Women’s College World Series appearance. The 12-time national champion Bruins have reached Oklahoma City in nine of the last 10 seasons, most recently winning it all in 2019. They won the Pac-12 Tournament last year and are 14-2 this year to start Kelly Inouye-Perez’s 14th season as their head coach.
UCLA has seen all kinds of Power 4 opponents over the past two weekends, including seven currently ranked teams. The Bruins went 4-1 at the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational, beating Oklahoma State, Kentucky and Alabama before dropping the finale to Virginia. They followed with a 5-1 mark at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last week, losing only to Duke after defeating Missouri, Nebraska, Tennessee, Baylor and Arkansas.
Junior infielder Jordan Woolery, a former All-American and the 2023 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, leads UCLA in batting average (.435), on-base percentage (.500), slugging percentage (.957), home runs (six) and RBIs (22). She’s been the model of consistency, crushing two long balls in each weekend of play. Three more UCLA regulars are hitting better than .400, including senior Savannah Pola, graduate outfielder and Cal Poly transfer Jessica Clements and freshman outfielder Rylee Slimp.
All three frequently used UCLA pitchers have an ERA south of 3.00, with sophomore Kaitlyn Terry leading the staff with a 0.99 in 42.1 innings. She was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year last season and struck out 14 in a complete game against Missouri last Thursday. Freshman Addisen Fisher (1.93) and junior Taylor Tinsley (2.96) have been solid as well, giving the Bruins a 1.74 team earned run average.
The Irish are 2-9 against UCLA and last faced the Bruins in 2017.
Cal State Fullerton looking to build on walk-off win
The hosting Titans have reached the NCAA Tournament in seven of the past eight seasons but have not been to Oklahoma City since 1995. They come at 11-5 under first-year head coach Gina Oaks Garcia, and although they’re 0-4 against ranked opponents this year, they’re 11-1 against the rest of their schedule. Last weekend, they capped off a 3-2 appearance at the Mary Nutter by walking off Utah for a 7-6 win.
Cal State Fullerton wields a clear top five of hitters, beginning with junior infielder Ava Arce and her team-leading .467 batting average, .689 slugging percentage, 1.156 OPS and 19 RBI. Freshman Sarah Coccillos delivered the walk-off RBI against the Utes and is slashing .419/.419/.677 with five doubles. Juniors Colby McClinton and Alexia Lopez have also hit well, as has freshman Nataly Lozano, who leads the team with two home runs.
The Titans haven’t been great in the circle, given their 4.14 ERA. Redshirt sophomore Trisha McCleskey has thrown more than anyone else but struggled badly her last time out, giving up four runs in a third of an inning against Utah and raising her ERA to 4.20. Fellow redshirt sophomore Leanna Garcia has been the team’s most effective arm with a 2.77 ERA in 30.1 innings.
At 7-10 against the Titans, the Irish last opposed Cal State Fullerton in 2020.
LSU out to a 14-0 start in loaded SEC
In a Southeastern Conference that now includes Oklahoma and Texas, the top two teams in the country, LSU seeks a return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last year. The national championship-less Tigers certainly have the roster to contend for one this year in head coach Beth Torina’s 14th season, receiving a first-place vote in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. They’re 14-0 with four ranked wins split between Northwestern and Virginia Tech.
Danieca Coffey, Tori Edwards and Maci Bergeron have functioned as a phenomenal three-headed monster three weeks in. Coffey, a redshirt senior infielder in her fifth season at LSU, is slashing .579/.685/.763 with a team-high 22 hits. The team leads for home runs and RBI belong to Edwards, a redshirt freshman who made just two starts before an injury overtook her last season. Bergeron, a junior catcher, has taken a massive leap from slashing .254/.318/.384 last season to .486/.640/.857 with three home runs in her first 14 games of 2025.
LSU has the elite pitching to match its prolific bats, evidenced by its 1.29 team ERA. Redshirt junior Tatum Clopton, a former Oklahoma State pitcher, has not allowed a single run in 14.1 innings, punching out 18 and conceding just three hits. Junior Sydney Berzon and freshman Jayden Heavener have thrived as the team’s workhorses, combining for 71 strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA in 55 innings pitched.
In four meetings against the Tigers, Notre Dame has won only the most recent matchup, which took place in 2022.
San Diego State on a five-game heater
An NCAA Tournament qualifier in each of the last three seasons, San Diego State has won five straight games and comes in at 13-3 out of the Mountain West. The Aztecs won’t begin their weekend until Friday after hosting and defeating California Baptist in a midweek game on Tuesday. They had a ton of success in Clearwater two weekends ago, going 5-0 with ranked wins against Alabama and Missouri.
San Diego State doesn’t hit for much power, owning only five home runs on the season. Senior catcher Cali Decker leads the offense with a .426/.482/.596 slash line, pacing the team with 15 RBI and 1.078 OPS. Senior infielder Lala Macario has the Aztecs’ highest batting average at .465 but has not yet recorded an extra-base hit. The only Aztec with multiple home runs, junior Shannon Cunningham, has belted two in the first three weeks.
The Aztecs have another shutout pitcher rolling with freshman Ava Schaffel, who hasn’t allowed a run in 17 innings. Senior Grace Uribe leads the team in appearances and has a 2.63 ERA, while innings leader Cece Cellura has pitched to a 4.37 mark in 33.2 frames.
Arizona hungry after near upset of No. 1
A staple of the Women’s College World Series at the turn of the century, Arizona has only been back to Oklahoma City three times since 2010. However, the Wildcats have appeared in an NCAA Super Regional in nine of the last 10 full seasons and have a great shot at pulling through in Caitlin Lowe-Nagy’s fourth season. Arizona heads to Fullerton at 15-2 with three ranked wins against Alabama and Stanford. Last weekend at the Hillenbrand Invitational in Tucson, the Wildcats took No. 1 Texas to extra innings but lost on a three-run Longhorn shot in the eighth inning.
A homer-happy squad with 29 long balls on the season, Arizona has a whopping team OPS of 1.127. Graduate student Miranda Stoddard, a two-way phenom from Anaheim and a former Kentucky Wildcat, leads the Arizona Wildcats with seven home runs and 1.680 OPS while also pitching to a 1.27 ERA in 22 innings. Junior catcher Sydney Stewart, a transfer from Washington, paces Arizona with 24 RBIs on six home runs. Redshirt senior Devyn Netz has five blasts, while junior Kaiah Altmeyer has walked 18 times as an on-base machine for the Wildcats.
Arizona can go deep in the circle, having thrown eight pitchers this season. Netz, another two-way player, leads the Wildcats with 37 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched and has a 2.36 ERA.
Notre Dame has never defeated Arizona in 10 tries but has not faced the Wildcats since 2013.
