Ranked No. 11 in the ACC Preseason Poll and ready to kick off its season, the Notre Dame softball team is traveling to Clearwater, Florida, to compete in the NFCA Leadoff Classic this weekend. The team will face Morgan State, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Penn State and Bethune-Cookman.
Currently unranked, Morgan State will be the first team that the Irish face. The last time that the teams met was in 2019, when Notre Dame took the 4-1 win. Their game is set to start on Feb. 7 at 10 a.m.
In their last meetup, neither team scored in the first two innings of the game, but Notre Dame took the lead in the third inning with three runs thanks to a run batted in from senior infielder Katie Marino and two RBIs from senior pitcher and infielder Cait Brooks. Morgan State responded with a run of its own, but the Notre Dame defense shut it down, ending the third inning.
Heading into the fourth inning, Notre Dame added on the final run as junior catcher Madison Heide hit a single, allowing junior outfielder Abby Sweet to score. As Morgan State was unable to come back, the Irish took the 4-1 win.
Kentucky, which is also unranked, is the second team that the Irish wil face. The last time the two teams met was in 2021 in the NCAA Lexington Regional, where they played each other three times and Kentucky won two games to Notre Dame's one. Their game this year is set to start on Feb. 7 at 1 p.m.
The first game in 2021 went in favor of Notre Dame, but Kentucky scored first in the first inning. However, a quick response from the Irish included a five-run second inning, four runs in the third and three in the fifth.
Sweet led the offense with three RBIs alongside then-senior pitcher Morgan Ryan, who also had three RBIs. Marino had two RBIs, and then graduate-shortstop Chelsea Purcell had one to help the Irish win 12-3.
The third team that the Irish will face is No. 5 Tennessee. The last time that the Irish faced Tennessee was in 2022, where they took the 11-3 loss. This year, their game will start on Feb. 8 at 1 p.m.
In the 2022 game, Tennessee took the quick lead in the first inning, putting up five runs. But Notre Dame fought back, scoring two runs thanks to senior infielder Karina Gaskins and senior outfielder Leea Hanks. Tennessee held its lead in the second inning, scoring two more runs before Notre Dame responded as senior outfielder Emma Clark drove in senior infielder Quinn Biggio to make the score 7-3.
No score went up from either team in the third, fourth or fifth inning, but in the sixth inning, Tennessee added four runs, and as Notre Dame could not come back, the Volunteers took the 11-3 win.
No. 15 Missouri is the fourth team that the Irish will face. The last time that Missouri took on Notre Dame was in 1984, and in a very high-scoring game, Notre Dame took the 16-14 win. This season's matchup will start on Feb. 8 at 6 p.m.
Penn State is the fifth team on the list for the Irish to play this weekend. This year, Penn State and Notre Dame will face each other on Feb. 9, starting at 10 a.m. The last time that the two teams played each other, it was a tightly contested game in 2004, but Notre Dame took the 1-0 win.
Neither team scored in the first four innings of the game, but after a double-steal called by former head coach Deanna Gumpf, the Irish were able to put a run on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Penn State was unable to come back, so Notre Dame took the close win.
Bethune-Cookman is the final team that the Irish will face off against in Clearwater. The Irish have never squared off against the Wildcats in program history.
