The Notre Dame softball team concludes a nine-game homestand this weekend, hosting the No. 22 Virginia Cavaliers on Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon. The Irish won their last contest 2-1 over UIC to break a streak of six losses in seven games, including a series sweep last weekend against No. 16 Stanford. The Irish enter the weekend 2-7 in conference play with wins over NC State and Louisville, both on the road. They have two ranked wins, against Missouri and San Diego State, who were ranked No. 15 and No. 23, respectively, at the time of playing.
The Irish will look to get the offense going against a strong Virginia pitching staff. Notre Dame has scored three runs or fewer in 13 of their last 14 games, going 4-10 during that stretch. Prior to that, the team was 7-4 in a stretch of far more consistent offense.
Sophomore utility player Sydny Poeck enters the weekend batting .325 and has an active 13-game on-base streak, the longest by any Notre Dame player this year. She has reached base in more than half of her plate appearances at Melissa Cook Stadium so far in 2025 as she continues to serve as the offensive leader in the absence of junior outfielder Mickey Winchell.
Shortstop Addison Amaral is also a key cog in the lineup for the Irish, with a team-best .367 batting average in nine ACC games, including three doubles and a home run. Overall on the season, the versatile sophomore has 11 extra-base hits and 26 RBIs, both of which lead the Irish comfortably.
In the circle, Brianne Weiss picked up her first career save against UIC on Tuesday, striking out all three Flames hitters she faced. The freshman left-hander has a team-best 2.85 earned-run average (ERA) against ACC opponents, including a 0.64 mark (one earned run in 11 innings pitched) in two starts against conference foes. She helped the Irish eclipse the 200-strikeout mark as a team in the spring — only Virginia Tech in the ACC has done the same. Junior righty Micaela Kastor leads the Irish with 67 punch-outs, which ranks eighth in the conference.
Head coach Kris Ganeff is off to a 14-19 start in her first year at the helm. The longtime assistant to the legendary Deanna Gumpf is still looking for her first series victory in ACC play after close series losses to NC State and Louisville and an 0-3 sweep against the Cardinals last weekend.
Virginia enters the weekend with a 24-8 record and a 6-3 mark in ACC play. They are only 1-4 when on the road this spring and have lost their only road conference series against No. 12 Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers boast a 2.76 ERA (sixth in the ACC) and have hit the most triples in the conference (20). Junior Jade Hylton leads them with five three-baggers, seven home runs and a .737 slugging percentage. All five of their rostered pitchers have at least 24 innings pitched and an ERA at or below 3.39. Virginia is led by bench boss Joanna Hardin in her ninth year with the program. Hardin is just six wins shy of the 30-mark for the third consecutive season.
First pitch of game one is set for 6 p.m. on Friday with afternoon start times on Saturday and Sunday for the final two games of Notre Dame’s second of three consecutive home ACC weekend series.
