After coming off of an exhilarating spring break, the Notre Dame softball team faced off against Indiana University of Bloomington (IU).
IU started off the first inning by putting one run on the board and continued their offensive drive, heading into the second inning and adding another run to make the score 2-0. Heading into the fourth, Notre Dame tallied their first run on the board to bring the score to 2-1 after senior utility Jane Kronenberger found her way to third base and scored on a wild pitch. In the fifth inning, freshman infielder Avery Houlihan found home plate to give the Irish their second run to tie up the game. The game remained tied through the sixth inning, but the Hoosiers started off the final frame hot with a home run to take the 3-2 lead and ultimately close out the win.
Junior pitcher Micaela Kastor led the Irish on the mound as she pitched a complete game. Kastor faced 34 batters and totaled seven strikeouts.
Western Michigan
Following the intense game against IU, Notre Dame is now preparing to face off against Western Michigan Wednesday, with first pitch to come from Melissa Cook Stadium at 4 p.m. The Broncos are coming off a 2-1 series win of their own against Toledo, moving their overall season record of 8-18. The last time that the two teams met was on April 9, 2024 and Notre Dame took the extremely close 3-2 win.
In the box, Riley Dittmar leads the Broncos with a batting average of .388 and an on base percentage (OBP) of .451. Following closely behind is Caitlin Tighe with a .300 batting average and a .403 OBP.
One the mound for the Broncos, freshman Kaylee Salyer leads the team with a total of 12 strikeouts on the season so far. In addition to this, Salyer holds an earned run average (ERA) of 6.07. In relief, Jensen Grimellion is a top option for the Broncos as she has an ERA of 7.98 and a total of 12 strikeouts as well.
Notre Dame
For Notre Dame, sophomore infielder Addison Amaral leads the Irish at the plate with a batting average of .367 and an OBP of .475. Following her, sophomore utility Sydny Poeck leads with a .323 batting percentage and an on base percentage of .421.
In the circle, Kastor leads having a total of 64 strikeouts on the season so far with an ERA of 3.80. Following her is freshman pitcher Brianne Weiss with a total of 44 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.29.
