The Irish who are now 23-18 overall on the season and 7-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, took a close, 5-3 loss Tuesday night against Indiana.
After neither team scored in the first inning, Notre Dame junior Rachel Allen got the ball rolling in the second inning, hitting her third home run of the season. In the top of the third, senior Karina Gaskins hit her eighth home run of the season and pulled a fly-ball to left field to drive in another run to make the score 3-0. Junior Anna Holloway and senior Cassidy Grimm also all added hits to the contest.
However, the Hoosiers were quick to respond, scoring one run of their own in the bottom of the third inning to make the score 3-1. No one scored in the fourth, fifth or sixth inning, but after a fielder’s choice error and two errors from the Irish defense in the seventh inning, Indiana had three runners on base. Finally, with a walk-off home run, the Hoosiers extended the lead and ended the game with a final score of 5-3.
Graduate student Alexis Laudenslager started on the mound for the Irish. Laudenslager threw 6.1 innings for the Irish and striking out six batters. She allowed two hits and four runs (three of which were earned) but ultimately took the loss for the Irish. Junior Shannon Becker came as relief and closed out the game for the Irish. Becker allowed one home run at the end of the seventh inning.
The Irish are now looking ahead to play the Clemson Tigers who are 29-14 overall and 11-7 in the Atlantic Coast conference. Game one is set to start Friday at 5 p.m., game two is set to start Saturday at 1 p.m. and game three is set to start Sunday at 6 p.m.
