Taking on the North Carolina Tar Heels, who were 15-9 in conference play, the Irish softball team was up for a tall task to steal a game at home this past weekend. Junior Micaela Kastor pitched 19 strikeouts in two games for the Irish to build on her 100th strikeout of the season the previous week, but it wasn't enough as the Irish offense never gained a lead in three games. The 23-29 Irish were swept by the Tar Heels 9-1, 2-1, and 3-1.
Game one
In their first matchup, Notre Dame started strong on defense. Kastor took the circle once more for the Irish, and she pitched a solid 5.1 innings. The junior struck out nine hitters and allowed three runs through the first four innings.
Trailing 3-0, the Irish needed to find some offense. It began with freshman infielder Avery Houlihan reaching the bases on a Tar Heel error. Then freshman infielder Kaia Cortes followed with a single to advance Houlihan. Senior outfielder Emily Tran reached the bases on a fielder's choice that scored Houlihan, but got Cortes out at second. After only one run, the Irish were held empty in large part by Kenna Raye Dark, who threw the complete game with six strikeouts.
On the fielding side, Notre Dame began to unravel. Kastor began the sixth but allowed two more runners as she broke 100 pitches overall. This prompted freshman Brianne Weiss to throw in relief, but she allowed four more runs that ballooned the lead to 9-1 in favor of North Carolina. Held scoreless through the rest of the game, the Irish fell 9-1.
Game two
Hoping to get the offense back on track in round two on Saturday, the Irish had some work to do from both sides of the ball to turn the series around. Pitching Shannon Becker, Notre Dame started strong on defense once again. The question was whether it could be maintained. Through three innings, Becker only allowed four hits and a run. The run came in the top of the third.
On the offensive side, the Irish could not find the scoreboard until the sixth inning. Senior catcher Rachel Allen singled to right-center. Senior utility player Jane Kronenberger then reached the bases on an error. Senior infielder Anna Holloway bunted to advance the runners, and Cortes brought Allen in with a single to make the game 1-1. With runners on the bases, consecutive batters struck out at the plate as North Carolina once again threw one pitcher throughout the entire game. That pitcher, Britton Rogers, earned six critical strikeouts, more than half of which came when runners were on base.
In the top of the seventh, North Carolina scored on a flyout to take a 2-1 lead. The Irish put three balls into play on the other side, but all three runners were out at first as the Irish dropped a second game in a row to the Tar Heels, 2-1.
Game three
With a chance to squeeze one win out of a mostly forgettable series, the Irish pitched Kastor once more in the circle. The junior recorded her career high with 10 strikeouts in a single game as she pitched the whole contest with 112 pitches.
North Carolina broke the 0-0 mark in the fourth inning off a single, steal, bunt and RBI single to lead 1-0. The Irish defense stood strong to prevent an even bigger lead, but they trailed heading into the bottom of the fourth. Tran began the hitting for Notre Dame as she notched a single through the right side of the infield. Sophomore infielder Addison Amaral followed Tran with another single. Allen grounded into a double play next, but Tran moved on to third base. Finally, Holloway singled to right to bring in Tran to even the score at 1-1.
The Tar Heels scored another run in the seventh off an RBI double to take a 2-1 lead. On the hitting side in the bottom of the seventh, Kronenberger reached after being hit by a pitch, but sophomore infielder Olivia Levitt grounded out to end the game at 2-1.
Through three games, the Irish scored a collective three runs off of 14 hits, which is far below their season average and the total needed in conference play. Despite the disappointing offense, Kastor has hit her stride in the circle, throwing 19 strikeouts in two games on Friday and Sunday. Notre Dame will take on No. 5 Oregon next on Monday, April 28, at 5 p.m. in Melissa Cook Stadium.
