Sitting at 20-24-1 on the season, the Irish faced a critical road series at No. 17 Duke to stay inside the top-12 of the ACC. With a one-game lead on Pitt, the Irish needed to win at least one game, which they did by going 1-2 in the series. Junior Micaela Kastor pitched an incredible three-game stretch, notching 10 strikeouts to earn her career 250th strikeout and her 100th of the season. These three performances helped Kastor also hit her 10th win of the season matching her win total as a sophomore. With the help of career games from sophomore Addison Amaral with two home runs, the Irish toppled Duke in game 3, winning 6-5. They followed that up by battling back from a two-run deficit to score six in a row to beat Central Michigan 8-4.
Duke Game 1
The Irish started strong from the plate to begin a four-game streak of scoring in the first inning. Freshman Caroline O’Brien doubled down the right field line to begin the game before advancing on a sacrifice bunt from senior Emily Tran. Senior Rachel Allen then smashed a home run over the right field fence to score O’Brien and get the Irish out to an early 2-0 lead.
Duke was quick to respond in the bottom of the first. The first two Blue Devil batters singled up the middle on sophomore Kami Kamzik. They were quickly brought home by an Ana Gold home run over the left center field wall. Duke followed up the three-run shot with another home run that would be the last of the scoring in the bottom of the first. Through one inning, the damage was 4-2 in favor of Duke.
The Irish regained scoring momentum in the third inning with help from the top of the order. Tran singled to begin the inning with Amaral doubling to right field to advance Tran. Allen then continued her big day by hitting a clutch single to center to score both Amaral and Tran and even the score at 4-4.
Sound pitching from Kamzik held the Blue Devils from reaching the plate. However, Duke finally scored on an RBI in the infield to regain the lead in the bottom of the fourth to lead 5-4. In the top of the seventh, the Irish had a scoring chance with two outs and freshman Avery Houlihan pinch running on second base. Amaral singled to shallow center field to advance Houlihan to third. Houlihan rounded the bag with a full head of steam but was thrown out at home plate as the potential tying run, and the Irish fell 5-4.
Duke Game 2
The Irish looked for revenge in game two on Friday, April 18. O’Brien began the game with a single up the middle before advancing on an Irish groundout and finding the plate to give the Irish an early 1-0 lead on an Amaral sacrifice fly.
Kastor started the game for the Irish, pitching six innings only allowing six hits to go along with five strikeouts. Kairi Rodriguez hit a solo home run for the Blue Devils in the top of the second inning to break even at 1-1 but the Irish held strong outside of that.
The Irish made another push in the fifth inning after a single from senior Anna Holloway. She advanced to third with help from a Jane Kronenberger single to left and a ground out. However, the second baseman was stranded as the next two batters grounded out. The Blue Devils took advantage of the Irish failure to regain the lead and found the plate off consecutive hits to lead 2-1.
The 2-1 lead was too much for the Irish and they only got on base once more throughout the remainder of the game, coming on a throwing error. Moving to 0-2 against Duke, the Irish desperately needed at least one win to remain ahead of ACC competition for the final two spots in the ACC tournament, setting up a crucial game three.
Duke Game 3
In the final road game of the season, the Irish needed a monster performance from the mound and the plate to keep their spot in the ACC tournament. For a third straight game, the Irish found home in the first inning. Tran hit an infield single to get to first and Amaral smoked a two-run home run over center field.
The Irish started senior pitcher Shannon Becker in her sixth game of the season. She threw an inning of scoreless relief in game one on Friday night, but allowed one run for the Blue Devils on Sunday. Kastor took over again at the stripe on the defensive side hoping she could remain effective after a complete game the previous day with 82 pitches. Duke evened the game off her in the bottom of the second at 2-2, and this score stuck through the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, Duke capitalized on an overturned double-play that would have ended the inning. A double from KK Mathis earned the first lead of the game for Duke at 3-2.
To start the sixth inning, Amaral returned the favor with another two-run home run over the left field wall to tilt the game back in Notre Dame’s direction. The Irish added two insurance runs in the seventh inning to bring the score to 6-3, but the game was not over. Duke battled back in the seventh inning to score two runs and cut the lead to only one. Kastor found the extra strength to force a ground ball that Holloway calmly threw to first to secure the critical 6-5 win.
Kastor’s 11th inning in the past two days showed her ability to step into the clutch and earned the Irish their second highest-ranked win of the season, just behind No. 15 Missouri. This puts the Irish one game ahead of Pitt in conference play, and two or more ahead of the other three teams vying for a spot in the top 12.
Central Michigan
Notre Dame took on the Central Michigan Chippewas after being away for a two-week road stint since April 8. Finally back in Melissa Cook Stadium, the Irish hoped to earn another win to inch back toward an even record. Kastor was stellar again, recording her 250th career strikeout and 100th of the season during 2.2 innings of work. This marked her 10th win of the season, alongside a three-strikeout game.
The Irish kept the streak alive of scoring the first inning with a single for Tran and walk from Amaral before Kronenberger lined into left field to score Tran.
The Irish faced a 4-2 deficit in the bottom of the sixth but exploded on the offensive side to score six runs on six hits in the inning. Holloway scored three RBI by herself with her second home run of the day. Tran also finalized her fifth career three-hit game for the Irish in the frame. The inning allowed the Irish to emerge victorious 8-4.
Looking to build off consecutive wins, Notre Dame hosts Valparaiso at 5 p.m. today in Melissa Cook Stadium as part of the seven-game homestand left to close the season. Sitting at 22-26-1, the Irish face a critical series against North Carolina this weekend beginning on April 25.
