Over Easter break, Notre Dame softball was swept on the road by No. 10 Florida State. Although the Irish were hoping to turn some heads and steal a win, the series instead provided this young Irish team with much-needed experience against the ACC’s best.
In Game 1, the Irish fell 7-2. Despite the rather lopsided score, Notre Dame managed to notch five hits to Florida State’s eight. However, uncharacteristic issues in the field combined with Florida State’s explosive offense proved to be the difference.
Notre Dame’s two runs came in the second and sixth innings, both solo home runs courtesy of freshman Lily Hagan. Hagan has steadily played a larger role on the team this season, and Friday’s game was undoubtedly her breakthrough moment.
Hagan’s first home run was delivered deep into left field, nearly drilling a car that was driving on the street just behind JoAnne Graf Field. Luckily, the driver hit the brakes just in the nick of time. Hagan’s second home run was crushed into left center. This time, the ball landed by a picturesque tree.
While Hagan’s power offered a glimpse of hope on Friday night, things worsened for the Irish in Game 2. Notre Dame’s offense struggled mightily, recording a mere one run to Florida State’s 12. Inside the circle, sophomore starting pitcher Brianne Weiss couldn’t find her groove. Weiss faced 15 batters, allowing six hits and five earned runs.
Freshman Molly Conner and junior Kami Kamzik attempted to settle things down, but neither had the needed formula. Ultimately, Florida State run-ruled Notre Dame in five innings, 10-0.
The Irish, however, showed signs of life once again in the final game of the series.
In the top of the second with runners on first and third, sophomore Rebecca Eckart drove a smooth ground ball down the left-field line to bring home freshman Hayden Kyne. Moments later, junior Tenley Sweet soured the hearts of Seminoles fans as she launched a fastball over the fence for her first career home run.
Then, in the bottom of the second, senior Micaela Kastor recorded a big-time strikeout to keep the game at 4-0.
But the momentum quickly slipped away, as the Seminoles inevitably found their form in the third inning. Florida State’s Jazzy Francik came into the game in replacement of starting pitcher Bella Dimitrijevic and instantly made an impact. In the 2.2 innings pitched, Francik allowed only one hit.
Ashtyn Danley finished things off for Florida State, allowing zero hits in two innings pitched.
Florida State’s talented bullpen effectively shut down the Notre Dame batters once they stepped into the game, while the Florida State offense simultaneously heated up.
In the bottom of the third, the Seminoles got runners on base early. From there, Danley hit a soft grounder to bring one runner home. In the next at bat, Eckart was unable to field a choppy ball hit by Anna Hinde, bringing in two more runs for Florida State.
Florida State stayed relentless the rest of the way, scoring one run in the fourth and fifth innings and adding three more in the sixth to win 8-4.
The three losses drop Notre Dame to 16-22 on the season and 5-10 in ACC play. The Irish will look to build on the lessons learned against preseason ACC favorite Florida State as they return home for a midweek matchup against Valparaiso at 6 p.m today. Notre Dame then resumes conference play on Friday with a three-game homestand against Louisville.
