ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Notre Dame scored four runs with two outs and stymied some late scoring threats to top the Miami softball team, 5-0, in an elimination game at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional on Saturday, May 21.
Miami finishes the season with a 35-23 overall record after the result.
The Fighting Irish were pesky with two outs early on in the game. After Carly Mortensen retired the first two batters of the game, Morgan Reed singled through the box and came around on Micaela Arizmendi’s RBI double that went off the wall in right center to go up 1-0. MU went down in order in the home half of the first and ND got another threat put together in the second on a double and a walk. Mortensen struck out the next batter to get an out shy of escaping the jam, but Karley Wester slashed a run-scoring single to left to make it a 2-0 game and end Mortensen’s day in the circle, bringing Amber Logemann to the rubber for the second time of the day to escape further damage.
Miami struggled to muster much offense the first time through the lineup, drawing just a walk over the first three innings at the dish. The Red and White got something going in the fourth when Eryn McCarver singled and Taylor Shuey walked to start the frame, but a fly out and two-straight pop outs left the tying runs on base.
After Logemann retired the first seven batters she faced in relief, ND began the fifth with back-to-back bunt singles. Miami’s ace bounced back with a strikeout of Ali Wester and forced Morgan Reed to ground out, but Arizmendi added yet another two-out run-scoring hit by singling through the box to plate two and make it a 4-0 game.
The RedHawks started another rally in the bottom of the sixth when Shuey singled and Johniann Wahl doubled with one away to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Once again, however, Fighting Irish starter Rachel Nasland escaped the jam by inducing consecutive ground outs to third. ND then added another run in the top of the seventh on an Ali Wester RBI single that made it a 5-0 game. Nasland then set the Red and White down in order in the bottom of the frame to secure the shutout.
Shuey reached base twice via a single and a walk, but MU was unable to get the break through hit in its rallies. Mortensen tossed 1.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out one. Logemann logged the final 5.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits while fanning two batters. Nasland countered for ND with seven shutout innings, scattering three hits and three walks while striking out four.
Miami won its fourth Mid-American Conference Tournament title en route to its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance this season. The RedHawks’ victory over the Fighting Irish on Friday was their third all-time NCAA regional win.
