By Dalton Ray–
Softball (20-9, 4-1) fell to ACC foe Notre Dame (18-13, 5-5) for their first conference loss of the season. The Irish scored three unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh inning to take the 5-4 win.
Senior Maryssa Becker pitched all seven innings and moves to 15-6. Junior Nicole Pufahl went 2-for-4 with a RBI and home run.
Freshman Caitlin Ferguson went 2-for-3 at the plate kicked off the game with her first career home run in the bottom of the first inning. Louisville had a chance to extend their lead in the bottom of the second, but back-to-back fly-outs left three runners on base.
A single from ND’s Morgan Reed tied the game in the top of the third. The Irish walked out of the top of the third with a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, senior Tiarra Sanabria piped a ball to left field and advanced to second on a field error. On the next at bat, two fielding errors allowed Sanabria to cross the plate and senior Morgan Meyer to advance to third. Junior Jamie Soles drove home Meyer by dropping a ball on the right field line.
Leading 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Pufahl launched a bomb over the left field fence to double Louisville’s lead.
With two outs and two runners in scoring position in the top of the sixth inning, Notre Dame scored on a fielding error. Becker struck-out Alexis Bazos to end the inning, leaving runners on the corners.
Trailing 4-3 in the top of the seventh inning, the Irish started off with a single. Becker then intentionally walked Reed, putting two runners on. A ground-out advanced the runners in scoring position and Melissa Rochdford’s blooper drove home both runners.
Louisville’s final chance at bat included two fly-outs and a forced out at second.
Photo by Nancy Hanner / The Louisville Cardinal
