Tag: notre dame softball

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman to try and hit home runs in #StrikeoutCancer

Take those hacks coach Freeman!

It’s safe to say that [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] has fully bought into the university. He’s been spotted at basketball, hockey and even at [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag]’s introductory press conference.

Freeman is not stopping there, he’s going to give his hand at hitting some home runs. On opening day for Major League Baseball, the Irish head coach retweeted [autotag]Notre Dame softball[/autotag]’s account in their cancer fundraiser claiming that he will participate in their event and that he’s “good for at least 4” bombs after they tagged him asking how many he could hit.

The ten dollar donation will get him ten swings and there is surely to be someone on hand recording Freeman’s attempt.

Freeman will take his hacks on Sunday after the softball game against Pittsburgh in his attempt to #StrikeoutCancer.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

[mm-video type=video id=01gdhggxtjv52c59fwew playlist_id=none player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gdhggxtjv52c59fwew/01gdhggxtjv52c59fwew-2319041cebc4e858d0859e34b75ae47d.jpg]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

Watch: Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman hits home runs in #StrikeoutCancer

Does Freeman have a bit of Mighty Casey in him?

We all knew that [autotag]Notre Dame[/autotag] head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] was going to join the softball team’s effort to raise money for cancer awareness in their #StrikeoutCaner Home Run Derby.

Freeman had ten swings and did exactly what he believed he could do, hit 4 of them over the fence.

The Irish head coach had plenty of inspiration, as the reigning ACC Player of the Year, [autotag]Karina Gaskins[/autotag], blasted three home runs of her own against Pitt as Notre Dame defeated the visitors 10-2 before Freeman took his cuts.

His reply confirmed that thought. Freeman didn’t look like a former football player swinging the bat, his form needs a bit of work, but the raw power is there.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

[mm-video type=video id=01gr2tx5hzyjsff5k9g8 playlist_id=none player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gr2tx5hzyjsff5k9g8/01gr2tx5hzyjsff5k9g8-c5ad88ce911816b457f603a83e1c48d1.jpg]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen

NCAA Softball Tournament: Stream and broadcast info for Friday’s ACC matchups

Here’s how you can keep up with all of the ACC action in the 2022 NCAA Softball Tournament.

For the first time since 2015, six ACC teams were selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament, with four of the six among the top 16 seeds.

One of those four teams is Clemson, which reached its second consecutive ACC Championship game last week, ultimately losing to Florida State. Despite the loss for the Tigers, Clemson will still be an NCAA Tournament host this weekend as the No. 10 seed.

The other three teams in the top 16 are Florida State, Virginia Tech and Duke, which are No. 2, No. 3 and No. 12, respectively. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame will compete in the first round on the road.

During Clemson’s three-game stint in the ACC Championship, shortstop Alia Logoleo led the way on offense, finishing with three home runs in the tournament while batting 6-10 in the process. Logoleo and the Tigers will look to compete for the program’s first National Championship as the NCAA Tournament begins Friday.

Here’s how you can stay updated with all of the ACC action in the first round.

Top ACC hitter Abby Sweet returning to Notre Dame for 2022 season

The Irish will return their biggest offensive threat in 2022.

Hours before Notre Dame learned its fate for the 2021 NCAA Tournament, it got some great news for the 2022 season. Senior outfielder Abby Sweet, the ACC’s top hitter with a .463 batting average, has announced that she will be part of next year’s Irish while pursuing her master’s degree. This will be her fifth and final year of eligibility:

Sweet, a senior from Newhall, California, also leads the ACC in on-base percentage (.556) and is third in the conference in slugging percentage (.739). She also has a conference-leading 16 doubles while being tied for third in hits (62) and tied for fifth in runs scored (41). Her 19 stolen bases are seventh in the conference, and she’ll gladly take that, too. She probably would not prefer to have the second-most hit by pitches (18), but it still helps her team.

Notre Dame has a 31-13 overall record and 20-10 ACC record. It figures to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team after being bounced from the ACC quarterfinals with a 4-1 loss to Virginia Tech.

Alexis Holloway highlighted in hometown collegiate athlete roundup

Notre Dame’s softball captain gets some love from her hometown newspaper.

If you subscribe to your local newspaper, chances are the sports section does a weekly update of area athletes who now play in college. That happened to Notre Dame pitcher Alexis Holloway, who headlined the latest such feature for The Times of Northwest Indiana by virtue of being from Crown Point, Indiana and the 2017 Gatorade Indiana Softball Player of the Year. The story talks about Holloway’s accomplishments on the field and as an aerospace engineering major at Notre Dame’s College of Engineering. Irish coach Deanna Gumpf is depicted in the story as reveling in her two-time captain’s activities away from the team:

“She is amazing – I mean she built an airplane. What she’s doing is extremely rare. I don’t believe there are many people in the country that can do what she’s done.”

To be fair, Gumpf likely referring to the remote-controlled airplane Holloway is building with her group, but it’s impressive nonetheless.

Holloway, one of four seniors, is 10-6 with a 2.62 ERA and a team-high 87 strikeouts this season. In Sunday’s 5-1 win over Virginia, she threw her team-leading eighth complete game of the season. As a hitter, she is batting .256 with two homers and nine RBIs.

Four consecutive at-bats, four homers?!? See Notre Dame’s Gaskins going off

Gaskins went homer happy

Although the Notre Dame softball team doesn’t get much love, that needs to change after an absolutely massive performance yesterday. Freshman Karina Gaskins had an afternoon to remember against Georgia Tech in the second game of their doubleheader.

The infielder had four consecutive at-bats with the best possible outcome, homers.

https://twitter.com/ndsoftball/status/1373435437839175682?s=21

They weren’t all solo shots either, Gaskins totaled 10 RBI’s on her four long-balls leading the Irish to a victory in the second game, earning a split of the doubleheader.

In total the Irish hit six homers over the two Saturday games, but Gaskins’ individual performance was the highlight of the day. The softball looks to take the series this afternoon as their rubber match is set for a noon eastern start in Atlanta.

Former Notre Dame Football Player/Coach Dies at 79

Former Notre Dame tight end and assistant football coach Brian Boulac has died at 79 after spending his life with Notre Dame.

Former Notre Dame football player and assistant coach Brian Boulac has died.  He was 79 years old.

Boulac arrived at Notre Dame in the fall of 1959 and played for the Fighting Irish football team from 1961-63, a run where the team went just 9-20.  The tight end would go on to become a graduate assistant at Notre Dame that kicked off a career in coaching and ultimately in the Notre Dame athletic administration.

Boulac would serve as an assistant coach under Hugh Devore, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Gerry Faust and was also the first recruiting coordinator for the Notre Dame football team.

From 1959 through at least 2009, Boulac either played in or attended every Notre Dame home football game as a fan.

 

Boulac was also the first varsity softball coach at Notre Dame and led the Irish to four 30-win seasons and a pair of conference titles despite having only two scholarships to offer.

To learn more about Boulac, check out the write-up about him from the 2009 Notre Dame vs. Boston College game program.

 

Notre Dame’s Sweet Named ACC Player of the Week

Playing at the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, California, Sweet recorded 10 hits, six runs, eight RBI and a home run in six contests.

Notre Dame softball centerfielder Abby Sweet (junior, Hart High School/Newhall, California) was named the ACC Player of the Week for her efforts this weekend that helped the Irish to a 3-3 mark and included an upset win over No. 16 Arizona State.

Playing at the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, California, Sweet recorded 10 hits, six runs, eight RBI and a home run in six contests.  She also slugged a remarkable .850 while totaling 17 bases, hitting four doubles and stealing four bases in four tries.

Notre Dame sits with a 10-5 overall record and will travel to Duke this weekend for three games against the Blue Devils to kickoff ACC competition.  The Irish ranked third in the Pre-Season ACC Coaches Poll that was released in late January.