No. 24 Notre Dame Beats Falcons Twice

Tuesday, April 12

Notre Dame, Ind.

4:00 pm

Bowling Green State University

Notre Dame

Photo by: Doug Sampson

April 12, 2011 | Softball

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

Game 1 Boxscore - Notre Dame 10, Bowling Green 2
Game 2 Boxscore - Notre Dame 8, Bowling Green 5

Notre Dame, Ind. – The Bowling Green State University softball team showed signs of breaking out of an extended hitting slump but No. 24 Notre Dame was a bit too strong for the Falcons, posting 10-2 and 8-5 victories in non-conference action Tuesday afternoon. Bowling Green hit three home runs and had just two less hits than Notre Dame on the day but the Fighting Irish came up with more clutch hits.

Paige Berger had the second multi-homer game of her career as she hit a pair of solo home runs in the opening game. Sophomore Andrea Arney hit her second career homer, her first grand slam, in game two to provide much of the Falcons' offensive output.

Despite the lopsided 10-2 score in the opener, Notre Dame's seven hits were just one more than Bowling Green. But the Irish helped their cause with five walks and three extra base hits. In game two, Notre Dame had 10 hits, again just one more than the Falcons.

Notre Dame jumped out to a quick start, scoring twice in each of the first two innings, posting those runs with just one hit in each frame.

Berger led off the fourth inning with her seventh home run of the season to cut the deficit to three at 4-1 but Notre Dame scratched out a run in the bottom of the fifth on a single, a stolen base, an illegal pitch, and a sacrifice fly. Berger again led off an inning with a homer, this time in the sixth, for her 20th career blast to make it 5-2 but Notre Dame blew it open with five runs in the bottom of the sixth for the win. Those five runs came on just three hits.

Berger and Hannah Fulk each went 2-for-3 in the contest and Fulk had a double.

Game two looked like it would be over quickly as Notre Dame scored three runs in each of the first two innings to build a 6-0 lead. But freshman Erin Greenwalt came out of the bullpen to pitch one of her best outings of her young career. She threw 4 1/3 scoreless innings before Alexia Clay hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

The Falcons got on the board in the fifth when Missy Bowman had a one-out single and Melissa West followed with a hit to put runners on first and second. Abby Hanson walked to load the bases and Hannah Fulk pushed a run across on an RBI groundout.

Clay's homer in the sixth gave Notre Dame an 8-1 lead but Bowling Green rallied in the seventh. West singled up the middle for her second hit of the game and Fulk reached on a fielder's choice in which Notre Dame was unable to get an out on a rundown with West. Rachel Proehl singled to left field to load the bases and Arney blasted a two-out homer to center field that made it 8-5.

Berger had two hits for the second consecutive game, going 2-for-4. Katie Yoho also went 2-for-4 and West was 2-for-3. Greenwalt allowed just four hits and a walk, while striking out five, in 4 2/3 innings in the pitching circle.

Notre Dame improves to 28-7 on the year and Bowling Green falls to 4-23. The Falcons will play at Toledo Saturday and Sunday in Mid-American Conference play.