SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Maryland softball team fell to 21st-ranked Notre Dame in a pair of contests, 9-0 and 8-5, on a windy Sunday in South Bend, Ind. The Terps return to action tomorrow night for a nationally televised matchup against the Irish on ESPNU at 7 p.m.
Game Two: Notre Dame 8, Maryland 5
Notre Dame overcame a 5-3 deficit with a five-run fifth inning to defeat Maryland, 8-5, in the second game of the doubleheader.
Shannon Bustillos reached base three times and knocked in two runs, while Kylie Datil and Candice Beards each tallied a pair of hits for the Terps.
The Terrapin offense flexed its muscle in the top of the first, as Bustillos earned a walk and Datil singled. The hot-hitting Beards then knocked a single up the middle to score Bustillos and give Maryland a 1-0 lead.
After Notre Dame tied the game up at one in the home half of the first, Maryland responded with a big three-run second inning to take a 4-1 advantage. Jessica Warner opened the inning with a leadoff walk and Erin Pronobis followed by getting hit by a pitch. Bustillos then delivered for the Terps, belting her 10th double of the season to left center, before Datil followed with an RBI double of her own.
The Irish chipped away at the Terrapin lead, however, using RBI doubles in both the second and third innings to draw within one, 4-3.
Following a scoreless fourth, Warner used another walk to spark the Terrapin offense. Bridget Hawvermale pinch-ran for Warner, and made her way to third base before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Amanda McCann.
The additional run was not enough for the Terps, as Notre Dame scored five runs on five hits and a pair of Maryland errors to open an 8-5 lead. Laura Winter tied the game with a two-run single, before Karley Wester blew the game open with a two-run triple to left field.
Game One: Notre Dame 9, Maryland 0
Winter allowed just four hits in a complete game effort to lead Notre Dame to a 9-0 victory over Maryland in the first game of the day.
McCann went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Madison Martin and Juli Strange tallied the other hits for the Terrapins.
The Irish jumped on the Terps from the outset, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Emilee Koerner followed by a two-run homer from Micaela Arizmendi.
After tacking on another run in the second, Notre Dame was held scoreless in the third before putting the game out of reach with a 5-spot in the fourth. Chloe Saganowich did most of the damage with a two-run home run over the left field fence.
Erin Pronobis earned a walk in the top of the fifth to threaten for the Terps, but McCann flied out to center field to end the game.
