DURHAM, N.C. – The Notre Dame softball team gave 17th-ranked Duke everything it could handle, but fell by one run for a second-straight night to the Blue Devils. Notre Dame is now 20-26-1 on the year and 6-14 in ACC play.
Caroline O’Brien led off the game with a single back up the middle. After she advanced all the way to third on a Duke error, Addison Amaral hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in O’Brien and the first run of the game.
In the bottom half of the inning, Micaela Kastor notched a strikeout for the first out. With a runner on first, the junior induced a ground ball to Amaral at short, who slid her foot across second base and fired the ball over to Kaia Cortes at first to turn the eighth double play of the season for the Irish. Notre Dame led 1-0 after the opening frame.
Kastor and Duke starter Dani Drogemuller went back-and-forth with scoreless innings in a pitching duel. Neither pitcher allowed a walk throughout the game.
The Irish threatened in the top of the fifth. Back-to-back singles from Anna Holloway and Jane Kronenberger with no outs had Notre Dame threatening. But Drogemuller was able to pitch around the threat and keep the Irish off the board.
Duke was able to scrape across a run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single up the middle to take a 2-1 lead.
Kastor bounced back after that, striking out two in the bottom of the sixth to keep it a one run game. She finished with five strikeouts in a complete game effort.
Drogemuller finished a complete game of her own in the bottom of the seventh with a 1-2-3 inning.
The series finale will take place tomorrow at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.