SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame softball team fell Sunday afternoon to North Carolina 3-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season finale for the Irish. Notre Dame is now 23-29-1 overall and 7-17 in the ACC.
Micaela Kastor made her 20th start of the season and threw an absolute gem. The junior tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts, including five straight during the second inning and into the third. It was a complete game effort for Kastor, her fourth this season and ninth of her career.
Kastor is up to 120 strikeouts on the season after totaling 19 over the weekend (nine Friday, 10 today). At the completion of the game, she had moved up to 6th-most in the conference.
Anna Holloway drove in the lone run for the Irish in the fourth inning, a line drive base hit to right field that was just out of the reach of the Tar Heels’ right fielder. Emily Tran came around to score and tied the game at one at the time. It was Holloway’s 40th RBI of her career.
The Irish will look to bounce back tomorrow evening when they host 5th-ranked Oregon for a non-conference matchup. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. It’s the first time a top-5 team will have played at Melissa Cook Stadium since 2023.