Notre Dame softball’s season ends with NCAA Tournament regional loss to McNeese State
McNeese State was Notre Dame softball’s bugaboo in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The No. 19 Irish lost to the Cowgirls for the second time in as many days in the Evanston Regional, with a 3-1 defeat late Saturday ending their season.
A weather delay pushed both games of Notre Dame’s Saturday doubleheader into the evening. The Irish defeated Oakland 16-1 in the first one, which ended by run rule after five innings. They led 8-0 after two frames. They had 17 hits and drew two walks while allowing just five Oakland runners to reach base.
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First pitch of the game against McNeese State was at 10:15 p.m. ET Saturday, about 30 minutes after the win over Oakland went final. The Irish and Cowgirls were tied 0-0 entering the bottom of the fifth inning. McNeese State’s Adrianna Ramirez led off the inning with a home run that put the Irish behind for good. An unearned run later that inning pushed the deficit to 2-0. A throwing error on a steal of third in the sixth inning allowed McNeese State to tack on another run.
Notre Dame (40-12) scored its lone tally in the top of the seventh on junior infielder Joley Mitchell’s leadoff home run. The Irish brought the go-ahead run to the plate later that inning, but a groundout ended the threat and gave McNeese State (40-20) the win. The game ended at about 12:30 a.m. ET Sunday.
Mitchell had two of the team’s seven hits. Freshman Shannon Becker started for Notre Dame, throwing 5.1 innings. She allowed seven hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out two hitters.
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Notre Dame was the No. 2 seed in the Evanston regional and matched up with No. 3 seed McNeese State — the Southland Conference champions — to begin play Friday. The Irish lost that game 11-1 in five innings, allowing 10 runs in the opening frame.
This season was the first since 2016 and the 18th time in program history that Notre Dame reached the 40-win mark. The Irish have made the NCAA Tournament in each of coach Deanna Gumpf’s 21 seasons in charge, save for 2020 when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19. They are still seeking their first Super Regional appearance.
