Notre Dame softball heads into ‘prove-it’ series against Duke

By ADAM AKAN sports Writer

n otre d ame softball has had a strong season to date, posting a 10-4 record. The Irish are currently on a blazing win streak of five games. They defeated UT m artin 8-7, FIU 4-0, s iena 2-0, FIU again 4-3 and d artmouth 7-4 while in m adeira b each, Florida, for The s pring Games.

The Irish have struggled against higher-profile

ND MEN’s l ACRossE opponents, however. After thrashing o hio s tate 7-2 in their first game of the b1G/ Acc c hallenge in c lemson, the Irish would go on to lose twice against n o. 13 n orthwestern, 2-0 and 10-3. They would also fall to o hio s tate 6-5 in a tense, nineinning rematch. Their additional loss came against s an d iego s tate on the road by a 3-0 score.

As Acc play opens up, the Irish have an opportunity to prove that they can compete at the highest level. They begin their conference slate this weekend against n o. 12 d uke in d urham, where they will play a three-game series against d uke.

The b lue d evils currently sit at 15-3. Their sole losses have come in close games with n o. 14 Washington, n o. 15 Alabama and n o. 1 o klahoma. They have already earned four wins against ranked opponents in n o. 17 s tanford, n o. 4 Arkansas, n o. 25 m ichigan and n o. 20 Uc F in extra innings. d uke comes into the series red-hot as they seek to add to their current 12-game winning streak. n otre d ame head coach d eanna Gumpf and the Irish believe they can match up with the top squads in the Acc , a group that includes n o. 4 c lemson, n o. 5 Florida s tate, n o. 10 v irginia Tech and yes, d uke. If they want to make a statement this weekend, and climb up the conference standings and into the top 25 nationally, they must win this series against the b lue d evils. Friday’s game is set to begin at 6 p.m., s aturday’s at 2 p.m. and s unday’s at noon. All games will be streamed on Acc n etwork e xtra and played at d uke s oftball s tadium.

Contact Adam Akan at aakan@nd.edu