In front of a boisterous Drysdale Field crowd, the Wildcats’ bats were silenced Tuesday night against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, losing 10-2 in five innings.
From the very first pitch of the game, NU (20-24, 6-9 B1G) pitcher Kaley Winegarner struggled with her command, allowing the first seven Fighting Irish batters of the game to reach base. Notre Dame (28-18, 11-10 ACC) flexed their offensive power against Winegarner with four first inning runs, including a three-run Caitlyn Brooks home run to right-center field that might still be going.
The second inning wasn’t favorable for the ’Cats either. Following an error by second baseman Brooke Marquez, Notre Dame’s Ali Wester singled in her sister, Karley, for a 5-0 Irish lead. Following the single, Winegarner (6-5) was pulled from the game, lasting just 1.2 IP and allowing five runs on four hits and two walks.
Even when NU made the pitching change to senior Nicole Bond, the Fighting Irish continued to muscle in more runs. First baseman Sarah White belted a Bond offering for a three-run home run to left field in the top of the third inning to expand Notre Dame’s lead to 8-0.
Notre Dame starting pitcher Caitlyn Brooks was dominant on the mound, allowing just two hits in four innings. Using a combination of fastballs and curveballs, Brooks had the NU batters sprawling for pitches low and away, resulting in mainly groundouts and fly outs.
The lone bright spot for the ’Cats was a solo home run by senior Alcy Bush to left field in the bottom of the fifth inning. With the home run, Bush now has three home runs for the year, equaling the number of home runs she had in her first three seasons combined.
The ’Cats now travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a pivotal three-game series against the Nebraska Cornhuskers starting on Friday. As it stands now, the ’Cats are in 10th in the Big Ten standings, five spots behind the Cornhuskers.