BRONXVILLE, NY - College of Notre Dame softball concluded its 2010 season with a split at the Hudson Valley Women's Athletic Conference (HVWAC) Invitational on Sunday afternoon. The Gators set a program-record for runs scored in an inning (12) and runs scored in a game in their 15-1 victory over Sarah Lawrence in the semi-final game. Notre Dame fell to St. Joseph's-Brooklyn in the Championship game by a 10-0 score. Notre Dame finishes its 2010 campaign with a 7-22 overall record and a 5-17 record in Colonial States Athletic Conference play. The Gators improved dramatically over their first varsity season in 2009 which saw the team go 1-23 and 1-21, respectively.
The Gators started the tournament off with a 12 run first inning against Sarah Lawrence. Sophomore Katie Murphy (Baltimore/Baltimore Poly), and Meghan Hartnett (Baltimore/Mount Carmel) each had 2-RBI singles in the first inning for Notre Dame. Also earning RBIs in the first inning for the Gators were senior Whitley Noel (Red Lion, PA/Red Lion Area) and junior Cherish Deaver (Bel Air, MD/Fallston) on walks, while freshmen Mindy Daugherty (Hampstead, MD/North Carroll) and Cara Corsaro (Manchester, MD/North Carroll) each had RBI singles. Sophomore
Samantha Smith (Baltimore/Catholic) also added a sacrifice fly. Four Sarah Lawrence errors also contributed to the Gator 12 run first inning.
The Gators got three more runs in the top of the fifth inning. Freshman Kirsten Smulovitz (Fallston, MD/Fallston) and sophomore Marteki Martey (Silver Spring, MD/Montgomery Blair) each belted RBI singles in the inning, while Noel added a sacrifice fly.
Smulovitz earned her fourth win of the season in the circle, tossing a complete game while allowing just one earned run.
The Gators found themselves down four runs to St. Joseph's-Brooklyn in the Championship game after Emily Palmieri hit a grand slam. The Bears added one more run in the second and five more in the fifth to secure the 10-0 win. Alyson Chiaramonte earned the win in the circle for the Bears, tossing a one-hitter over four innings of work. Lisa Scheer closed the game out in the fifth for St. Joseph's.
Daugherty, Smulovitz and Smith each had a hit in the Championship game, accounting for all of the Gators offense.
