Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. – The Notre Dame softball team hit the road Tuesday afternoon for a makeup doubleheader that was postponed earlier this season due to inclement weather.  Both Notre Dame and Clarks Summit entered Tuesday's doubleheader winless in conference play.  The Gators and Defenders split the conference match up, with CSU taking the first, 6-5 and NDMU taking the second, 12-8.
 
GAME 1
Notre Dame was the first to get on the board in the first inning as the Gators helped move sophomore Naudiya Hopkins around the bases.  Batting second, Hopkins reached first on an error by the third baseman. 

After junior Samantha Kastner was hit by a pitch, moving Hopkins into scoring position, sophomore Hanna Morseman grounded out to move Hopkins to third.  Junior Madison King singled to score Hopkins and take a one run lead to open the doubleheader. 
 
The Gators' lead was short-lived as they gave up four runs in the bottom of the first.  But after a scoreless second inning, Notre Dame got back on the board in the third inning, scoring Kastner off a double from Morseman.  Then, freshman Maya Lazaro popped out to the first baseman, but scored Morseman from third.  The Gators scored two in the top of the third, now down, 4-3.

In the four, fifth, and sixth innings, Notre Dame went scoreless, while allowing the Defenders to score two more.  Heading into the seventh innings, the Gators were faced with a 6-3 deficit.  After getting Kastner and Hopkins on base, King came up to bat recording her first double of the season scoring both Kastner and Hopkins.  With two outs, freshman Rena Dyson came up to bat, recording a single to center field.  In an attempt to tie the game, King after advancing to third, was thrown out at home from center field.

The Notre Dame seventh inning rally came just short, as the Gators fell to the Defenders in game one, 6-5.

Morseman and King let the team with two hits while King recorded three RBIs. 
 
GAME 2
Both Notre Dame and Clarks Summit went scoreless through the first two innings.  In the top of the third, NDMU opened scoring as batting fifth, King singled, scoring Hopkins who reached on a walk.  With the bases loaded, Lazaro drew a walk to score Kastner from third.  After taking a 2-0 lead in the third, the Gators capitalized on an error to extend the inning, taking a 5-2 lead going into the fourth.

In the fourth inning, Kastner posted an RBI, scoring freshman Samantha Miguez Tolliver for her first career run.  But in the bottom of the fourth, Clarks Summit scored two to extend their lead, 8-3.  In the fifth and sixth innings, Notre Dame started to chip away at the Defender lead while holding them scoreless.  In both the fifth and sixth, NDMU scored one run to get within three heading into the seventh and final inning.

The Gators came into the seventh inning ready to complete their comeback.  Leading off, Dyson reached on an error by the centerfield.  After a Lazaro strike out and one out on the board, freshman Samantha Grannas recorded her first career hit to right field scoring Dyson from first on the throw.  On the same play, Grannas advanced to third base to sit in scoring position.

After Miguez Tolliver reached first base on a dropped third strike, freshman Lucy Polvinale at the top of the order, singled to score Grannas from third.  Now within one run of the Defenders, Hopkins drew a walk to load the bases with Kastner at the plate.  Recording a long single, Kastner scored both Polvinale and Miguez Tolliver to take a 9-8 lead. 

To help add to the lead, Morseman doubled for the third time in the doubleheader to score two more, extending the Notre Dame lead to 11-8.  After Morseman advanced to third on a wild pitch, King reached on an error by the shortstop to score Morseman for Notre Dame's 12^th and final run of the seventh inning. 

In the bottom of the seventh, the Gators held the Defenders to just three batters, as Morseman stuck out the leadoff and the infield fielded back to back grounders to seal the 12-8 victory. 

The Gators are scheduled to host Marywood University for a conference doubleheader this Saturday at Druid Hill Park for a 1:00 p.m. start time.