WASHINGTON D.C. - Notre Dame of Maryland opened its softball season in strong fashion Monday afternoon, sweeping a doubleheader against Sarah Lawrence at Gallaudet University. The Gators claimed an 8–0 victory in the opener before completing the sweep with a 12–4 win in the second game. The games are the first wins for newly minted head coach
Billy Wilkens after he was officially given the job after he coached the team under the interim tag in 2025.
Game 1 : Notre Dame of Maryland 8 - Sarah Lawrence 0 (5 innings)
Notre Dame set the tone early in the season opener, scoring twice in the first inning and never looking back.
Anabelle Hafner led off the inning with a single and later scored on an RBI single from
Eleanor Flores.
Claire Smith followed with an RBI double to left center to give the Gators a 2–0 lead.
The Gators added three more runs in the second inning. Flores delivered again with a two-run single up the middle, and
Julianna Leatherwood added a sacrifice fly to extend the advantage to 5–0.
Notre Dame broke the game open in the fourth inning with three more runs. Leatherwood tripled to deep left field to drive in a run before Smith doubled home another.
Lilyian Hafner capped the rally with an RBI single to make it 8–0.
In the circle,
Malorie Gogel was dominant in the season debut, tossing a complete-game one-hitter. Gogel struck out seven and allowed just two walks over five shutout innings to secure the win.
Flores led the offense with three hits and three RBIs, while Smith added two hits and two RBIs. Leatherwood contributed a triple and two RBIs as part of Notre Dame's 10-hit performance.
Game 2 : Notre Dame of Maryalnd 12 - Sarah Lawrence 4 (6 innings)
The Gators carried the momentum into the second game, scoring in each of the first four innings to build an early lead. Leatherwood drove in the game's first run with an RBI groundout in the opening inning, and
Gabriella Allred added an RBI double in the second to make it 2–1.
Notre Dame extended the lead in the fourth inning as Allred delivered an RBI single and
Scarlett Miller followed with an RBI triple.
Annabelle Shumski added a sacrifice fly as the Gators pushed the lead to 6–1.
Sarah Lawrence scored three runs in the sixth inning to close the gap to 7–4, but Notre Dame responded with a five-run rally in the bottom of the frame to seal the victory.
Lilyian Hafner drove in two runs with a single, and Shumski delivered a walk-off two-run double to highlight the decisive inning.
Hafner finished with three hits and two RBIs, while Allred added two hits and two RBIs. Shumski also drove in three runs for the Gators.
Raegan Perkes earned the win in the circle, pitching all six innings and striking out five while allowing four runs on five hits.
With the sweep, Notre Dame opened the season with a strong offensive showing, scoring 20 runs on 21 hits across the two games. The Gators will look to carry that momentum into a home series against Mary Baldwin University on Thursday, May 12 at 2 PM.
