Softball Game Preview: Notre Dame Pioneers vs. Lafayette Christian Academy Knights

Notre Dame is a perfect 7-0 against Lafayette Christian Academy since March of 2019 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Wednesday. The Pioneers will take on the Knights. Notre Dame is strutting in with some hitting muscle as they've averaged 10.9 runs per game this season.

Notre Dame fought the good fight in their extra-innings contest against Sulphur on Monday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Golden Tors by a score of 6-5. The matchup marked the Pioneers' lowest-scoring game so far this season.

Madaline Johnson was a force to be reckoned with on the mound despite the final result: she didn't allow a single earned run over 7.1 innings pitched.

Malayna Daigle

Stolen Base

04/14/25 @ Sulphur	3
04/12/25 vs Brusly	1
04/11/25 @ Northside Christian	1
04/10/25 @ Welsh	1
04/08/25 @ Lafayette Renaissance Charter Academy	1

On the hitting side, Malayna Daigle was cooking despite her team's loss, getting on base in four of her five plate appearances with one home run and three stolen bases. She has been hot, having posted at least one stolen base the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Aly Teare, who got on base in three of her five plate appearances with two runs and one double.

Meanwhile, it can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Lafayette Christian Academy had no problem doing just that on Saturday. They were the clear victors by a 15-7 margin over Thomas Jefferson. The Knights might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 contests by six runs or more this season.

Lafayette Christian Academy has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games. That's provided a nice bump to their 16-10 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 12.4 runs over those games. As for Notre Dame, their defeat ended a 14-game streak of away wins dating back to last season and brought them to 32-2.

Notre Dame took their victory against Lafayette Christian Academy when the teams last played on April 1st by a conclusive 11-1 score. Will the Pioneers repeat their success, or do the Knights have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.