Softball Game Preview: Notre Dame Tigers vs. Half Moon Bay Cougars

The Notre Dame Tigers will square off against the Half Moon Bay Cougars at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The timing is sure in Notre Dame's favor as the squad sits on six straight wins at home (dating back to last season) while Half Moon Bay has been banged up by four consecutive losses on the road.

Notre Dame saw some tournament action on Saturday. They were the clear victors by a 12-1 margin over Maria Carrillo. Considering the Tigers have won six games by more than five runs this season, Saturday's blowout was nothing new.

Hailey Truong

Hits (Career)

04/05/25 vs Maria Carrillo	4
03/26/25 vs Mills	3
03/01/25 @ South Tahoe	3
03/21/24 vs Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory	3
04/05/25 vs Wilcox	2

The team relied heavily on Hailey Truong, who scored two runs and stole two bases while going 4-for-5. Those four hits gave her a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Skylar Loo, who went 3-for-5 with four RBI.

Truong wasn't the only one making solid contact: Notre Dame kept the outfield on their toes and finished the game with 16 hits. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now got at least nine hits in three consecutive matches.

Meanwhile, Half Moon Bay lost 14-4 to Sequoia on Thursday. That's two games in a row now that the Cougars have lost by exactly ten runs.

Zoey Schwartz was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring a run and stealing two bases while going 2-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Paisley Harris, who scored a run and stole a base while going 1-for-3.

Notre Dame's win bumped their record up to 10-3-1. As for Half Moon Bay, their loss dropped their record down to 6-8.

Half Moon Bay's hitters will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Notre Dame has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7.4 strikeouts per game. It's a different story for Half Moon Bay, though, as they've been averaging only 2.1 strikeouts. Will Notre Dame keep running through batters, or will the Cougars buck the trend?

Everything went Notre Dame's way against Half Moon Bay in their previous matchup back in March of 2022, as Notre Dame made off with a 15-1 victory. Do the Tigers have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Cougars turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.