The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will venture away from home to square off against the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets at 4:30 p.m. on Monday. Oakfield-Alabama took a loss in their last match and will be looking to turn the tables on Notre Dame, who comes in off a win.
On Saturday, Notre Dame earned a 5-1 win over Elba. The victory continues a trend for the Fighting Irish in their matchups with the Lancers: they've now won nine in a row.
Evan Fitzpatrick spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits and racked up nine Ks. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't given up more than one earned run in six consecutive appearances.
At the plate, Notre Dame saw five different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Adyn Horzempa, who went 2-for-3 with two RBI. Chase Antinore was another, going 2-for-3 with one stolen base and one run.
Notre Dame was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .375. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Elba only posted a batting average of .160.
Meanwhile, Oakfield-Alabama started off well but failed to capitalize on an early lead against Le Roy. They fell just short of the Oatkan Knights by a score of 4-3 on Saturday.
Notre Dame's win was their fourth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 8-2. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.3 runs over those games. As for Oakfield-Alabama, their loss dropped their record down to 5-5.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Monday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Notre Dame has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Oakfield-Alabama struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.9 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Notre Dame was able to grind out a solid win over Oakfield-Alabama in their previous matchup back in May of 2024, winning 5-1. The rematch might be a little tougher for the Fighting Irish since the squad won't have the home-field advantage this time around. We'll see if the change in venue makes a difference.
