Amy Buntin's three-run, walk-off homer gives Irish 5-3 win at Melissa Cook Stadium.
Awards & Honors 2011 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
A former member of the U.S. National Softball Team and 2001 BIG EAST Player of the Year, Lizzy Lemire returned to her alma mater as an assistant coach for the Irish softball team in the fall of 2005.
Lemire, elevated to her current position as associate coach in August 2012, works closely with the Irish outfield corps and is also a polished hitting instructor. She has helped Notre Dame advance to the NCAA Tournament in each of her seven seasons as part of the coaching staff, including BIG EAST Conference tournament titles in 2006 and 2009.
Her tutelage was on full display last season, as Notre Dame surpassed the .300 batting average plateau for the third consecutive season, and just the eighth time in program history, logging a .306 clip as a team in 2012. The Irish also averaged five or more runs per game (5.23) for the fourth consecutive season.
Lemire's influence was extremely evident throughout the Irish batting order in 2009, helping produce five all-region and seven all-conference performers. Additionally, Christine Lux was named an NFCA third-team All-American after turning in one of the most outstanding single-seasons at the plate for the Irish. Over the course of the 60-game season, Lux amassed a .329 batting average while also tallying 15 home runs, a number that ties the program's single-season mark for home runs that she herself set in 2008.
Batters under Lemire's tutelage posted a number of program single-season bests in 2009 including: runs (2nd - 310), doubles (3rd - 90), home runs (1st - 66), RBI (1st - 282), total bases (1st - 748), slugging pct. (1st - .501) and walks (1st - 152).
Lemire also developed (then) freshman Dani Miller in 2009, converting the athlete into an outfielder as Miller went on to post a 21-game hit streak, the longest of any BIG EAST player that season. Heather Johnson matched that streak in 2011 en route to being named the BIG EAST Player of the Year and Notre Dame's single-season and career RBI leader.
Both Miller and Johnson were named to the NFCA All-America third team in 2011, the same season in which each of Notre Dame's three outfielders - Sadie Pitzenberger, Brianna Jorgensborg and Alexa Maldonado - earned all-BIG EAST accolades.
Notre Dame crushed a number of blue and gold benchmarks under the watchful eye of Lemire in 2010 with single-season program records in the form of a nation-leading batting average (.343), runs (369), doubles (103), home runs (75), RBI (337), total bases (878), slugging pct. (.590), on-base pct. (.409) and fielding pct. (.978). The Irish were second among NCAA teams with 1.75 doubles/game and fourth in slugging pct. In regular season BIG EAST play, the Irish ranked first in slugging percentage (.635), runs scored (150), RBI (134), doubles (46), home runs (31) and total bases (330).
Lemire's outfielders did not commit a single error during the regular season in 2010 while shortstop Katie Fleury went on to earn NFCA All-American honors.
It was under the guidance of Lemire that outfielder Sarah Smith posted one of the greatest single-season improvements in program history during the 2008 campaign. Smith saw limited action for the Irish in her first three seasons, then broke out as a senior as the lefty slapper went on to earn first-team all-BIG EAST and all-NFCA regional honors. Furthermore, Smith was one of three Notre Dame outfielders to claim all-league recognition that season. Smith's .370 batting average and 60 hits in 2008 ranked among the best single-season performances ever by an Irish outfielder.
Lemire trekked from coast to coast after earning a pair of degrees from Notre Dame in 2001 before landing back in South Bend. Upon graduation, she earned a spot on a U.S. National team that steamrolled the competition with four consecutive victories and a tournament title during the 2001 U.S. Cup in Hawaii.
After her time with the U.S. National team, Lemire returned to Notre Dame as an athletic department intern through the summer of 2002. It was then that she was accepted into the sport management program at the University of Massachusetts as she went on to earn a master's degree in that field. While pursuing her degree, Lemire also served as an intern in the athletic department compliance office. In addition, Lemire was also a volunteer assistant coach for the softball squad, coordinating team travel and developing the play of the Minutewomen outfield.
In 2003, Lemire shifted gears by landing a position at Boston College within the athletic department's development office, and was hired one year later as an annual giving associate at Stanford University.
During her first season back in the blue and gold as a coach, Lemire steered the 2006 Irish squad to a collective batting average of .291 while the sluggers sent 44 homers out of the park. Lemire mentored outfielder Stephanie Brown to a pair of All-America honors, as Brown also became one of only a handful of Irish players - including Lemire - to earn all-BIG EAST honors on four occasions.
Lemire captained the most successful team in the history of the Notre Dame program, powering the Irish to an overall record of 54-7 along with an all-time best No. 7 national ranking and the first number-one seed in the NCAA Tournament. As a senior, Lemire hit .324 (including a .383 mark in BIG EAST play) with 38 RBI, 10 stolen bases and three home runs. She shares the single-season record for doubles with Katie Laing, logging 17 two-baggers in 1999. Lemire's career numbers included a .332 average, 28 stolen bases, 126 RBI, nine home runs and 43 doubles. Lemire is regarded as one of the most fearless and skilled defensive outfielders in Notre Dame history.
Her personal efforts were reflected in her team's success, as Lemire was part of a senior class that complied an overall record of 177-63 (.738), earned two BIG EAST Tournament championships, four regular-season conference titles, and made three consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Lemire prepped at Woodbridge High School after growing up in Irvine, Calif., where she was the city and high school's scholar-athlete of the year in 1997. The Irvine World News also recognized her as its female athlete of the year following her senior campaign. Lemire led Woodbridge to a No. 2 national ranking and was an ASA All-American in 1997.
The daughter of Kathi and Tom Lemire, this Irish coach's love for Notre Dame began at an early age aided by her mother's passion and respect for the University.
