March 14, 1998

Irish Sweep Doubleheader in Bank of Hawaii Invitational

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- Notre Dame's softball team beat Loyola Marymount 9-1 and Tulsa 7-1 to finish 3-2 in round robin play at the Bank of Hawaii Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Irish opened the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Tokyo on Thursday and then split a pair of games late Friday night, beating Chattanooga 9-7 before losing to host Hawaii 11-1. Notre Dame stands at 8-12 on the season and will wrap up the Bank of Hawaii Invitational on Sunday as the third seed in bracket play.

Freshman Melanie Alkire nearly single-handedly beat Loyola Marymount as she pitched a complete game and allowed just one run on three hits for the first win of her career. Offensively, Alkire hit 3-4 with two doubles, three RBI and a run scored. Jenn Giampaolo hit two hits, including a triple, and scored two runs. Amy Laboe and Lisa Tully also scored a pair of runs.

Against Tulsa, freshman Jennifer Sharron pitched her third complete game of the season, allowing just one run on five hits. Alkire again led the Irish offensively with two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Laboe scored another pair of runs in the 7-1 win.