Notre Dame throws shutout at Central

Alex Fowler knew the count was 1-2 and there was a standout pitcher ready to deliver.

Fowler swung at the pitch from Central's Amanda Nichols and drilled a double over the center fielder's head to drive in a run and help Notre Dame edge Cape Central 3-0 in softball action Monday.

"I was basically just trying to get it in play and move her over," Fowler said. "Amanda is a great pitcher and you really have to put a good hit on it.

"You never know what she's going to come with -- her rise ball, her changeup. You just have to try to get the bat on the ball with two strikes. It's really difficult."

Fowler's double drove in Whitney Eftink, who had walked, pushing the score to 2-0 in the sixth inning.

Notre Dame's Alex Fowler looked toward first after getting the force out at second base on Central's Mia Russell during the bottom of the seventh inning.

"We needed to get our morale up," Fowler said. "One run really wasn't enough because they have some good hitters. We needed to get ahead so we could get our defense going and everything."

Notre Dame's Lauren Reinagel and Central's Nichols kept the offenses at bay for most of the game, but Notre Dame managed to push across a run in the fourth. Reinagel singled and made it to third after a sacrifice bunt and ground out. She came halfway down the line during Fowler's at-bat, and Central catcher Sirena Watkins tried to make her pay for wandering too far. But Watkins' throw hit Reinagel and scooted away, allowing her to race home for the game's first run.

The Bulldogs scored again on Fowler's double, then added another insurance run in the seventh when Alexis Ralls ripped a double to center field that smacked the wall on one bounce.

"I've been batting for so long and been going to a batting coach for about three years," Ralls said. "Working with him for those three years has gotten me so good at hitting and seeing the movement of the ball and being able to see the spin on the ball and everything. There's a lot more pressure when you want to put a lot more runs on there. It just comes to you when you want to hit."

The Tigers threatened to get to Reinagel early after Mia Russell reached on an infield single to lead off the first, but Notre Dame catcher Lauren Bond picked her off first. Then Watkins laced a single to right-center field, but she was erased when Bond threw her out trying to steal second. Central didn't have another baserunner until the seventh inning.

"We have set pickoff plays and we rely on those to get us out of those situations," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "Their leadoff hitter has tremendous speed and they rely on her just like we do, getting her on base to score runs. To pick her off takes a little wind out of their sails."

Central coach Amy Blattel said her team maintained its usual approach against Reinagel and the Bulldogs. She wants her players to take risks and put pressure on the opposition.

"We're always looking to be aggressive, it doesn't matter who we play," Blattel said. "We want to be aggressive. We want to be aggressive with the bats, aggressive defensively, base running. We don't change our approach based on who we're playing."

Reinagel finished with nine strikeouts and no walks while Nichols had five strikeouts and two walks.

"The Nichols girl is a great pitcher," Graviett said. "She's on her game. That's the best pitching we've seen all year. She did a tremendous job on the mound and we were fortunate to scratch across three runs."

NOTRE DAME 3, CENTRAL 0

Notre Dame 000 101 1 -- 3 8 0

Central 000 000 0 -- 0 3 1

WP -- Lauren Reinagel. LP -- Amanda Nichols. 2B -- Brittney Schott (ND), Alex Fowler (ND), Alexis Ralls (ND). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame, Alex Fowler 2-3, Brittney Schott 2-2, Alexis Ralls 2-4; Central, Mia Russell 2-3.