DURHAM, N.C. – The Notre Dame softball team gave 17th-ranked Duke everything it could handle, but fell by one run for a second-straight night to the Blue Devils. Notre Dame is now 20-26-1 on the year and 6-14 in ACC play.
Caroline O’Brien led off the game with a single back up the middle. After she advanced all the way to third on a Duke error, Addison Amaral hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in O’Brien and the first run of the game.
In the bottom half of the inning, Micaela Kastor notched a strikeout for the first out. With a runner on first, the junior induced a ground ball to Amaral at short, who slid her foot across second base and fired the ball over to Kaia Cortes at first to turn the eighth double play of the season for the Irish. Notre Dame led 1-0 after the opening frame…