ND-Belmont-Notre Dame softball

Central Coast Section Division III Semifinals
Tuesday's game
No. 4 Notre Dame-Belmont (19-14) vs. No. 1 Notre Dame (23-5), 4:30 p.m. at PAL Stadium, San Jose.
 Not that the Spirits needed any more incentive, being the top seed and reigning two-time Division III champions.
 However this is the program that ended their state record run off nine consecutive CCS Division III titles in 2007.
 I don't know if redemption is a topic of conversation from something that occurred eight years ago.
 What should be fresh on the Spirits mind is the 9-5 loss to the Tigers on March 14 in a tournament in Morgan Hill.
 The reality is the Tigers are a good team right now that have bounced their first two opponents in the postseason by a combine score of 23-1.
 Members of the West Catholic Athletic League, the Tigers have sprayed the ball all over the field this spring with sophomore Marina Sylvestri and junior Sofia Magnani both hitting over .400.
 Of course, the Spirits have a lineup that's been on the assault all season, led by Oregon University bound Marissa Given, who is inching closer to .600 after a three-hit effort last Saturday.
 The Tigers are 5-2 in their last seven games, with both losses coming from nationally ranked Mitty,  a team Notre Dame fell to 1-0 last month.
 While the Spirits had little trouble in beating Burlingame 10-0 in five innings in their postseason opener, they did that without any production from the middle of the order. That has to change today.