Notre Dame-Belmont-Santa Catalina softball

Central Coast Section Division II Quarterfinals
Saturday's game
No. 7 Notre Dame-Belmont (17-7) vs. No. 2 Santa Catalina (18-1) at Hawes Field, noon.
 Champions of the West Bay Foothill Division, the Tigers have won nine straight games, opening the tournament by knocking off Westmont 6-3.
 Santa Catalina shook off the nerves of its postseason opener, not to mention a 70 minute delay to the first pitch -- recovering from a 4-0 deficit to post a 7-6 win over South San Francisco.
 The Mission Trail Athletic League champion Cougars have rattled off 16 straight wins, with their only setback coming back on March 12 to Salinas.
 Madison Earnshaw has been sharp all season for Notre Dame, posting a 1.25 earned run average in the circle, with 158 strikeouts in 129 innings.
 The Cougars strength is their lineup, anchored by Jessica Clements, who had three hits in the playoff opener to push her season average to .580.
 Emily Hayes is coming off a four-hit effort, scoring the game winning run for Santa Catalina, while Katie Fraley has four homers and a team high 31 runs batted in.
 The Tigers have a pair of potent bats in their lineup in Noosha Steward, who is hitting .418 with two homers, and Carlee Miller, is slapping the ball around at a .408 clip.