Campus Clips: Former Saint Joseph baseball stars impactful for Notre Dame
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The South Bend Saint Joseph's baseball program has a strong connection to its next door neighbor.
Former St. Joe stars Brady Gumpf and Jayce Lee are both members of the Notre Dame baseball squad.
Gumpf is a graduate student outfielder and co-captain for the Irish, while Lee is a freshman outfielder for coach Shawn Stiffler's program.
Gumpf was batting .221 as of May 9 with three doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs. The former St. Joe standout helped his prep team win a Class 3A state championship in 2017. He is the son of John and Deanna Gumpf. John is the assistant athletic director and former baseball coach at South Bend St. Joe and Deanna won 882 games as the Notre Dame softball coach from 2001-24, the most wins by any coach in Notre Dame athletics history.
Gumpf had his moment of the season on May 9. He delivered a three-run, walk-off home run in the seventh inning to close out a 10-0 non-conference home win over Bowling Green.
Lee was hitting .237 with one double, two triples and four home runs to go with 14 RBIs. Lee was the Northern Indiana Conference MVP, a North All-Star and the Tribune's Co Male Athlete of the Year following his senior season in 2024.
The Irish improved to 28-19 overall after an 11-1 win in eight innings over Bowling Green in non-conference play May 10 in South Bend. The Irish, who are 12-15 in the ACC, will compete in the ACC Tournament May 20-25 in Durham, North Carolina.
Forys stars for Pilots
Alyssa Forys (New Prairie) turned in an outstanding junior season on the softball diamond for Bethel University in Mishawaka.
Forys, an infielder, batted .371 for the Pilots. She had six doubles, 17 runs scored and 11 RBIs to go with an on base percentage of .440.
The Bethel roster also included junior Emily Kidwell (South Bend Adams), senior Hannah Goldsborough (Elkhart) and sophomore Harmony Looney (Penn).
The Pilots, who are coached by former Goshen High School star pitcher Natalie Newell, finished 11-39 overall and 6-30 in Crossroads League play this Spring.
Locals compete for Saint Mary's softball
A quartet of former area players were part of the Saint Mary's softball team in South Bend this Spring.
The Belles roster included senior Alexis Rauch (Niles), junior Sophie Allen (Jimtown) and sophomores Allie Moss (Concord) and Adele Zurek (Northridge).
Rauch, an outfielder/first baseman, batted .266 with five doubles and nine RBIs. Allen, an outfielder, appeared in 16 games with a double and two RBIs. Moss was a catcher/outfielder and Zurek an outfielder.
The Belles finished 10-20 overall and 4-12 in league play under first-year coach Jordyn Walter. Walter played at both Lake Michigan College and Western Michigan University. She also coached at LMC before being hired at Saint Mary's in 2024.
Area pair play for Holy Cross tennis
A pair of freshmen were key for the Holy Cross College women's tennis team this season.
The duo of Emery Porter (Bremen) and Maren Woelfer (Penn) were part of coach Eric Mahones' program. The pair combined at No. 1 doubles for a win as the Saints topped Olivet Nazarene (Illinois) 4-0 in the CCAC championship in late April.
Mahones also serves as the boys tennis coach at South Bend Saint Joseph's.
Gregory solid for Maryville
Ben Gregory (Penn) had a strong junior season on the hill for the Maryville University baseball program.
Gregory, a junior righthander, went 6-3 with a 4.05 ERA. He made 12 starts with three complete games with 75 strikeouts and 16 walks in 66.2 innings of work.
Maryville, located in St. Louis, finished its season 29-22 overall and 21-10 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: The Notre Dame baseball roster has a local flavor to it
