EUCLID, Ohio -- Shawnee State upped their league record to 13-3 by turning away Notre Dame in both ends of an American Mideast Conference doubleheader on Saturday. The Bears earned the twin wins, by scores of 10-2 and 6-3, to finish off a four-game sweep against the Falcons.

With the losses, Notre Dame (6-30, 3-19 AMC) has now dropped eight straight games and 16 of their last 17. NDC's loss in game two marked the team's 30th this season, a new program-high.

Shawnee State (20-17, 13-3) topped the Falcons on Friday, 10-4 and 9-2. In seven all-time meetings between the two programs, SSU has now won six games.

In the opening game, senior right-hander #Steve Kovar# toed the rubber for the Falcons. Kovar was solid; the Bears manufactured a pair of runs off him in the third, but the Cleveland native hung zeroes on SSU in the first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

The Falcons strung together two singles in a walk to push across a run against SSU right-hander Adam Hatton in the first. The junior hurler then settled in and was dominant. From the third inning through the sixth, Hatton allowed just one hit, a double by first baseman #Danny Gesick#. Gesick was a lone bright spot in the NDC order in game one – he went 3-for-3 with a double.

Heading into the seventh inning, Hatton and the Bears held a 2-1 lead. After getting two outs in the top of the seventh, Kovar was undone by control problems, a windblown, bloop-single, and two other RBI base hits. When the senior hurler was lifted for southpaw #Joe Frey#, the Bears had pushed across five runs with only one line-drive base hit. SSU tacked on three more in the seventh to take a 10-1 lead.

NDC picked up a run on three singles in the seventh.

In the second game, Shawnee scored a run in every inning but the second and seventh. The Bears go four runs (two earned) off NDC starter #Matt Fritz#, who went 3-1/3. Fritz walked four and yielded five base hits (four singles and a double).

Notre Dame scored solo runs in the third and fourth innings, on RBIs by #Eric Pelot# and #Kevin Butler#. The Falcons scratched across another solo run in the seventh to close out the scoring at 6-3.

Pelot went 3-for-4 in the second game. Austin Dunfee and three SSU relievers combined to hold Notre Dame to six hits and close out the four-game sweep for the Bears. The four Shawnee pitchers combined to hold Notre Dame to a 2-for-13 mark with runners in scoring position.

Senior center fielder Drew Howard led the Bears' offense over the two games. He went 4-for-8.

Notre Dame's next doubleheader is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14, when the Falcons host the Cavaliers of Walsh University. First pitch in game one is slated for 1 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST…

OUCH: With temperatures for the four-game set hovering in the mid-forties, batters on both teams were likely smarting when hit by an errant pitch. Seven batters were hit by a pitch in Saturday's nightcap (four for SSU, three for NDC). For the four games over two days, no fewer than 19 batters were plunked.

BEHIND THE EIGHT-BALL: In the Falcons' current eight-game slide, the NDC offense has been held to five runs or less in each game. Notre Dame has committed 16 errors in those games, and their pitchers have an 8.71 ERA. In the eight contests, NDC has been outscored, 71-20. The Falcons are batting .242/.341/.309 (batting/on-base/slugging) during the streak, while their opponents are hitting .366/.451/.470.