ROBINSON, Pa. -- Notre Dame took game one and then lost game two in the first half of four games at Point Park (Pa.) on Friday afternoon. NDC earned a 4-0 win in the opener, and the Pioneers won, 8-5, in the second game.  (Gm-1 | Gm-2)

Junior right-hander #Justin Miller# threw a two-hit shutout in the Falcons' win. The twin bill marked the opening of American Mideast Conference play for both teams.

With the split, Notre Dame (12-5, 1-1 AMC) has gone 3-3 in their last six. The Falcons are 4-3 in seven road tilts. Point Park is 5-8 following Friday's split.

In the opener, both pitchers -- Miller and Point Park's Seth Martin -- tossed complete games in the 4-0 Notre Dame victory. The Falcons plated a pair in the first and a pair in the fourth, and Miller cruised.

The junior right-hander allowed just two hits and three walks over seven innings of work. He punched out eight Pioneer batters in the complete-game shutout. NDC got RBI singles from #Travis Brown#, #Tony Younis# and #Brett Zientarski#.

For his part, Martin was solid -- he was touched up for four runs while scattering 10 Falcon hits. He walked two and struck out four.

The game-one shutout marked NDC's third of the season.

Right fielder #Pat Ross# led NDC's offense for the twin bill. The freshman from Gahanna, Ohio, went 5-for-9 with a double.

Last year, Notre Dame went 4-28 (.125) in AMC play, finishing last in the nine-team circuit. At one point in April, the Blue & White lost 16 straight conference games, including four to Point Park. Coming into this season, the Falcons were 10-11 in 21 all-time games against the Pioneers.

The Falcons and Pioneers are slated to continue their four-game AMC series on Saturday afternoon. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

BIG FLY FOR BARTLE: Freshman #Jesse Bartle# hit a three-run home run in game two on Friday. The shot to left marked the first collegiate round-tripper for the Toronto, Ont., native. Bartle is batting .212/.257/.364 (batting/on-base/slugging) in 13 games this season.  ... NDC has now hit four home runs this season, while Falcon hurlers have held opponents to just two.

ROSS ON BASE: Bolstered by five hits on Friday afternoon, Pat Ross raised his season OBP to .469. That's a team-high among players with 50 or more plate appearances. … The Falcons have a team OBP of .389. 

MILLER MOWS 'EM DOWN:  Justin Miller's complete game Friday was his second this season.  The 6-foot-2 right-hander now owns a 2.45 ERA and has struck out 31 batters in 25-2/3 innings.