ROBINSON, Pa. -- Notre Dame swept Point Park (Pa.) on Saturday, 12-7 and 8-2, to win the four-game series against the Pioneers in the opening weekend of American Mideast Conference play. (Gm-1 | Gm-2)

The Falcons collected 13 hits in each of Saturday's two games as they continued a hot hitting streak. NDC has now garnered 10 or more hits in six of their last eight games. The Falcons (14-5, 3-1 AMC) are hitting .350/.424/.471 (batting/on-base/slugging) in that stretch.

#Pat Ross# (four hits, walk, hit by pitch) and #Brett Zientarski# (three hits, two walks, hit by pitch) each reached base six times in the twin bill at Point Park (5-10, 1-3) on Saturday. Ross had a home run and three RBIs on the day. The surging Falcons also got excellent production from #Eric Johnson# (5-for-7 with a double and a walk) and #Ryan Weaver# (4-for-10, a home run, a triple and six RBIs).

In the opener both teams batted around in a marathon, 15-run second inning. Notre Dame sent 13 men to the plate in the second, and nine of them scored. NDC led, 9-6, after the inning and went on to win the game, 12-7.

Three Falcon relievers -- #Chris Willoughby#, #Travis Bondy# and #Simon Davis# -- combined to pitch 5-2/3 innings of one-run ball in relief of #Brent Edmonds# who allowed six runs on eight hits in 1-1/3 innings. Bondy claimed the lion's share of that relief effort. The freshman right-hander from Windsor, Ont., pitched 3-1/3 scoreless frames, striking out four.

NDC went 8-for-12 with runners in scoring position in the first game; PPU went 6-for-17 and stranded 12 runners for the game.

In the second tilt of the day, Notre Dame pitching limited the host Pioneers to just two unearned runs on six hits, while the Falcon offense again went to work. #Andrew Hyde# started for NDC and went two outs into the sixth before being lifted for #Matthew Kastelic#.  Hyde allowed 10 base runners (five hits, four walks, error) but limited Point Park to solo runs in the third and sixth innings. The sophomore right-hander induced 10 ground-ball outs, as he and Kastelic combined to render the Pioneers ineffective in clutch situations; PPU went 1-for-17 with runners in scoring position against the Falcon duo.

For his part, pitching in his first game of the season, Kastelic fanned three in 1-1/3 innings.

Offensively, the Falcons gave Hyde a lift in the top of the fifth, when they broke open a 1-1 game with four runs. Ryan Weaver and Brett Zientarski each had two RBIs in the inning, Weaver's coming on his fourth career homer. The Falcons added three more runs in the sixth to put the game well in hand.

“We played well today,” said Head Coach #Nick Weisheipl#. “With the way things are going on the mound and at the plate, a lot of guys are stepping up and executing. That's the kind of depth a winning program needs.”

That type of winning now has the Falcons perched atop the early AMC standings, with a 3-1 conference mark. Their 14-5 overall record mark's the team's best record through 19 games in the six-year history of the program.


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

EXTRA, EXTRA: NDC had five extra-base hits in their nine-run second inning of game one on Saturday. Through 19 games, the Falcons have smashed 42 extra-base hits (29 doubles, seven triples, six home runs) to their opponents' 35 (28, five, two). Junior shortstop #Travis Brown# leads the team with eight such hits (five doubles, three triples). Three other players have five or more extra-base hits.

ROSS IS BOSS: With four hits on Saturday, Pat Ross is now 13 for his last 25. The freshman right fielder is batting .403 (27-for-67) in 19 games. … With a pair of two-hit games on Saturday, Travis Brown now has a team-high 10 multi-hit games on the season. In 71 plate appearances, he is batting .406/.465/.578.

TAKING THE FIFTH: NDC scored a combined seven runs in the fifth inning on Saturday. For the season, the Falcons have outscored foes, 31-9, in the fifth frame. For the season, Notre Dame has outscored opponents, 120-83. The Falcons' 6.3 runs per game would be a new program-best. NDC scored just 4.5 runs per contest a year ago.