CANTON, Ohio -- In the first two games of a crucial four-game American Mideast Conference series, the Notre Dame Falcons split a twin bill with Malone at Thurman Munson Stadium, falling 6-3 in game one, and won a 15-10 slugfest in game two. (Gm-1) | (Gm-2)

Notre Dame (24-13, 11-7) earned their first road victory since March 23 (12-4 at Oberlin) with the split, and they've won four out of their last five conference games. The Pioneers (28-10, 10-4), have now won five out of their last seven at home, and five out of their last six in conference play. The split keeps the Falcons in the race for the post season, keeping them in third place, just a couple of games behind Malone.

The low score in game one was a bit of a surprise, considering that both teams entered as the two best offensive clubs in the AMC. The Falcons were held to just five hits in the contest, while Malone scored single runs in innings 2-4, and posted a three run fifth inning to pull away. #Pat Ross# scored Notre Dame's first run after he ripped a one out double, and came home on #Tony Younis#'s single to left field. The Falcons were able to plate a pair of runs in the sixth inning on #Jesse Bartle#'s base hit, scoring #Travis Brown#, and #Benji Jarabeck# touched home plate after #Brad Morrison# grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.

Both clubs lived up to the billing as the top two offensive teams in the conference in game two, when they put their bats to work, and combined to score 25 runs on 29 hits. The Pioneers were red hot out of the gate, and held a 7-1 lead after two innings. The Falcons proved to be resilient, as they held Malone to just three runs over the game's final five innings. Notre Dame used a seven-run third inning and a six-run sixth to seal the deal.

Jarabeck put the Falcons on the board in the second inning on an RBI double to left. It was his second of four hits in the twin bill. Notre Dame used an eight hit attack to score seven times in the third inning to take an 8-7 lead. The big frame began with four consecutive base knocks. Younis sent a single into through the right side to plate the first two runs, and Brown followed with a base hit that scored #Ryan Weaver#, and an errant throw from right field brought Younis in as well. Brown scored a few moments later on Morrison's infield hit, #B.J. Camden# walked with the bases full to bring Jarabeck home, and Bartle touched home plate after Ross ripped a single to center field.

Before putting the game away with a half-dozen runs in the sixth inning, Ross came through again, knocking in his second of six runs in the contest with a base hit through the left side, scoring Morrison. A pair of Malone errors brought in the first two runs of the big sixth inning for the Falcons, and Ross concluded his enormous night at the plate by delivering the knockout punch with a Grand Slam, his third bomb of the season, giving him six RBI on the evening.

#Tyler DeCrapio# (3-3) suffered the loss in game one after allowing six runs on nine hits over five innings. #Sean Harnish# (2-0) was able to quite the Malone offense through the middle innings of game two, allowing just a run on two hits over two and a third innings to get the victory, and #Simon Davis# (4) put the clamps on the Pioneers, surrendering a pair of runs on three hits over two and two thirds to secure the save.

Ross had an epic night for NDC. The freshmen from Gahanna, Ohio, went 5-for-8 in the twin bill, scoring three times and drove in six runs. Ross is now hitting .431 on the season and is amongst the conference leaders with 56 hits. Brown had three hits on the evening, going 3-for-7 and touched home plate four times, while Jarabeck saw his average jump to .357 on the season after a 4-for-7 performance in the double dip. The junior from Painsville, Ohio, has driven in 31 runs on the season, tops on the team, and ranks in the top five in the conference.

The Falcons will continue the four game series against Malone on Saturday, April 17, at Paul Serra Field. The first pitch in game one of Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST

HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE: The matchup featured the two top offenses in the AMC. Malone entered with a team batting average of .338, and the Falcons right behind them at .333. Naturally, they are the top two scoring teams in the conference as well. Seven out of the conference's top 10-hitters are involved in the series as well.

STRIKING FEAR INTO THE OPPOSITION: Notre Dame leads the AMC in strikeouts with 209 on the season, 40 more than anyone else in the conference.

DANGEROUS DUO: Notre Dame's Pat Ross and Brett Zientarski enter the series as the second and fourth best hitters in the conference. Ross currently ranks second in the AMC with a .431 average while Zientarski is a close fourth at .391.

HITMEN: Ross and Travis Brown rank second and fifth in the conference in total hits with 56 and 46 hits respectively.