BEREA, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons scored six times in the fifth inning of Thursday afternoon's contest at Heritage Field, and came from behind to defeat Baldwin Wallace, 9-6 in their final game before their big weekend series against Shawnee State. (Box)

For Notre Dame (28-16, 13-7), the victory was just their second over their last six non-conference tilts, and allows them to head into this weekend's huge series against Shawnee State on a positive note. Baldwin Wallace (11-20-1) has now lost two out of their last three games.

For the first time this season, Notre Dame's leading hitter, #Pat Ross# did not start, and #Eric Johnson# took his place as Notre Dame's leadoff hitter. Ross's absence was felt early in the game as the Falcons were held scoreless over the first four innings, but Johnson came through with a big two-run double to kick-start a big six run fifth inning, as his two-bagger tied the game at 2-2. An error brought in NDC's next run and #Brett Zientarski# smashed a three-run homer over the wall in left field to give the Falcons a 6-2 lead.

Baldwin Wallace took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Nolan Neuschaefer began the inning by smashing a double down the right field line, before moving to third base on Matt Rollins's fly ball out, and scored on Jim Martin's sacrifice fly. Back to back doubles from Chris and Scott Nealon increased BW's lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning.

The Yellow Jackets were able to score three runs on three hits to get back into the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Notre Dame answered just a half inning later when #Brad Morrison# scored on #Jesse Carriere#'s sacrifice fly, giving the Falcons a 7-5 lead. The Falcons extended their lead to 8-5 in the top of the seventh on Zientarski's third hit of the contest, an RBI single that scored #Tony Younis#. Notre Dame tacked on one more in the top of the ninth when #Benji Jarabeck# belted a two-out double off the wall in center field to score #Travis Brown#.

#Brent Edmonds# (2-1) earned the victory after allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits while fanning four. #Matt Fritz# held the Yellow Jackets scoreless over two innings of relief, and #Leonard Mora# allowed just a run on three hits over two innings snag the save.

Zientarski's homerun in the fifth inning tied a program record for most homeruns in a single season. The senior from Vermilion, Ohio, has now gone deep seven times on the season, and he paced the Falcons by going 3-for-4 with four runs batted in. Younis also contributed heavily with another three hit performance, marking his 16th multi-hit game of the season. Brown, Jarabeck and Morrison all chipped in with two hits apiece.

The Falcons will begin a crucial four game American Mideast Conference series at Shawnee State on Saturday, May 1. The contest will more than likely determine who hosts the 2010 AMC postseason tournament. The first pitch for Saturday's doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Portsmouth, Ohio.

NOTES FROM THE NEST

ROAD WARRIORS: Ross, Zientarski, and Brown are hitting above .350 in road games during the 2010 season. Ross is hitting .403 (25-for-62) in 17 roadies, with 18 runs scored and 15 RBIs. Brown leads the team with his .455 (25-for-55) road batting average, and of his 25 hits on the road, 10 have been for extra bases. Zientarski is hitting .414 (24-for-58) in 18 road games with 18 RBIs.

LOOKING AHEAD: Notre Dame's upcoming four game series this weekend against Shawnee State will determine the top seed, and the host for the AMC postseason tournament. Currently, the Falcons trail Shawnee State by 1-1/2 games, and Malone is in third place in the league, a half-game behind the Falcons. SSU has only played 15 of their 24 AMC games to date; they are scheduled to play nine more circuit games, while the Falcons will finish their AMC slate with this weekend's series.

NON CONFERENCE NUMBERS: Thursday's contest was Notre Dame's last scheduled non conference game of the season. The Falcons went 15-9 against non conference foes during the 2010 season. Against non conference opponents, the Falcons hit .332 (260-for-783) and averaged 7.1 runs per game on 11.3 hits per contest. On the mound, Notre Dame compiled a 4.84 team ERA in non conference games.