EUCLID, Ohio -- Notre Dame rebounded from a slew of recent disappointing losses and earned a pair of key American Mideast Conference wins on Friday. The Falcons earned the two wins (by scores of 7-3 and 9-6) over Mount Vernon Nazarene on a cold and windswept Paul Serra Field. (Gm-1 | Gm-2)

With the victories, Notre Dame (22-11, 9-5 AMC) moves to four games over .500 in conference play, and the Falcons bounce back from a stretch where they lost six of seven. In the final two games of that spell (April 3 vs. Walsh, April 6 vs. John Carroll), NDC gave up a whopping 55 runs.

Mount Vernon Nazarene falls to 2-4 in AMC play; the Cougars are now 16-12 overall.

The Falcons got solid pitching, good hitting and at-times-spectacular, if not consistent, defense in pulling off the change-of-fate twin killing. Shortstop #Travis Brown# led the NDC offense, going 4-for-6 with a walk and scoring five runs over the two wins. The Falcons pounded out 23 hits in the two games.

In the opener, Notre Dame sent 11 men to the plate en route to scoring five runs. The Falcons had four hits in the inning, including RBI doubles off the bats of #Jesse Bartle# and #Ryan Weaver#. That outburst gave NDC and starter #Tyler DeCrapio# a 4-0 lead.

Mount Vernon answered with solo runs in the third and fourth, but then #Benji Jarabeck# extended NDC's lead back to five with a two-run home run over the left-field fence in the Falcons' half of the fourth.

DeCrapio was lifted after issuing back-to-back walks to start the seventh. He was relieved by #Simon Davis#, who came on to get three ground balls and pick up a save. DeCrapio allowed just three hits in the game. He was charged with three runs (one earned) over six frames. The right-hander walked four and struck out four.

The Falcons had 11 hits in the opener. #Pat Ross# led the NDC attack; he went 3-for-3 with a walk.

In the nightcap, the hitters for both the Falcons and Cougars took over, swinging for the fences and denting home plate with regularity. MVNU first baseman Josh Roberts opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the top of the first inning. Brett Zientarski countered with a three-run shot as part of a four-run Falcon first.

Roberts then hit another two-run shot in the third to knot the game, 4-4. The Falcons regained the lead with a three-spot in their half of the third. NDC scored the trio of runs courtesy four singles and a number of Cougar miscues defensively. That put Notre Dame up, 7-4.

Mount Vernon made it 7-5 with a run in the fourth and then nearly tied it in the fifth after getting runners to second and third. Second baseman #Tony Younis# quelled the rally making a sensational leaping grab on a two-out liner off the bat of Ian Durbin.

The Falcons got a lone run in the sixth and then NDC and MVNU traded runs in the seventh.

#Matt Fritz# started game two for Notre Dame; he gave up four runs over three innings. #Sean Harnish# then came on for 1-2/3 innings. Simon Davis pitched the final 2-1/3 and earned the win. He allowed a hit and a run while getting the final seven outs of the game.

The games were played in 40-degree temperatures and in a steady breeze of 15 miles per hour. The Cougars are slated to return to Paul Serra Field on Saturday to close out what is a four-game series between the two AMC foes. Saturday's twin bill is scheduled for a first pitch at noon.


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

CAGING THE COUGARS: Notre Dame's game-one victory snapped a losing streak against MVNU. The Cougars had downed the Falcons in four straight games, with all four coming in the 2009 season. In those four games -- which were played in Mount Vernon last March, the Cougars outscored NDC, 39-9.

SIMON-IZING THE COMPETITION: With a save in the opener, left-hander Simon Davis now has two saves on the season. He has appeared in 11 games, allowing just 14 hits in 23 innings of work. In those 23 innings, Davis has compiled a 2.35 ERA.

GETTING ON AND GETTING IN: Brett Zientarski's home run in game two marked his team-leading fifth of the season. Zientarski reached base five times in the two games against the Cougars (home run, single, walk, hit by pitch, reached on error). The Vermilion, Ohio, native has a .505 on-base percentage and a team-leading 28 RBIs on the season. … Pat Ross also reached base five times over the two games on Friday. The right fielder's three-hit game in the opener marked his team-leading 14th multi-hit game of the season. Ross has scored a team-high 39 runs this season. … Travis Brown raised his season batting average to .379 (39-for-103). … In winning their 22nd game, the Falcons tied a program record for wins in a season. NDC went 22-24 in 2008.