URBANA, Ohio -- Notre Dame picked up two more low-scoring victories on Saturday afternoon in Urbana, Ohio, as the Falcons ran their winning streak to nine games with a doubleheader sweep over the Urbana Blue Knights. (Gm-1 | Gm-2)

Starting pitchers #Tyler DeCrapio# and #Andrew Hyde# allowed just two earned runs on 10 singles over 14 innings in the cold March air at Blue Knights Field. DeCrapio allowed just one run in what was his third complete game of the season. Hyde allowed three runs (one earned) on just four base hits (all singles). He also went the route for NDC, which set a new program record for consecutive wins with their eighth and ninth straight victories. The Falcons last lost on March 4.

Center fielder #Brad Morrison# reached base six times over the twin bill which was scheduled to be the front half of a four-game series between Notre Dame (16-6) and Urbana (5-14). Games scheduled for Sunday were nixed due to cold and snow in the forecast.

In Saturday's opener, the Falcons scored two runs in the second inning and then three in the third to stake DeCrapio to a 5-0 lead. The junior right-hander from Erie, Pa., hung zeroes on the scoreboard until the fifth when the Blue Knights plated a solo run on two of their six singles for the game. DeCrapio pitched three scoreless innings in the game (first, second, fourth innings) and induced 12 groundball outs in going the distance for his third win. He allowed Urbana leadoff batters to reach just once in the game and has now tossed back-to-back gems -- DeCrapio punched out eight batters while allowing just two runs over seven innings last Saturday (March 19) against New York-Canton.

In the second game, NDC scored an unearned run in the first but then fell behind 2-1 when Urbana countered with a pair of unearned runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Falcons, though, were able to get a lead for Hyde when they scored a run in the second and two in the third. Over those two frames, Notre Dame collected four singles and three walks. NDC would not score again with Urbana starter Jake Gibson and reliever Josh Weber combining to pitch four scoreless innings from the fourth inning on.

Hyde was able to preserve the lead, though. He pitched four straight hitless innings, from the second through the fifth, before giving up two singles and a run in the sixth. The junior right-hander walked two and struck out six in running his season ledger to 4-0.

Brad Morrison went 2-for-3 with a walk in each game while batting second in the order. In the nightcap, Morrison registered a double and two stolen bases. Third baseman #Eric Mathews# reached base five times on the day; he collected three hits and two walks.

The NDC defense committed just one error over the two games; the Falcons have recorded just eight errors over their nine-game win streak, which eclipses a seven-game streak the team went on last year (March 20-27) for the longest in program history.

“Things are clicking,” said head coach #Nick Weisheipl#. “Tyler and Andrew were good today and so was the defense behind them. That's a good formula for winning baseball games.”


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

STARTING OFF: Falcon starting pitching has been on a roll recently. NDC starters combined to allow just three runs over 24 innings in the team's four-game sweep of Canton last week. After Saturday's action, the starting staff now has a 3.80 ERA and 91 strikeouts in 116 innings of work (7.1 per nine innings). … Notre Dame scored first in both games on Saturday and is now 12-1 this season when scoring first and 8-0 when plating a run in the first inning.

DANDY DOZEN: Senior first baseman #Benji Jarabeck# saw his hitting streak come to an end on Saturday. Jarabeck went 2-for-4 in game one, marking his 12th straight game with at least one base hit. He went 0-for-4 in game two. … Jarabeck's 12-game streak is a team-best this season and his second double-digit streak in his NDC career -- he hit in 10 straight last season. The Painesville, Ohio, native is batting .360/.422/.467 (batting/on-base/slugging) with nine multi-hit games on the season. … #Pat Ross# owns Notre Dame's longest consecutive-game hit streak. Ross hit safely in 20 straight games in the 2010 season.

MARCH-ING FORWARD: Notre Dame is 11-4 in 15 March games thus far in 2011. The Falcons went 14-5 (.737) last March. The program's all-time record in March is 66-70-1 (.485). … Over the nine-game winning streak, the Falcons have outscored their opponents, 58-14.

ON DECK: Notre Dame is slated to play a single nine-inning game at John Carroll on Wednesday, March 30. The game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start. The Falcons are then slated to open their American Mideast Conference schedule with a home doubleheader (Pipe Yard, Lorain) against Cedarville on Thursday.