Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
CANTON, Ohio -- In their first set of road games since March 28, the Falcons took two from Malone on Wednesday afternoon, taking a 4-3 decision in game one before blowing the Pioneers away with a 22-4 victory in game two.

With the wins, Notre Dame (14-16) has now won 10 out of its last 11 games, and three out of their last four on the road. The losses for Malone (8-24) give them four in a row, and they fall to 4-8 at home. 

The Falcons took an early 3-0 lead after three innings of the first contest, and held off a late Pioneer rally to come away with the win in a tight contest.  The second game wasn't close at all.  NDC held a 10-0 lead after two and a half innings, and pounded out 22 runs on 24 hits to win the game in five innings.

Game One

The Falcons snapped a scoreless tie in the top of the second inning, on a clutch, two out, two run double to center field off the bat of Nicole Spehar to score Felisha Jones and Christine Kasidonis. 

NDC would get its third run on another two out hit.  Candace Shofar was on third base with two down in the top of the third, when Kelsey Coleman delivered one of her five hits on the afternoon, a base hit through the left side of the infield to score Shofar, and give the Falcons a 3-0 advantage. 

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Kristen Atzenhoefer put the Pioneers on the board with a run scoring double to left field.  Notre Dame answered very quickly in the next half inning, as Jamie Clausen smashed her second homerun of the season, a solo shot to left center. 

The Pioneers responded with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to pull within one.  Megan Lane ripped an RBI double to plate Malone's lone run in the fifth, and Lauren Hershberger stroked an RBI single down the right field line in the sixth, but the Falcons kept them off the board the rest of the way.

Allysa Lancaster (6-0) who scored both victories in a twin bill sweep over Ursuline on Tuesday, tossed five strong innings and allowed just a pair of runs on five hits with three strikeouts to earn the victory, while Ashley Hall (3) tossed a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save. 



Game Two

The Falcons scored multiple runs in all five innings of the second contest, including six in the fourth and fifth innings.  Seven players hit safely multiple times, while five Falcons registered three hits or more. 

Megan Turner, who paced the Falcons with four hits in the contest, started the first inning with a base hit and came home on Clausen's double to left field.  Coleman knocked Clausen in on a run scoring single and Kasidonis ripped an RBI double to score Coleman to complete the three-run inning.

The NDC lead grew to eight (8-0) after the Falcons scored five times on five hits in the second inning.  Turner's RBI double plated Spehar, and Turner scored on the back end of a double steal before Coleman's double plated two more.  Kasidonis's groundout plated the final run of the inning. 

A pair of RBI groundouts in the top of the third gave the Falcons a 10-0 advantage, before the Pioneers struck for four runs in the bottom of the inning. 

Notre Dame scored six times on seven hits in the fourth inning, and repeated the process in the fifth.  The fourth inning was highlighted by Jessica Bequette's two-run double to right center, and Clausen's bases clearing three run double down the line in left. 

The Falcons poured salt on Malone's open wounds in the top of the fifth.  Kasidonis scored the first run on a fielding error, while run scoring singles were produced by Turner, Steph Glueck and Clausen.  Coleman's sacrifice fly plated the next run, and Felisha Jones walked with the bases loaded.

Hall (3-9) earned the victory in game two, allowing four runs on six hits over two and two thirds with a strikeout.  Ashley Harbarger finished the game on the slab for NDC, tossing two and a third innings of scoreless two hit relief. 

Coleman paced NDC on the afternoon, going 5-for-7 with two runs scored and five RBIs.  Clausen continued her tear in the middle of Head Coach Amy Kyler's lineup, driving in six runs during the twin bill, while going 4-for-8.  Turner set the table for the Falcons in game two, going 4-for-5 with five runs scored and three runs batted in. 

NOTES FROM THE NEST …

MIXING IT UP WITH MALONE: The Falcons and Pioneers have met 29 times, dating back to 1997.  Though Malone owns a 19-10 edge in the all time series, NDC has had most of the fun of late.  The Falcons have won 10 out of the last 12 meetings between the two, and they've won five out of the last six at Malone.

ARMED AND DANGEROUS:  Notre Dame's pitching staff owns a nifty 2.49 ERA over the team's last 10 games.  The Falcons are 9-1 over that stretch, with two pitchers (Harbarger 0.00, and Lancaster 0.87) producing sub 1.00 era's.  

OFFENSIVE REIGN IN APRIL: The NDC offense has been terrific in the month of April.  The Falcons are 9-1 this month, and as a team, they are hitting .359, with 22 extra base hits and 70 runs scored.  Four players (Clausen-.444, Spehar-.440, Coleman-.433, and Turner-.429) are hitting over .400 in April, while three others (Jones-.360, Bequette-.333, and Shofar-.333) are hitting well over .300 this month.

ON DECK: The Falcons will play their last scheduled home games on Thursday (Walsh, with a 3 p.m. first pitch, and will finish their busy week on the road on Saturday (Urbana).