Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Playing softball outdoors in mid-March is never a guarantee, but the skies opened up for the Notre Dame College softball team on Friday as the Falcons hosted their 2015 home opener against the Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals. However, the Cardinals played the role of spoiler, taking a pair of wins from the Falcons, 6-2 in game one and 9-5 in game two.

GAME ONE
Wheeling Jesuit 6, Notre Dame 2

The first game of Friday's Mountain East Conference doubleheader featured a pitchers duel between Mallory Chapman and NDC's Ashley Pokraka. 

Scoring remained at a halt until the top of the fourth inning, when the Cardinals used an RBI single and a solo home run to take a 2-0 lead. Pokraka limited the damage in the inning, keeping the Falcons within reach.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Falcons got on the scoreboard as Anna Myers reached base via error, which also allowed pinch runner Allison Smith to score on the play. However, the rally was cut short there, and NDC trailed by just one, 2-1, after five innings.

The Cardinals' Angie Reddick hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth, but again Pokraka limited the damage, keeping the score at 3-1.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Falcons trailed by just two and were within striking distance. With the bases loaded, Amy Hoover hit a hard shot to third base and was out on the play, but Kayla Sidorski scored to bring NDC within one run. Once again, however, the Falcons' rally was cut short and they trailed 3-2 going into the final inning.

A three-run insurance inning from the Cardinals pushed their lead to 6-2 going into the Falcons' last at-bats, and it was too-little, too-late as the Falcons fell to the Cardinals by a final score of 6-2.

GAME TWO
Wheeling Jesuit 9, Notre Dame 5

Game two of the doubleheader featured early offense from the Falcons. After Kelsey Coleman led off the bottom of the first with a single to left field, Anna Myers eventually hit an RBI single to score Coleman, giving NDC the early 1-0 lead. 

In the second inning, the Falcons tacked on one more run, but in a very big way. Nicole Spuhler ripped an RBI triple to deep center field, scoring Anissa Kotoch and putting NDC up 2-0 after two innings.

Mackenzie Wallace breezed through the Cardinals' lineup in the first two innings, and again held WJU scoreless in the third inning to keep the score at 2-0 through three.

WJU's Ali Smith hit an RBI single in the top of the fourth to cut NDC's lead to 2-1, but Wallace hung tough and escaped the inning with minimal damage. 

After a scoreless bottom of the fourth, the Falcons led 2-1 going into the fifth, but that's when the Cardinals' bats came to life. WJU used a two-run fifth and a six-run sixth inning to jump out to a 9-2 lead over NDC.

But the Falcons weren't quite done. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Spuhler stayed hot at the plate and hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Perris Stevens and advancing Kim Russ to second base. Coleman then followed suit with a single to right field, scoring Russ and cutting the deficit to 9-4. Wallace then hit a sacrifice fly to left field which scored Spuhler from third, cutting further into the Cardinals' lead.

However, the offense couldn't quite complete the comeback and the Falcons fell short by a final score of 9-5.

The Falcons will next play on Saturday, March 21 at home for a Mountain East Conference doubleheader with West Liberty University at Normandy Field. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.