Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 WEST LIBERY, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame Falcons earned a mid-week Mountain East Conference double header split on Wednesday afternoon, as they took game one, 3-2, before falling to West Liberty, 6-3 in the second contest of the day.
Notre Dame (17-10, 17-7 MEC) saw their winning streak reach five after their win in game one, which marks their longest this season, while West Liberty (19-13, 15-10 MEC) has won three of their last four after the split.
Game One
The Falcons scored the first three runs of the contest, before the Hilltoppers got single runs in the fifth and sixth, but still fell one run short. NDC was able to capitalize on five West Liberty errors as well to come away with the win.
Notre Dame got on the board first with a two-out rally in the second inning. After the first two batters were retired,
TJ Lett smashed a double down the left field line, and an error by the left fielder allowed him to make his way to third.
Clayton Farrar followed with a run scoring single to left to plate Lett, giving NDC a 1-0 lead.
The Falcons then scored again in the fourth inning, getting a run on a hit and capitalized on an error.
Travis Smetana reached on a two-out error by the second baseman, which allowed him to make his way to second. A wild pitch put him on third base, and
Bryan Blondeaux brought him home on an infield single.
Without recording a hit, the Falcons increased their advantage in the fifth inning. The frame began with a lead off walk issued to Lett, who stole second base, and advanced to third on the play on an errant throw from the catcher. Two batters later,
Austin Barnhart grounded out to second, but it was enough to bring Lett home to give NDC a 3-0 lead.
The Hilltoppers scored in the fifth inning on DJ Busby's RBI groundout, and they plated another run in the sixth, on Tim Mirandy's RBI double to left. However,
Josh Armbruster (1) retired them in order in the seventh inning to preserve the victory.
Zack LaRocca (4-1) scored the victory for the Falcons, giving him a win in each of his last three starts. LaRocca allowed just a run on four hits and struck out two in the winning effort, while Armbruster snagged his first save of the season, limiting WLU to just a run on two hits over two innings of work.
Five Falcons hit safely, but Blondeaux led the way with a pair of hits, going 2-for-4 with a stolen base plus a RBI.
Game Two
West Liberty scored three times on four hits in the bottom of the first inning to take and early lead in the second contest, before the Falcons answered with a pair of runs in the top of the second.
Shane DeFranco had three hits in the contest, and his first was a double to start the second inning. DeFranco eventually scored an errant throw from the catcher, and
Jalen Fields singled to center field, before scoring the second run on a wild pitch.
The Hilltoppers answered with a run in the home half of the second inning, before adding two more in the fifth inning to take a 6-2 lead.
Notre Dame added their final run in the top of the sixth inning. DeFranco started the inning with a single to left field, and scored the final run of the game on
Keifer Quick's RBI groundout.
DeFranco paced NDC offensively, going 3-for-3 with a pair of runs score, while Fields and
Danny Beaver each added two hits. Beaver led off and went 2-for-4, while Fields went 2-for-3 with a run.
Jeff Stover (2-2) took the loss for the Falcons, after allowing three runs on four hits over one inning of action.
The Falcons are in action again this weekend, for another Mountain East Conference four-game weekend series with the WV State Yellow Jackets. The series begins with a double header on Saturday, April 18, in Institute, W.Va. The first pitch in game one is scheduled for a 1 p.m. delivery.
