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Box Score 2 SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- In a Mountain East Conference doubleheader between two teams to move up in the standings, the Falcons played host to the visiting Fairmont State Fighting Falcons on Friday afternoon at Normandy Field.
Maria Vanadia hit a walk-off home run to clinch a 9-8 win in game one for the Falcons, but FSU took game two 4-2 as both teams split the MEC doubleheader.
GAME ONENotre Dame 9, Fairmont State 8It was a tale of two halves in game one, as the Falcons dominated innings 1-3 while FSU dominated inning 4-6.
NDC had early offense as
Kayla Sidorski ripped a two-run single to right field, scoring
Kelsey Coleman and
Mackenzie Wallace to take a 2-0 lead. Later in the inning, Sidorski scored from third on a wild pitch, giving the Falcons a 3-0 lead early.
FSU's Sissy Stubbs hit a solo home in the top of the second to cut into NDC's lead, but that was all as
Ashley Pokraka limited the damage, going 1-2-3 after that hiccup. In the bottom half of the second, Coleman hit a single to right field, scoring
Tayler Graver and pushing NDC's lead to 4-1 through two innings.
After Pokraka worked a scoreless top of the third, the Falcons came up with another offensive surge in the bottom half of the frame.
Sarah Depp hit an RBI single that scored Sidorski, and Graver followed with an RBI single to score
Nicole Spuhler. After three innings, the Falcons led 6-1 over Fairmont State.
However, FSU responded with a three-run rally in the top of the fourth, cutting NDC's lead to 6-4.
In the bottom of the fourth, NDC tacked on one run as Wallace scored via wild pitch, making the score 7-4 going into the fifth.
Defensive miscues by the Falcons allowed FSU to plate one run in the top of the fifth inning, and suddenly it was just a two-run game again. However,
Amy Hoover's RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning scored Depp and pushed NDC's lead back to three, 8-5.
In the top of the sixth, Fairmont State used a two-run home run to cut the Falcons' lead to just one, 8-7, but Hall came on in relief and went 1-2-3, retiring FSU in order. NDC went scoreless in the bottom of the inning, leading to a one-run game in the top of the seventh.
With NDC three outs away from securing the game one win, Fairmont State stayed alive with a solo home run to tie the game, 8-8.
The Falcons had a chance to respond in the bottom of the seventh, but the first two batters of the inning were consecutive outs, bringing
Maria Vanadia to the plate.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh and the score tied, 8-8,
Vanadia launched a walk-off home run deep to left field to win the game for NDC, 9-8.
GAME TWOFairmont State 4, Notre Dame 2
Game two proved to be a much lower scoring game than game one, as NDC's
Ashley Hall squared off with FSU's Bailey Shade in a low-scoring affair.
After a scoreless first inning, Fairmont State jumped on the scoreboard first as Sarah Parsons hit a two-run home run to give FSU a 2-0 lead. Another solo home run from FSU in the top of the fourth pushed the visitors' lead to 3-0 going into the bottom of the fourth.
Sarah Depp led off the bottom of the fourth with a single to right field, and
Tayler Graver laid a sacrifice bunt to advance Depp to second. Vanadia then singled to center field, advancing Depp to third and putting runners on the corners with just one out. After
Amy Hoover lined out on a hard shot to left field,
Kelsey Coleman worked a walk to load the bases.
With two outs and the bases loaded,
Mackenzie Wallace hit a slow-roller to first base, but avoided the tag on the play, allowing Depp to score from third and giving the Falcons their first run of the game. However, that would be the only run of the inning for the Falcons, as they trailed 3-1 after four innings.
Graver hit an RBI sacrifice fly to center field in the fifth, scoring
Nicole Spuhler, but that's all the offense the Falcons could muster in game two.
FSU scored one insurance run in the top of the seventh, and NDC's bats couldn't pull off the late comeback as Fairmont State won game two, 4-2.
NDC will next play on Saturday, April 4 at home against Shepherd University in a Mountain East Conference doubleheader. Game one is scheduled for a Noon start.
