Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3
SALEM, Va. -- After dropping the first game of the 2015 Mountain East Conference Tournament, the seventh-seeded Notre Dame College softball team regrouped and squared off with Fairmont State on Saturday in a win-or-go-home game. The Falcons defeated FSU 5-2 before picking up two more wins over West Virginia State (8-0) and Shepherd (3-1) to advance to the final day of the MEC Tournament on Sunday.

GAME ONE
Notre Dame 5, Fairmont State 2

Starting the game off with early offense, Kelsey Coleman led off the game with a single to left-center. Coleman came around to score as Anissa Kotoch ripped a clutch two-out to left field, giving the Falcons the early 1-0 lead. Amy Hoover followed up with a double down the right field line, scoring Kotoch and giving NDC a 2-0 lead after the top of the first.

However, Fairmont State cut into the deficit with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning, but NDC still held a 2-1 lead after the first.

Offense went silent for both sides over the next few innings as NDC's Ashley Hall and FSU's Devin Williams zoned in and made quick work of the opposing offense.

FSU tied the game in the bottom of the fifth via RBI double, and the score was knotted 2-2 going into the sixth. A scoreless sixth inning led to the top of the seventh, where the Falcons' offense came to life again.

Maria Vanadia led off the seventh inning with a single, and Allison Smith came on to pinch run. Sarah Depp also singled for the Falcons, and an error allowed Depp to advance to second while Smith reached third. After Coleman walked to load the bases, Kotoch again came up clutch for NDC as she ripped a two-out, bases-clearing double to give the Falcons a 5-2 lead in the seventh.

In the bottom half of the inning, Hall closed out the 5-2 win as the Falcons' stayed alive in the MEC Tournament.

GAME TWO
Notre Dame 8, WV State 0 (5 innings)

The Falcons' second game of the day proved to be much less stressful as NDC came away with a dominant 8-0 win over West Virginia State in five innings.

For the second consecutive game, the Falcons jumped on the scoreboard early with offense in the first inning. Also for the second consecutive game, Amy Hoover collected another RBI hit in the top of the first inning, this time a single through the left side that score Kayla Sidorski.

After scoring one run in the first, the Falcons scored one more run in the second as Kelsey Coleman ripped an RBI single that scored Maria Vanadia, pushing the lead to 2-0 after two.

Pitching her second game of the day, Ashley Hall continued to look dominant in the circle for the Falcons. Hall tossed scoreless frames throughout the first four innings, keeping the Falcons' narrow lead intact. 

With the score still 2-0 in favor of NDC, the Falcons' broke out the bats again in the top of the fifth. Coleman hit a one-out double and Nicole Spuhler singled score Coleman from second, pushing the lead to 3-0. The Falcons would go on to score five more runs in the inning, totaling six runs in the inning, largely due to a two-run single from Anna Myers and three errors from the Yellow Jackets.

With an 8-0 lead on the scoreboard, Hall went back to work in the bottom of the fifth and closed out the victory for NDC while eliminating WV State in the process.

Hall finished the game having allowed just five hits in five innings, striking out six while tossing a shutout for the 8-0 win.

GAME THREE
Notre Dame 3, Shepherd 1

With momentum on their side after two impressive wins to start the day, the Falcons kept the good times rolling with yet another victory, this time 3-1 against Shepherd in another elimination game for both sides.

For the third consecutive game, Hall returned to the circle for the Falcons and the senior continued to dominate opposing MEC hitters. However, Shepherd was able to sneak one run across home plate in the second inning, taking a narrow 1-0 lead over NDC.

The Falcons' offense backed up Hall in the bottom half of the inning as Amy Hoover singled to lead off the inning, continuing a clutch day at the plate for her. Mackenzie Wallace then reached base via fielders choice as Hoover was caught out at second, and Wallace later came around to score as Maria Vanadia smacked an RBI single to tie the game, 1-1.

In the top of the third, Hall worked through the Rams' lineup with ease, going 1-2-3 for a quick inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Kelsey Coleman hit her 17th home run of the season to put the Falcons on top, 2-1.

Adding insurance runs in the fourth inning, Vanadia hit another RBI single to push the Falcons' lead to 3-1 through four innings.

With the Falcons leading 3-1, Hall pitched another 1-2-3 effort in the top of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to seal NDC's third victory of the day. The win over Shepherd also eliminated the Rams from the MEC Tournament while the Falcons picked up three wins in an impressive day of action.

The seventh-seeded Falcons are now one of three teams still remaining in the MEC Tournament, and will square off with No. 2 Concord in the semifinals on Sunday morning at 10:30. NDC fell to Concord 2-1 in a tough battle on Friday, and now has a chance to redeem themselves and earn a berth in the MEC Championship game.

The winner between NDC and Concord will advance to play No. 1 West Virginia Wesleyan for the MEC Championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Updates and more information can be found on the MEC Championship Central page.