Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. –The Notre Dame Falcons finished opening weekend with a double header sweep over No. 24 Indianapolis on the road on Saturday afternoon, with 3-2 and 13-8 victories to land an impressive series victory on the road.  

The Falcons (2-1) used terrific pitching and timely hitting in the first game to defeat the Greyhounds (1-2), before they put the bats to work in game two where there scored 13 times on 18 hits to finish the job. 


Game One
After three scoreless innings, the Falcons fired the first shot. Ross Barker started the top of the fourth inning with a single through the left side of the infield and advanced to second later in the inning on a balk. Barker was on second with one down, when Travis Smetana stroked a run scoring single back up the middle to plate Barker, giving NDC a 1-0 lead. 

Later in the top of the fourth, Smetana was thrown out at home plate after Troy Findlay belted a double to left, but Nick Ely followed Findlay's two-bagger, with a two-out RBI single up the middle to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. 

The Greyhounds scored single runs in the sixth and seventh to tie the game, before the Falcons regained the lead in the top of the eighth. Keifer Quick started the inning with a single to center. Barker laid a sacrifice bunt down to push Quick to second, but an errant throw from the pitcher put Quick on third, and Barker on second, before Julio Rosales brought Quick home on a sacrifice fly, which turned out to be the game-winning run. 

Josh Armbruster (1-0) scored the victory for the Falcons, tossing seven strong innings, allowing a pair of runs, only one earned on five hits while fanning four in the process. Hank Beasore (1) scored the save, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings in relief. He pitched NDC out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth, before slamming the door with a scoreless ninth. 

Three Falcons hit safely multiple times. Quick led the way, going 3-for-4, with a trio of singles and a run scored. Danny Beaver once again did a great job at the top of the order, going 2-for-4 with a double and a triple, and Smetana went 2-for-4 as well with an RBI. 


Game Two
The Greyhounds got ahead early in game two, posting a three-spot in the bottom of the second inning. Notre Dame was able to dive into that deficit, by scoring twice in the top of the third. Quick smashed a two-out single down the line in right, and TJ Lett scored on the play after an errant throw. Later in the inning, Quick came home on Rosales's RBI base hit back up the middle. 

Indy put up another run in the bottom of the third, before the Falcon offense exploded in the top of the fourth inning, where they sent 11 batters to the plate, scored six runs on five hits and capitalized on one error. The inning began with a single from Ely, and he made his way to third on double from Jake Kirsh. Austin Barnhart walked to load the bases, prompting the Greyhounds to make a pitching change. 

Beaver then reached on an error by the shortstop, which plated Ely. Lett then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play which scored Kirsh to tie the game. Quick was then walked to put runners on first and third for Barker, who roped a run scoring single down the line in left to give the Falcons the lead. The two out rally continued as Rosales smashed a two-run double to the gap in right-center, and he scored moments later as Smetana smacked an RBI single to left to complete the big inning. 

The Falcons really opened things up in the sixth when they batted around again, sending 10 batters to the plate, scored four times on three hits and took a 12-4 advantage. A lot of the damage was once again done with two outs. The inning was keyed by a pair of big two-out, two-run hits. Barnhart drove in the first two runs on single to center, and Lett drove in the final two a single back through the middle of the infield. 

Notre Dame took advantage of another Greyhound error in the seventh inning, which allowed the Falcons to score their final run, before Indy put up three in the seventh, and one more in the bottom of the eight, but it was not enough, as the Falcons hung on for a double header sweep. 

Matt Yates (1-0) scored the victory in game two, allowing four runs on seven hits over 4.2 innings of relief and fanned six batters in the process. He was one of four Falcons to see action in the second game.  

Five Falcons hit safely multiple times. Barker, Rosales and Ely led the way with three hits each. Barker went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, while Rosales went 3-for-6 with three runs and drove in three as well. Ely went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Barnhart and Quick each hit safely twice. 

The Falcons are in action again on Sunday, Feb. 28, when they head down to the RussMat Invitational down in Winterhaven, Fla. They will begin with a double header against Findlay, and the first game is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start.