Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame College baseball team picked up a pair of road wins on Friday afternoon, defeating the Mountain East Conference rival Charleston Golden Eagles 3-2 and 8-1 in a pair of road contests.
GAME ONE
Notre Dame 3, Charleston 2Jake Welch tossed seven solid innings of two-run baseball as the Falcons picked up a 3-2 win in game one of Friday's doubleheader. Welch scattered four hits across seven complete innings, allowing just two earned runs while striking out seven.
Julio Rosales and
Nick Ely led off the second inning with back-to-back hits, sparking the Falcons' offensive attack.
Travis Smetana followed with a single of his own, scoring Rosales and advancing Ely to second. A balk from the UC pitcher then advanced both runners into scoring position, and a walk to
Hank Beasore loaded the bases for NDC.
Austin Barnhart singled through the right side, scoring another run for NDC as the Falcons took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. UC scored one run in the bottom of the inning, cutting the Falcons' lead to 2-1.
Scoring came to a halt as both sides as Welch continued to confuse the Golden Eagles' hitters. However, UC added one run in the bottom of the fifth to tie the score at 2-2.
A scoreless sixth inning led to a 2-2 tie going into the top of the seventh and final inning.
Danny Beaver led off the seventh and reached base via error, a mistake that would prove costly for UC. Beaver then picked up his sixth stolen base of the season, advancing to second base to put a runner in scoring position for NDC.
Ross Barker ripped a clutch RBI single to score Beaver, giving the Falcons a 3-2 lead in the seventh.
Protecting a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, Welch worked a quick 1-2-3 inning to seal the victory for NDC, 3-2 over Charleston.
GAME TWO
Notre Dame 8, Charleston 1Scoring began in the third inning as
Austin Barnhart hit a one-out single to center field to spark NDC's offense. An error by UC allowed
Danny Beaver to reach first with Barnhart advancing to second, and an RBI double from
Travis Smetana scored Barnahart to give the Falcons the early 1-0 lead.
Keifer Quick then grounded out to shortstop, but picked up the RBI as Beaver scored from third, and the Falcons took a 2-0 lead through three innings.
On the mound,
Cam Fuller backed his offense, cruising through the first three innings to give the Falcons another chance in the top of the fourth inning.
TJ Lett ripped a one-out single to left field in the top of the fourth, and the Falcons' offensec continued to apply pressure.
Nick Ely smacked a double that allowed Lett to score and advanced to third on the throw home, pushing the Falcons lead to 3-0.
Ely would come around to score as well due to a wild pitch, and the Falcons held a 4-0 lead through four frames.
Fuller continued to stymie the Golden Eagles' offense, holding UC scoreless through the first six innings while the Falcons' offense continued to do its part.
NDC blew the game wide open in the seventh inning, scoring three more runs with key hits from Beaver and
Keifer Quick and porous defense from UC.
The Golden Eagles added one run in the bottom of the seventh, but that was all the Falcons' pitching staff would allow as NDC cruised to an 8-1 victory in game two, picking up the clean sweep over UC on Friday.
Fuller finished the game having allowed just four hits and one earned run across seven innings of work while
Hank Beasore and
Matt Seekins worked one scoreless inning of relief each.
With the pair of wins, the Falcons improve to 8-8 on the season while also extending their win streak to four straight wins.
NDC will return to action on Saturday, March 19 on the road at West Virginia State for another MEC doubleheader. Game times are scheduled for 1 pm and 3 pm on Saturday.
