Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 AVON, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons split a Mountain East Conference double header at All Pro Freight Stadium on Saturday afternoon with the Virginia-Wise Cavaliers, falling 6-3 in game one, before taking the finale, 10-1 in game two.
For Notre Dame (11-11, 5-3 MEC) the split gives them victories in seven of their last 10 games overall, while the spilt for the Cavaliers (11-12, 1-7 MEC) gives them losses in three of their last four games.
Game One
The first game of the day started well for the Falcons, as they took a 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the second inning.
Ross Barker started the inning with a single to left, and
Nick Ely laid a sacrifice bunt down to put Barker on second. After a passed ball put him on third base,
TJ Lett came to the plate with a man on third and two down, and delivered a clutch, two-out RBI single up the middle to snap the scoreless tie.
Wise was able to tie the game, despite not recording any hits in the top of the fourth inning, before the Falcons took advantage of an error in the home half of the inning to regain the lead. Ely smacked a one out single to center, and
Keifer Quick followed with a double down the line in left.
TJ Lett then hit a ground ball back up the middle that the shortstop couldn't handle, and the error allowed the go-ahead run to score.
Cam Fuller (1-1) had a no-hitter going through the first four innings, but that all changed in the top of the fifth inning, where the Cavaliers recorded five straight one-out hits, and scored five runs in the inning to take a 6-2 lead.
Notre Dame was able to get one of those runs back it the bottom of the sixth inning, capitalizing on a pair of Cavalier errors. Ely reached on a throwing error from the shortstop, before Quick made his way to first on an infield single. Lett then hit a ground ball to short, and they were able to get the force out at second, but on the relay throw to first, the first baseman wasn't covering, and the error allowed Ely to score, while Lett made his way to third.
Quick led the NDC effort offensively with a pair of hits, going 2-for-3 with a double and a single. Lett drove in a pair of runs while going 1-for-3 with a pair of runs driven in. Ely scored a pair of runs while going 1-for-2, and Barker went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Fuller took the loss after allowing five runs, four earned on four hits over 4.1 innings of action.
Matt Seekins tossed 2.2 innings in relief, and surrendered a run on three hits.
Game Two
While the Cavaliers fired the first shot, scoring in the top of the first inning, the Falcons posted crooked numbers in each of the next four innings.
NDC plated a trio of runs in the bottom of the first.
Julio Rosales drove in the first run on a RBI single to center to bring
Danny Beaver home. Later in the inning, with runners at the corners, the Falcons executed a double steal to take the lead, as Barker stole second which allowed Rosales to steal home. Quick reached on a fielder's choice later in the inning to score Barker, giving NDC a 3-1 advantage.
The Falcons put up another three-run inning in the bottom of the second, and did all of their damage with two outs. Rosales belted a two-run double to center field, and he came around to score moments later on Barker's triple to the gap in left center .
The bases were loaded with one out when Beaver hit a ground ball back to the mound, but an errant throw from the pitcher to the plate allowed Quick to score, and
Travis Smetana followed with a run scoring groundout to give NDC an 8-1 lead.
Notre Dame plated two more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Barker started the rally on a single to center, and Ely followed with a double down the line in right. Quick then grounded out to score Barker, and Ely scored moments later on Lett's sacrifice fly.
Austin Tanfield (2-1) scored the victory for the Falcons, after allowing just a run on six hits while fanning a pair over six innings.
The NDC offense pounded out 10 runs on 12 hits and they were led by Barker and Rosales. Barker had a huge game at the dish, going 4-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and drove one in as well, while Rosales went 3-for-5 while driving in three runs.
The Falcons return to action next Wednesday, March 30, when they hit the road for a non-conference tilt against Malone. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
