Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame College softball team dropped a Mountain East Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon to the host West Virginia State Yellow Jackets, losing both contests by narrow deficits. The Falcons fell short in game one, 3-2, before losing 2-0 in game two.
GAME ONE
West Virginia State 3, Notre Dame 2
Playing in cold and windy weather, the Falcons fell behind early as the host Yellow Jackets scored two runs in the second inning.
In the third inning,
Ashley Pokraka forced two quick outs before WV State used consecutive hits to score one more, putting the Falcons behind 3-0.
As the game progressed, Pokraka found her groove as she continued to mow down the Yellow Jackets offense. The senior pitcher proved clutch as she tossed scoreless frames in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to keep the Falcons within three.
Leading off the seventh inning,
Amy Hoover singled to right field to spark NDC's offense.
Nicole Luciano bombed her first collegiate home run to left field, a two-run shot, to cut the deficit to just 3-2 with no outs in the inning.
Despite the comeback effort, that's as close the Falcons would come, falling short by a final score of 3-2 in game one.
GAME TWO
West Virginia State 2, Notre Dame 0
Game two of Sunday's doubleheader featured a low-scoring affair with just one scoring play throughout as the Falcons fell short, 2-0. The Yellow Jackets used a two-run double late in the sixth inning to eke by NDC.
Following strong pitching in game one from Pokraka,
Mackenzie Wallace tossed an impressive complete-game effort in game two. Wallace threw six innings, allowing just two earned runs on six hits while striking out five.
Shelby Stephens went 2-for-3 in game two while
Sarah Depp,
Anna Myers and
Erin Calhoun all recorded base hits as well for the Falcons.
With the pair of losses on Sunday, the Falcons fall to 11-26 on the season, including a 5-15 mark in MEC play.
The Falcons return to action on Monday, April 11 on the road at the University of Charleston in another MEC doubleheader. Game times are scheduled for 2 pm and 4 pm.
