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Box Score 2
TROUTVILLE, Va. -- Friday afternoon marked Mountain East Conference Tournament time for the Notre Dame College softball team, the defending 2015 MEC Tournament Champions. The eighth-seeded Falcons fell to top-seeded Charleston, 3-2, in game one before losing a heartbreaker, 3-2, in 10 innings to Wheeling Jesuit in game two.
GAME ONE
Charleston 3, Notre Dame 2
The Falcons scored first against the Golden Eagles, who came into the game with a 22-game win streak under their belts.
Sarah Depp reached base via error to start the game, and
Nicole Spuhler smacked a single to the right side to put runners on the corners for NDC. A sacrifice bunt from
Shelby Stephens scored Depp, giving the Falcons an early 1-0 lead over Charleston.
In the bottom of the first, however, the Golden Eagles tied the score with a pair of base hits, making the score even at 1-1.
After a scoreless second inning, the Falcons' offense struck again in the third inning. After
Kayla Sidorski was hit by pitch to lead off the inning,
Sarah Depp hit into a fielders choice and later came around to score via RBI single from Stephens, giving the Falcons a 2-1 lead in the third inning.
Ashley Pokraka continued a steady and strong pitching performance for the Falcons, holding on to the slim lead for NDC.
However, the Golden Eagles scored two runs in the fifth inning to take a narrow 3-2 lead over the Falcons. The NDC offense attempted to tie the game in both the sixth and seventh innings, but fell short in doing so, losing by a final score of 3-2.
GAME TWO (10 innings)
Wheeling Jesuit 3, Notre Dame 2
After a narrow 3-2 loss in game one, game two proved to be a win-or-go-home elimination game for the Falcons as they took on the Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals.
The opposing Cardinals scored first, plating one run in the bottom of the second via sacrifice bunt, taking a 1-0 lead over NDC.
After the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead, both teams went scoreless in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings behind dominant pitching from WJU's Mallory Chapman and NDC's
Ashley Pokraka.
The Falcons entered the seventh inning trailing 1-0, needing at least one run to keep their season alive.
Mackenzie Wallace proved clutch as she hit a one-out single to give the Falcons life, and stole second to give NDC a runner in scoring position with just one out.
After the second out of the inning,
Maria Vanadia stepped up to bat in perhaps the most pressurous moment of her Falcons career. With two outs in the seventh and NDC trailing 1-0 with a runner on second, Vanadia ripped a single up the middle to score Wallace, tying the game at 1-1 and giving the Falcons a new lease on life.
In the bottom of the seventh, Pokraka also proved clutch for the Falcons as she tossed a 1-2-3 inning to force extra innings with the score tied 1-1.
Kayla Sidorski led off the top of the eighth inning with a single, and
Sarah Depp reached base via error to put runners on first and second with no outs. A sacrifice bunt from
Nicole Spuhler advanced both runners into scoring position, and a sacrifice fly from
Shelby Stephens scored Sidorski as the Falcons took a 2-1 lead in the eighth.
However, the Cardinals would return the favor with a run of their own in the bottom of the eighth, again leading to a tie score as both teams went into the ninth inning tied at 2-2.
A scoreless ninth inning forced a 10th inning in the elimination game for both sides. The Falcons were unable to score in the top half of the 10th, and the Cardinals finished the game in the bottom half of the inning. A sacrifice fly from Chapman scored the winning run from third base, giving the Falcons a 3-2 loss for the second time in as many games.
With the pair of 3-2 losses on Friday, the Falcons' 2016 season officially comes to an end in the Mountain East Conference Tournament.
