Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
AVON, Ohio – On a damp, cold Saturday afternoon at All Pro Freight Stadium, the Notre Dame Falcons squared off with the first place Shepherd Rams, and came away with a double header split.
The Falcons (22-22, 15-11 MEC) improved to 11-4 at home with the split, while the Rams (29-11, 20-6 MEC), currently ranked sixth in the Atlantic Region, have now won 12 of their last 14. The Rams came from behind to take game one, 4-3, before NDC answered with a 10-7 win in game two.
Game One
Strangely, there were three consecutive half-innings where the bases were loaded, yet neither team was able to score. The Falcons left the bases loaded in the home half of the first, and again in the second, and in between there, the Rams could not cash in, as
Carter Daniels (1-3) induced an inning ending 1-2-3 twin killing to neutralize the Shepherd threat.
The Rams were able to snap the scoreless tie in the top of the third inning, when Daniel Heiline smacked a two-out RBI single to left. They added to their lead in the fourth inning, as Daniels induced another double play with the bases loaded, as Josh Carney hit into a 6-4-3 double play allowing Christian Hamel to score.
Notre Dame took the lead in the bottom of the fifth as they scored three times on four hits. The inning began on three consecutive knocks, beginning with a double from
TJ Lett. Lett made his way to third on a single from
Julio Rosales, and scored on a wild pitch.
Danny Beaver followed Rosales's single with a base hit of his own, before stealing second base, putting runners on second and third with nobody out.
Ross Barker then tied the game with a RBI groundout, and
Keifer Quick brought in the go-ahead run with a RBI double to right-center.
The Rams regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning. With two on and one out, Carney belted a RBI double to left center, and Trey Porter brought in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to give the Rams a 4-3 lead.
Notre Dame had chances to tie it in the sixth and seventh, but couldn't cash in. Barnhart and Lett belted back-to-back one out singles in the sixth inning, but were both left stranded. In the seventh, Barker singled up the middle, and made his way to second on a one out single from
Nick Ely, but Notre Dame was unable to capitalize, as they were both left stranded.
Sam Crater (7-0) took the victory for the Rams, allowing three runs on seven hits over five innings, while Dan Galati (2) performed a bit of a high wire act over the final two innings, but ultimately kept the Falcons off the board for the save. Daniels suffered a bit of a hard luck loss, allowing four runs on nine hits over 5.1 innings of work.
Seven Falcons hit safely in the contest, while Lett led the way with three hits, going 3-for-3 with a run scored. Rosales and Barnhart each added two hits.
Game Two
Quick put the Falcons on the board first in the bottom of the first inning, as he belted his fourth homer of the year, a three-run smash over the wall in left field to give NDC the early 3-0 lead.
Shepherd was able to get one of those runs back in the top of the second inning, but Notre Dame was able to answer with a pair in the bottom of the fourth. Quick struck again, this time with a one out triple to the gap in right-center, and he scored on
Nick Ely's RBI single to right. Later in the inning, after a strikeout, a throw was made down to first in an attempt to pick off
Nate Rearick, and Ely stole home on the play to give NDC a 5-1 lead.
Shepherd battled back in the top of the fifth inning, where they needed just a pair of hits to score three times to pull within one (5-4).
The Falcons pulled away in a long bottom half of the sixth inning, where they sent 10 batters to the plate, and scored four times on three hits. A double steal allowed them to score their first run of the inning. With runners at the corners, Rearick stole second while
Austin Barnhart stole home to give NDC a 6-4 advantage. The bases were loaded with two down later in the inning when
Julio Rosales delivered a clutch, two-run single to center, and Lett scored the final run of the inning on a wild pitch.
While the Rams were able to scratch one across in the seventh, and two more in the eighth, Notre Dame put one more run on the board to stay ahead, on an eighth inning RBI single from Barker.
Chris Murphy (1-3) scored the win for Notre Dame, allowing just a run on three hits over 2.2 innings of relief with three strikeouts and
Hank Beasore (5) came away with the save, after allowing a pair of unearned runs on one hit with three strikeouts.
Notre Dame scored 10 times on nine hits, as six Falcons hit safely at least once. Rosales, Quick and Ely all hit safely twice in the contest. Rosales led the Falcons with four hits on the day.
The Falcons and Rams will wrap up their weekend series with another MEC double header at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio, on Sunday, May 1. The first pitch in game one is scheduled for 12 p.m.
