This week: Notre Dame travels to Tusculum College to play four games in its season-opening series. The Falcons will play both Tusculum and Davis & Elkins on Sunday, February 18, and Monday, February 19. Both days are scheduled to start at 11 a.m. with the second game to begin at 2:30 p.m.

Records: The Falcons went 18-32 last season with a 5-13 non-conference record. Tusculum is currently 3-4 after a 1-2 series against Belmont Abbey. Davis & Elkins is 0-4 after a four-game series at King.  

Coaches Corner: Len Barker is in his seventh season as the head coach at Notre Dame. Barker is 131-153-1, 79-60 MEC at the helm of the Falcons' program. Doug Jones is in his 21st season at Tusculum and has a 487-212-1 record over the past 17 years. Mason Heyne is in his third year at Davis & Elkins. Heyne is currently 24-73.

Rankings: None of the teams playing this week were ranked in the February 1 National College Baseball Writers' Association Poll.  

Series History: The Falcons are 0-4 against Tusculum. NDC and Tusculum played a four-game series in 2013 and have yet to meet again. This will be the first time Notre Dame and Davis & Elkins play.   

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame returns the majority of its position players from last year, but lose two of the three players who hit over .300. Nick Ely will return as that lone player in the category after hitting .314 last season. Ely and Zach Santoro come back as the only two players who started all 50 games last season, but a total of seven players currently on the roster started at least half of the games a year ago. The Falcons also bring back the majority of their pitchers. Tyler Gault will start his sophomore campaign after going 6-3 last season in 12 starts. Gault threw six complete games and pitched two shutouts. Senior Josh Armbruster started the second-most games last season. In 11 starts and 12 total appearances, he led the team with 49 strikeouts.

Noting the Pioneers: Daulton Martin has had a strong start in the first seven games for Tusculum. Martin has a batting average of .310 and has hit two solo home runs and three doubles. He has also struck out eight times. Three players for the Pioneers with at least 24 at bats are currently hitting over .350. Tusculum has also had strong performances on the mound as pitchers Leurys Diaz and Sean McDaniel are 2-0. McDaniel has thrown 10 strikeouts in 7.2 innings and has an ERA of .235.

Noting the Senators: Davis & Elkins received the fewest votes in the Great Midwest Baseball Preseason Coaches' Poll before the start of the season after finishing 5-17 in conference play last year. The Senators had a rough start to their season in 2017 as they went 0-6 to start and 1-9 in their first 10 games. It's been another tough go to start the year in 2018 as the team is currently 0-4. There have been some bright spots for the Pioneers though as Bragg Eastin has shown some offensive strength. Eastin has recorded five hits in 11 at bats so far with two extra-base hits, a run and an RBI. Derek Sicca had a three-inning pitching appearance and struck out four of the 11 batters he faced without giving up a run.