BECKLEY, W.Va. - After a loss on the opening day of the Mountain East Conference Tournament, the Notre Dame College baseball team rallied to end up one win short of the championship game. 

The Falcons recorded a massive 70 hits in their four games in the tournament, which started with a 16-hit performance in their first game against Charleston. NDC got off to an early 4-0 lead against the Golden Eagles before UC tied things up with a four-run third inning. Notre Dame regained its lead after the fifth inning, going up 7-5, but Charleston would go on to score nine combined runs in the sixth and seventh innings. 

In the 14-10 loss, Austin Barnhart was a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate, adding two runs and two hits. His five hits ties the NDC single-game record. 

The bats kept things going on day two of the tournament as the Falcons totaled 22 hits, second most in NDC single-game history, in a 9-8 win against West Virginia State. This time it was Notre Dame that mounted a comeback. After five innings, the Yellow Jackets led 7-2, but the Falcons scored three in the sixth and eighth innings to take go up 8-7. WVSU scored in the bottom of the eighth to tie things up before Jacob Carpenter hit what would be the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth. 

Lukas Thompson led the team with four hits, four RBIs and three runs while Barnhart, Zach Santoro, Naja Garcia and Ricky Phillips each recorded three hits. 

Kenny Pierson struck out four batters in six innings before Todd Marshall and Cam Fuller came in for relief. Marshall earned the win, pitching in the seventh and eighth while Fuller earned his first save of the season, striking out two batters in the ninth. 

After stacking up 22 hits on Friday, the Falcons tied the school record with 23 hits on Saturday against West Liberty on their way to a 17-10 win. Notre Dame earned its lead in the first inning and didn't look back, scoring in each inning the rest of the way. 

Tyler Gault earned the win on the mound in his second game in a week after sitting out almost a month with an injury. Gault was helped out by the offense, which was highlighted by Phillips three-hit, three-run, four-RBI performance. Santoro recorded four hits, three RBIs and two runs while Barnhart, Adam Purdy and Nick Farrell each recorded three hits, two RBIs and at least one run. 

After winning two games, the Falcons saw themselves just one more from the MEC Championship, but the offense finally slowed down. Scoring just two runs on nine hits, NDC lost to Shepherd 6-2 in the semi-final game. Santoro recorded an RBI on a single to center field as he ended the season on a seven-game hit streak. 

After his offensive domination at the end of the year, Santoro would lead the team with a season batting average of .324. A total of five Falcons would join his with season averages higher than .300.