This week: Notre Dame College is scheduled to play West Virginia Wesleyan College in the first round of the Mountain East Conference tournament on May 4 at 12 p.m. The games will be played at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, Va. In the double elimination style tournament, they will play the second game at 5 p.m. that same day, regardless of the outcome.

MEC Tournament: Along with NDC, Shepherd University, Wheeling Jesuit University, Fairmont State University, West Virginia Wesleyan, West Virginia State University, the University of Virginia's College at Wise and Concord University all made the tournament.

Records: Notre Dame is currently 19-29, overall, and 14-17 in the Mountain East Conference. Shepherd holds a record of 32-16 (22-10 MEC), Wheeling Jesuit is 24-22 (20-11 MEC) and Fairmont State is 22-24 (18-14 MEC). WVWC currently sits at 37-10 (28-4 MEC) while W.Va. State is 30-20 (18-14 MEC), UVa-Wise has a record of 27-21 (16-16 MEC) and Concord is 17-25 (14-18 MEC).

Coaches Corner: Amy Kyler is in her 12th season as head coach at NDC and holds a record of 287-270-1. Marissa Leslie just wrapped up her first season as head coach of Shepherd. Sara Pelegreen is the head coach of the Cardinals and has a record of 47-47 and 37-26 in the MEC, in her second season. John Light is the head coach for Fairmont State. Steve Warner is in his 26th season as head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan and has a record of 1037-361-1. Mattie Best is the head coach at West Virginia State. Co-head coach Karen Bitter is in her sixth season and co-head coach Nick Bitter is currently in his third season at Virginia-Wise. Alisa Tasler is coaching Concord for her seventh season and has a record of 185-195.

Rankings: West Virginia Wesleyan is currently 23rd in the NFCA Coaches Poll. WVWC is also first in the Atlantic Region poll while Shepherd is fifth.

Series History: Since NDC entered NCAA Division II, the Falcons are 6-13 versus Shepherd, 7-16 against Wheeling Jesuit, 7-11 against Fairmont State, 5-7 against W.Va. Wesleyan, 4-7 against West Virginia State, 4-6 against UVa-Wise and 6-7 against Concord.

Noting the Falcons: NDC wrapped up the season in fourth place in the North Division. The Bobcats will be the first ranked opponent Notre Dame has played since they lost 3-0 to No. 22 Merrimack College, on March 10. In one run games this season, NDC had a record of 8-5. Myranda Rowland led the team with an average of .363. Amy Hoover was at the top of the team in hits (50) runs scored (30) and tied for first in doubled (8). Shelby Stephens led the team in home runs (4) and RBI (24). Taylor Olson struck out 98 hitters in the regular season and had an ERA of 3.54 in 31 appearances and 24 starts.

Noting the Rams: Shepherd University finished at top of the North Division. The Rams have outscored their opponents 39-24 in the fourth inning, this season. Kaitlyn Konopka has 59 hits, which is fourth in conference. Konopka leads the team in hits, stolen bases (15) and is tied for the team lead in doubles (9). Lori Sturgill leads the team in average (.359). Four pitchers made, at least, 14 appearances and the staff had a combined ERA of 2.22 and 268 strikeouts.

Noting the Cardinals: Wheeling Jesuit is second in the North Division. Although the Wheeling Jesuit pitching staff shutout opponents eight times, the offense struggled to get going in a few games this season and was also shutout eight times.  Cassie Holstein has 32 stolen bases on the season, leading everyone in the conference by 13. Mallory Chapman leads the MEC with 185 strikeouts and put together a 1.92 ERA in the pitcher's circle along with a 16-13 record with two saves. She also had 14 doubles and four home runs. Victoria Scott led the team with an average of .349.

Noting the Fighting Falcons: Fairmont State ended the campaign in third place in the North Division. The Fighting Falcons were 4-10 in the regular season at neutral sites. They had an 8-4 record in one run games. Beth Cook is second in RBI in the MEC with 41 RBI and she is third in the conference with nine home runs. Cook also leads FSU with a .383 batting average, home runs, RBI and walks (19). Courtney Worcester and Andie Baughman each had 10 doubles in the regular season. Hannah Absalom went 10-8 this season with a 3.93 ERA while Darby Petersen leads the team in ERA at 2.45.

Noting the Bobcats: West Virginia Wesleyan finished in first place in the South Division by 10 games, over West Virginia State. The Bobcats had a 13 game winning streak from March 25 until April 8. They liked to expand their lead this season, putting together an 18-2 record when the score differential was five, or more, runs. West Virginia Wesleyan has two players who are tied for first in the conference with 62 hits (Lauryn King and Madison Castro). King is first in the MEC with 52 runs batted in, first in home runs with 11, first in total bases with 115 and second in doubles with 18. Krista Waggoner (40) and Morgan Bruce (35) are also in the top-5 in the conference in RBI. Hannah Vet is fifth in the MEC with 105 strikeouts. Castro led the team in average at .440 and stolen bases with 14. Vet (24) and Haylee Shires (10) both had double-digit wins. Vet earned 24 complete games along with three saves.

Noting the Yellow Jackets: West Virginia State ended the season in second place in the South. The Yellow Jackets were clutch this regular season scoring 41 runs in the seventh inning and outscoring opponents by 22 runs in that inning. Brittany Allison is fourth in the conference in total bases with 88 and Micca Mirabelli is second with 19 stolen bases. Allison led the team in doubles (11), home runs (6), RBI (33) and average (.355). Emily Moore has 13 wins and an ERA of 2.07 while Emily Thompson has 12 wins and an ERA of 2.32.

Noting the Cavaliers: UVa-Wise was in third place in the South Division at the end of the regular season. In the third inning of games this season, UVa-Wise is outscoring opponents 43-14. Alexis Miles is currently fourth in the MEC with eight home runs. Miles has an average of .402 and is tied for first on the team with 24 RBI. Taylor Brandts is second in the conference with 182 strikeouts. She is first on the squad with a 1.11 ERA in 29 appearances, with 15 wins and three saves. Samantha Ely leads the Cavs with 10 doubles. The Cavaliers pitching staff has 255 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.00.

Noting the Mountain Lions: Concord University ended the year in the fourth spot in the South Division. Concord was outscored 36-22 in the second inning this season. Jenna Witt had 60 hits in the regular season, third in the MEC and she led the conference with 23 doubles. She is second with 105 total bases. Witt leads the team in average with .455, hits, doubles, RBI, walks, and is tied for first in home runs and triples. Darby Fitzpatrick has an ERA of 3.16, with 11 wins and 38 strikeouts.