GREENVILLE, Tenn. – The Notre Dame College baseball team did not get the start to the season it was hoping for at Tusculum, but there were plenty of highlights during the first four games, including two strong comeback attempts.
 
The Pioneers won each of the four contests by scores of 15-0, 7-4, 5-4 and 3-1.
 
NDC started off with a tough test against Tusculum's ace pitcher, Charles Hall. With the win against the Falcons, Hall has gone 17.0 innings without allowing a run this season.
 
In the second game, Notre Dame did not score until the seventh, and final inning, putting up four runs. Adam Purdy recorded the first RBI of the season, bringing in Nick Farrell. Also in that inning, Matt Richards hit a two-RBI triple. A newcomer to the team after transferring from Moraine Valley CC, Richards leads the team after four games with three RBIs.
 
Things were more even in the second doubleheader on Saturday with just three runs separating the teams. In game one, NDC scored the first two runs to go up in the third inning, but Tusculum responded with four runs in the fourth and another in the sixth. Notre Dame had some late-game heroics again, putting two on the board in the eighth inning, but fell short.
 
The Falcons scored early again in Saturday's game two as Lukas Thompson stole home in the first inning. But throughout the remaining six innings, the Pioneers would outscore NDC 3-0 to win.
 
Rick Phillips and Zach Santoro led Notre Dame with five hits each over the course of the weekend. With 13 at bats, the pair of seniors each hold a .385 batting average.
 
On the mound, NDC received good relief performances from senior James Holle and freshman Ashton Spurgeon, who combined for three innings with no earned runs allowed. Leading Notre Dame so far this season in strikeouts is Ty Shoaff who fanned four batters in four innings pitched.
 
Notre Dame travels to the University of Indianapolis from February 22-24 for a three game series.