AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The backend of the Notre Dame College baseball team's trip to Florida was bookended with a pair of high-scoring wins. The Falcons were 2-3 in their final five games down south, but come home with an overall record of 4-4 in Sunshine State.
 
After a day off on Saturday, NDC came out in full strength on Sunday against Ashland, winning 13-9. The game was full of highlights for Notre Dame as the team had two innings in which they scored five or more runs.
 
Zach Santoro had a career day, which led to him being named MEC Player of the Week, recording three hits, three runs and six RBIs. Santoro also hit his first home run of the season. He would later hit another in the team's win on Tuesday against Minnesota Duluth.
 
Rick Phillips also drove in multiple runners with three RBIs on three hits. Phillips, Naja Garcia and Lukas Thompson would each score two runs on the day.
 
In between their two wins, the Falcons suffered three losses with two coming at the hands of Sioux Falls. The Panthers would sweep the doubleheader 13-0 and 8-5.
 
In the second game against USF, Joseph Paskell tallied two RBIs and two hits. He was joined by Thompson, Santoro, Phillips and Drake May who each recorded multiple hits in the contest.
 
After the trip to Florida, Paskell, who flexes as a first baseman and designated hitter, leads the team with a batting average of .383.
 
Notre Dame battled in its first game against Minnesota Duluth, coming back after trailing 2-0 to tie things up 3-3, but the Bulldogs came ahead 5-3.

The Falcons rebounded in game two to win 9-1 as the offense and pitching came together for a victory. Notre Dame had three innings in which the team scored multiple runs. Starting things off in the first inning, Thompson stole home to put NDC ahead of Minnesota Duluth for the first time in the doubleheader. That run was followed by May batting in Santoro.
 
From there the Falcons kept things going on offense. In the fourth inning, Adam Purdy hit a three-RBI double to clear loaded bases. In the fifth, after Santoro hit his home run and Paskell drove in Phillips, Garcia hit a two-RBI single to center field to keep the pressure going.
 
On the mound, Ty Shoaff threw a complete game to improve his record to 2-1. After allowing a run in the first inning, Shoaff shut down the Bulldogs with 11 stikeouts. That mark ties for second most in a single game in NDC history.
 
Notre Dame is scheduled to play its first home series on Saturday, March 16, against West Virginia State at 1 p.m. NDC's home games are played in Avon, Ohio at Sprenger Stadium.