This Week: After taking two games against Ursuline College on March 19, Notre Dame College softball will play Mercyhurst University on March 21, at 3 and 5 p.m. Then they will play Fairmont State University at 1 and 3 p.m., on March 23 and Shepherd University on March 24 at 1 and 3 p.m. All the games this week will be played on Normandy Field.

Records: Notre Dame is currently 7-9 this season with an MEC record of 1-3. Mercyhurst is currently 2-15. Fairmont State holds a record of 8-8 (3-1 MEC) while Shepherd is 11-5 and 3-1 in the MEC.

Coaches Corner: Kelsey Stopp is in her first season as head coach with NDC. Leanne Baker is in her sixth campaign as head coach of Mercyhurst and has a record of 70-152-1. John Light leads the Fairmont State program and Marissa Leslie is now in her second season as head coach of Shepherd after leading the team to a 34-20 record with a 22-10 conference record along with a win in the NCAA-II Tournament, in 2018.

Rankings: None of the teams are ranked in the NFCA Coaches Poll.

Series History: The Falcons are 2-0 against Mercyhurst since they first played in 2013. NDC has an all-time record of 7-11 against Fairmont State and they are 6-13 when playing Shepherd.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame swept their home opening double header for the first time since 2016, when they defeated Ursuline in two games. McKenzie Zigmont had all six RBI in game one with a double and home run. She also struck out 10 batters as a pitcher and allowed just two runs. Her number of RBIs was second in NDC single game history and her strike outs ranked ninth in Notre Dame history. In the two game sweep, Zigmont and Taylor Olson combined to strike out 17. Shelby Stephens is leading the team with a .370 batting average, seven runs scored, 17 hits and 22 stolen bases. Zigmont now leads the team with two home runs and 10 RBI on offense and in the pitcher's circle, she is on top with 36 strike outs. Kathryn Smith has a .317 batting average. Mikaela Fording has seven extra base hits (five doubles, one triple and a home run).Taylor Olson leads the team in ERA (2.73), wins (4), complete games (7), shutouts (2) and innings pitched (48.2).

Noting the Lakers: Mercyhurst is in a tough losing slide after coming up short in five consecutive games and putting together a record of 1-8 on their trip to Florida. They have not played a game since March 8. Ellie Dougher is hitting .350 and Emma LeGendre leads the team with four extra base hits. MU is hitting .224, as a team, and their pitching staff's earned run average is 7.30. Tori Pierucci has pitched in 14 games and has four complete games with an ERA of 4.13.

Noting the Fighting Falcons: Since returning from their Florida trip, Fairmont State has gone 3-1 in their first four conference games. In those three wins, FSU outscored their opponents, 15-3, defeating Glenville State, once, and West Virginia Wesleyan, twice. In the WVWC series, Fairmont State's pitchers (Hannah Absalom and Haley McDaniel) allowed just two earned runs in complete games. Kadi Cosgrove hit a two-run home run and had a double in the second game against West Virginia Wesleyan. Fairmont State's offense is led by Carly Clarke and Jenny Stubbs. Clarke has a batting average of .405 with four doubles, a triple and seven RBI. Stubbs is hitting .327 with four doubles, two home runs and seven RBI. Hannah Absalom (1.27) and Haley McDaniel (2.59) both have ERAs under three. Absalom has seven wins in nine appearances and two shutouts.

Noting the Rams: Shepherd is on a five game winning streak after sweeping Glenville State and Bloomsburg in back-to-back double-headers. During the winning streak, SU has outscored their opponents 30-4. In their latest series against Bloomsburg, leadoff hitter Kaitlyn Konopka went 4-for-6 at the plate and pitcher Lori Sturgill threw a complete game in the first of the two games, allowing no runs, just three hits and striking out seven hitters. Rachel Taylor is hitting .432, leading the team with 13 runs, 19 hits and 26 total bases. Konopka hits .365 and has already stolen eight bases. Connor Gilligan has three doubles, three home runs and 14 RBI. Sturgill has a 1.47 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched, while Taylor Stocks has struck out 37 hitters in 31.1 innings. Both pitchers have four wins.