SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame College winning streak reached five straight games after a comeback win gave the Falcons a 7-3 victory in game one. The streak came to an end with a 2-1 Fairmont State University victory in the second game of the double-header, on Saturday afternoon.
Fairmont State started the day with a big first inning. With runners on first and third, a ball snuck through the infield and Katlynn Foltz reached on an error, allowing Kaylee Andersen to touch home plate. Kadi Cosgrove came up next and hit a double down the left field line, to score Jenny Stubbs from third base. In the second inning, the Fighting Falcons grabbed a 3-0 lead when Carly Clarke hit an RBI single.
NDC started their comeback in the bottom of the third. Freshman
Alexis Maciejowski hit a ball that clanked off the left field fence on the fly, resulting in a double. Freshman
Mikaela Fording then smashed a home run over the left field fence, closing the Falcons deficit to one run, 3-2.
After a strikeout to open the Falcons' fifth inning, NDC put together four singles in a row. With bases loaded, junior
Kathryn Smith hit an infield single, which scored the tying run. The go-ahead run crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by sophomore
McKenzie Zigmont.
The Falcons increased the lead in the sixth inning when Fording hit an RBI ground-rule double and senior
Shelby Stephens scored two more runs on a single to left field.
For NDC, Fording went 3-for-3 in the game, with a double, home run and three RBI. Sophomore
Katelyn Rheude, Stephens, Smith and senior
Halli Swiger all had two hits. Swiger had a double. Zigmont (5-5) got the win after holding Fairmont State scoreless after the second inning.
FSU's pitcher, Hannah Absalom (7-2) suffered just her second loss of the season in 10 appearances. Stubbs was 3-for-3 at the plate.
In game two, Smith led off the second inning with a single before junior
Taylor Olson stroked a double to right field, scoring the runner. However, that would be Notre Dame's only run of the game.
With two runners in scoring position in the top of the third, Foltz doubled to left field, plating both.
Much of the game was a pitching duel. FSU went down 1-2-3 in three different innings. NDC also went down in order, three times. Notre Dame had just three runners reach scoring position after falling down by a run in the third inning.
Kadi Cosgrove (1-1) took the win for FSU, throwing seven innings, allowing just one run on six hits. Olson (5-5) took a tough loss after allowing just two runs on four hits.
Notre Dame will stay home to play Shepherd University on March 24. The games are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
