This Week: Notre Dame College softball will play the University of Findlay on April 2, at 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. and then on April 3, the Falcons host Urbana University at 3 and 5 p.m. The Falcons they go back on the road to play Shepherd University on April 6 and Fairmont State University on April 7. Both double-headers are scheduled to begin at 1 and 3 p.m.

Records: Notre Dame is 12-14 this season and 2-6 in the MEC while Findlay has a record of 11-13. Urbana holds a record of 4-24 and they are 1-9 in the conference. Shepherd is 21-5 (11-1 MEC) and Fairmont State now has a record of 15-11 (9-3 MEC).

Coaches Corner: Kelsey Stopp is in her first season as head coach with NDC and Brooke McCartney enters her first season as head coach of Urbana. Danielle Lowe is the head coach of UF and has a coaching record of 91-80. Marissa Leslie is in her second season as the head coach of Shepherd with a record of 55-25 and 33-11 in the MEC while John Light is the head coach of FSU.

Rankings: Shepherd is ranked 25th in the latest NFCA Coaches Poll.

Series History: The Falcons are 0-1 against Findlay, but have not played them since 2015. NDC is 10-11-1 against Urbana since 2013 and have an all-time record of 6-15 versus Shepherd. Notre Dame is 8-12 since 2014, when taking on Fairmont State. The Falcons were swept by Shepherd earlier this season and split a series with Fairmont State.

Noting the Falcons: Last week, Notre Dame lost both games to Gannon University before sweeping Walsh University. The two double-headers scheduled for the weekend were postponed due to snow in South Euclid. Offensively, Halli Swiger and Katelyn Rheude led the way. Swiger went 6-for-15 (.400) at the plate with three RBI and two doubles, while Rheude hit .333 in the leadoff spot, with three RBI and three runs scored. In the pitcher's circle, McKenzie Zigmont struck out five batters over nine innings pitched in two games. She also picked up her first career save in the first win over Walsh. Following a tough start against Gannon, Taylor Olson bounced back with six strong inning against Walsh, striking out three hitters and allowing just one run in a winning effort. Swiger now leads the team in batting average (.344), with fellow senior Shelby Stephens close behind, hitting .342. Mikaela Fording leads the team with eight doubles, two homers and 33 total bases. Zigmont has a 2.92 ERA while Olson has a 3.11 ERA. Both pitchers have recorded over 50 strikeouts, with Zigmont at 54 and Olson at 51.

Noting the Oilers: Findlay went 1-3 in four games last week, before the weekend games were postponed. Over the past four games, UF has been outscored, 18-10. Last week, Rebecca Harvey had six hits, including three doubles. The Oilers had much better pitching performances in their second series of the week, against Cedarville. Hailey Bryan gave up one run over seven innings to get the win and then Megan Fisher allowed three runs, one earned, over six innings. Rebecca Harvey leads the team, hitting .412 on the season with six doubles, while Amanda DelMonte hits .324 and has 14 RBI.

Noting the Blue Knights: Urbana split with Glenville State College on Monday, winning their first conference game of the season. Last week, the Blue Knights won their first road game of the season, splitting a double-header with Cedarville University. Their games on Sunday were canceled due to weather. In their 6-1 win against Glenville State, four players had two hits. Britney Bonno leads the team with a batting average of .359 with 40 total bases and four stolen bases. Although Madison Bryant and Kayleigh Pate have combined for just four wins in the pitcher's circle, at the plate, they have been dominant. Bryant is hitting .320 with six doubles, two triples and leads the team with 14 RBI. Pate is hitting .313 and she has knocked in 12 runs to go along with eight doubles.

Noting the Rams: Shepherd is on a 15-game winning streak and they have not lost a home game yet. Their streak began with a win in the second game of their double-header with West Virginia Wesleyan, on March 16. In fact, that was the Rams' only loss since returning from their Florida trip on March 14. During the winning streak, they have averaged five runs per game. This season, eight players have started, at least, 25 of the Rams' 26 games. Connor Gilligan is hitting .351 with 44 total bases, 21 RBI and a slugging percentage of .571, all of which lead the team. Four players in the everyday lineup hit over .300 and seven of the eight who have played nearly every game have accumulated over 30 total bases. Their fielding percentage stands at .979, which is second in NCAA Division II and their team earned run average is third in the MEC at 2.73. Lori Sturgill has seven wins and Taylor Stocks has nine wins. Stocks is 11th in NCAA-II with 9.4 strikeouts per seven innings.

Noting the Fighting Falcons: Fairmont State swept Wheeling Jesuit on Monday and have now gone 7-3 in last 10 contests. In two dominant performances, in which FSU outscored Wheeling Jesuit 16-2, the Fighting Falcons garnered 21 hits. Hannah Absalom leads the pitching staff with 11 wins and 12 complete games. She ranks 14th in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.50) and 21st in shutouts (4). Overall, their pitching staff has an ERA of 2.66, which is second in the Mountain East Conference. Jenny Stubbs is first on the team with a .364 batting average and eight doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI and 45 total bases. Four players hit over .300 and four players have double-digit RBI numbers.