This Week: Notre Dame College softball hosts Tiffin University on March 16, at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. The double-header represents the Falcons' 2022 home opener. They will head to West Liberty University on March 19, for the first conference double-header of the year, beginning at 1 p.m. On March 20, they will go to Wheeling University, for a 12 p.m. first pitch.

Records: Notre Dame is 4-8 after a trip to Florida last week, where the Falcons went 4-4. Tiffin is currently 9-9, West Liberty enters the week at 8-8 and Wheeling sits at 7-8.

Coaches Corner: Kelsey Stopp is now in her fourth season as head coach of the Falcons. She has a record of 45-73 (24-40 MEC). Paige McMenemy enters her first season at Tiffin, while Herb Minch is in his 24th campaign at WLU. Caressa Derossett will be in the Wheeling dugout for her second season, holding a record of 17-40 (9-23 MEC).

Rankings: None of these teams are ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II top 25 poll.

Series History: Notre Dame has an all-time record of 1-3 against Tiffin, 18-10 versus West Liberty and 12-19 when facing Wheeling.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame played eight games on their spring break trip to Winter Haven, Fla. After dropping the first two contests and having two games canceled, NDC went 4-2 the rest of the way, defeating USciences, Edinboro, Ferris State and Millersville.

Alexi Maciejowski is now hitting .371 on the season, with a slugging percentage of .657 and an OPS of 1.096. In Florida, she had three multi-hit games, including two three-hit performances. The senior also had three doubles last week and, on March 11 against East Stroudsburg, she had a career-high five RBI. Daniele Rivera put together a nice week at the plate, which included a six-game hit streak. She had five multi-hit games in Florida.

Noting the Dragons: Tiffin is on a three-game win streak after defeating Minnesota State Mankato and Millersville on March 5 and Glenville State on March 14. However, the Dragons have played once in nearly two weeks. Kirsten Georges leads the team with a .357 batting average. Taylor Whalen has 19 hits and Maddie Woods leads the squad with 12 RBI. The team ERA is currently 4.95.

Noting the Hilltoppers: West Liberty's games against Notre Dame will be the Hilltoppers' first home games of the season. WLU has won four straight games and seven of their last eight. During their current four game win streak, West Liberty has outscored their opponents, 29-5. Katie Beeman leads the team with a .418 batting average and eight doubles. The Hilltoppers have four players (Beeman, Makayla Blair, Annie Paterson and Riley Conkle) with an average of .340, or higher. In the pitcher's circle, Taylor Bonnett has appeared in nine games and has an ERA of 1.96 over 23 innings. Makenzie Amend has allowed just 11 earned runs in 31 2/3 innings of work. WLU holds an ERA of 3.93.
 
Noting the Cardinals: Wheeling won its first two games in Florida, but ended the trip dropping three straight and four of their last five contests. Autumn Oehlstrom is leading the team with an average of .436. She also has five doubles and two home runs. Gina Fogle has a batting average of .359, with seven doubles and a home run. Both Oehlstrom (1.207) and Fogle (1.010) have an OPS over 1.000. In the circle, three pitchers have an ERA below four. In eight appearances and five starts, Aubrie Lafferty has struck out 16, threw three complete games and has an ERA of 3.68.