This Week: Notre Dame College softball is set to stay home this weekend and battle West Virginia State University, on April 15, at 2 and 4 p.m. On April 16, the Falcons host the University of Charleston at 12 and 2 p.m.

Senior Day: Prior to the game on Saturday, the Falcons will honor Lexi Rehm, Daniele Rivera and Mikaela Fording.

Records: Notre Dame enters the week at 12-20, overall, and 5-11 in the Mountain East Conference. West Virginia State is now 16-14 (13-5 MEC) this season. Charleston has an overall record of 19-15, with a 11-7 MEC mark.

Coaches Corner: Kelsey Stopp is now in her fourth season as head coach of the Falcons. She has a record of 53-85 (29-51 MEC). Mattie Best enters her fifth season as head coach at West Virginia State with a record of 124-79. Michelle Frew is in her first season in the Charleston dugout.

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

Series History: Notre Dame is 4-13 all-time against West Virginia State and the Falcons hold a mark of 3-12 against the University of Charleston.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame went 2-0 last week, sweeping Alderson Broaddus. Alexi Maciejowski stood out, totaling three hits and five RBI in the doubleheader. She hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning of game one, giving NDC a 5-1 lead at the time. The Falcons held on to win 5-4. In the first inning of the second game, she hit a two-run triple and scored on a sacrifice fly. Madison Olszewski picked up the win in game two, as the Falcons won 8-0 in five innings. The Falcons' pitcher went five innings, allowing four hits and striking out five.

The games against Fairmont State were pushed to Monday due to weather and Fairmont won both, 5-2 and 3-1. On Tuesday, NDC and Frostburg State were locked in two back-and-forth battles. They combined for 25 runs in game one as Frostburg won 13-12. In game two, the Falcons tied the contest in the top of the seventh, but FSU walked it off in the bottom of the seventh to win 6-5.

Daniele Rivera is leading the team with a batting average of .421, .518 on-base percentage, 40 hits, 30 runs and 19 walks. Maciejowski is hitting .382, and leads the team with a 1.178 OPS, three triples, eight home runs, 39 RBI, 77 total bases, a .755 slugging percentage and tied for the team lead with five stolen bases. Lexi Rehm has nine doubles, which leads the Falcons.

Madison Olszewski has been pitching well, giving up just six earned runs in her last five appearances. Allison Weilnau leads the team in wins (5), appearances (20), starts (14), complete games (4), innings (80.1) and strikeouts (42).

Noting the Yellow Jackets: West Virginia State is second in a jam-packed South Division. They are currently one game back in the loss column behind W.Va. Wesleyan. WVSU struggled last week, dropping two to Charleston, by scores of 6-5 and 1-0. They split with West Virginia Wesleyan, winning 3-0 before dropping the second game, 6-0. On Monday, the Yellow Jackets hosted Davis & Elkins. WVSU lost game one by a score of 2-1, and then won game two, 9-4.

The Yellow Jackets will look to continue the momentum on the offensive side, scoring nine times in their final game on Monday, after combining for four runs over a four-game stretch leading up to that game. In the pitcher's circle, Kasey Murphy performed well. After allowing five runs in three innings to Charleston, she threw complete games against W.Va. Wesleyan and Davis & Elkins, combining for 14 innings, allowing one earned run, with 10 strikeouts.

Kasey Murphy has the lowest ERA (3.98) and highest batting average (.358) on the Yellow Jackets. She has an OPS of 1.127, six home runs, 20 RBI, 58 total bases and .716 slugging percentage, ranking first on the squad in all of those categories. Lindsey Phares has a batting average of .347 and leads WVSU with 33 hits.

Along with leading the team in ERA, Murphy also leads the Yellow Jackets with six wins, 15 appearances, two shutouts, 59 strikeouts and is tied for the team lead with six complete games.

Noting the Golden Eagles: Charleston secured two big wins against West Virginia State on April 6, winning 6-5 and 1-0. However, they dropped a pair of contests on April 11 to West Virginia Wesleyan, falling 4-1 and 2-1. The next day, they split a series with Davis & Elkins.

In the first game against W.Va. State, leadoff hitter Hannah Rose totaled three RBI with an RBI walk and two-run double. Charleston led 6-1 in the seventh, before the Yellow Jackets scored four times. The Golden Eagles scored just one run in game two against WVSU, but pitcher Morgan Hoppe tossed seven scoreless innings, striking out seven. She threw 21 innings over those three doubleheaders, against WVSU, WVWC and D&E, and allowed just two earned runs, while striking out 15. The Golden Eagles' pitching allowed one run in their series against D&E, but lost the second game of the doubleheader 1-0, after winning 8-0 earlier in the day.

Hannah Rose leads the team with a .404 batting average, a 1.072 OPS, 31 runs, 40 hits, 12 doubles, 55 bases, .556 slugging percentage, 21 walks and a .516 on-base percentage. Allysa Lake is at the top of the team with six home runs and 32 RBI.

On the pitching side, Morgan Hoppe leads the team with a 2.48 ERA, as the team has posted a 2.88 combined ERA. Danielle Bauer is not far behind with a 2.93 ERA and leads the team with 10 wins, 14 complete games, two shutouts and 116 strikeouts.