SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – After battling hard and coming up just short in a doubleheader on Tuesday, Notre Dame College used that momentum as they came back home to face West Virginia State University, on Friday. The offense was efficient, scoring 11 runs on 15 hits and the pitching got out of several jams as WVSU stranded 22 runners on base throughout the day. NDC won game one, 5-1 and took game two, 6-4.

"Today was an incredible day as a team," said head coach Kelsey Stopp. "They came ready to fight. Coming off of the Frostburg State games, where we fought super hard, we rolled that into today. State is a solid team, but we were ready to compete."

Notre Dame got on the board first when leadoff hitter Katelyn DeWeese singled, stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.

West Virginia State had bases loaded in the second inning and the fifth inning, but could not score either time. The Yellow Jackets' only run of the game came off the bat of their pitcher, when Kasey Murphy hit a solo home run to tie the score in the third.

With runners on first and second for the Falcons in the bottom of the fourth, freshman Ella Collinsworth singled and an error by the WVSU center fielder Addi Dillow, allowed a run to score. Later in the inning, pinch hitter Ellen Wheatland hit an RBI single to make the score 3-1.

The Falcons tacked on two more runs in the fifth. Senior Daniele Rivera singled and junior Emily Marsh walked. Senior Lexi Rehm hit her first double of the day to the fence in right-center to plate two runs and give NDC a 5-1 advantage.

"Lexi Rehm had a great day and she made a ton of adjustments," Stopp said. "She put the ball in play. Proud of how she stepped up today."

Sophomore Chloe Vance entered the game with a runner on first in the sixth inning. She pitched two innings of relief for NDC, and got out of a jam in both innings, when a runner was in scoring position.

"Chloe came in and closed it and got us out of some tough situations," Stopp mentioned. "Really impressed with her composure. Today, she stepped up as a pitcher."

Both Rivera and Rehm had two hits in game one. Allison Weilnau (6-7) got the win as she went five innings as the starting pitcher, allowing one run.

Notre Dame had to come back in game two after West Virginia State put three runs on the board in the top of the third. A two-run, bases loaded double by Megan Shoemaker was followed by an RBI single by Lindsey Phares.

The Falcons did not have a hit until the bottom of the fourth inning, but the offense woke up in a hurry. Rivera led off with a single and ran to second on a throwing error. Freshman Emma Gumont and Marsh hit back-to-back RBI doubles. For the second time in the doubleheader, Rehm came up big with a double to tie the game at three.

"They were throwing outside a lot, from the beginning," Rehm noted. "Our coaches saw that and told us to crowd the plate. And all of us were hitting the ball pretty hard."
 
Still in the fourth, with runners on first and second, an error allowed another run to cross the plate and NDC took a 4-3 lead by hitting in the clutch and capitalizing on mistakes.

West Virginia State came right back and scored on an error in the top half of the fifth to tie the game. A base running mistake helped the Falcons get out of the fifth inning and then the Yellow Jackets failed to capitalize with bases loaded and one out in the sixth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Rehm led off with a single and then sophomore Meadow Odum hit her first career home run to center field, putting the Falcons in front, 6-4.

"Meadow Odum! It was so much fun with her first home run," Stopp said. "And the timing of it was unreal. I'm so proud of her."

Once again, Vance (4-5) entered the game and pitched three scoreless innings of relief, picking up the win.

Rehm had two more hits in game two.

Notre Dame will play the University of Charleston on April 16. First pitch in game one has been pushed back to 1 p.m.