This Week: Notre Dame College will travel to Alderson Broaddus University on Friday May 5 for a doubleheader slated for 1:00 p.m. Next, both teams will travel north to Mercy Health Stadium for another twin-bill scheduled for Sunday May 8 at 1:00 p.m. Moreover, Sunday marks senior day for NDC, as the 2022 regular season comes to end across the Mountain East Conference.
 
Schedule Change: Notre Dame College will face Frostburg State University on Thursday May 4 starting at 1:00 p.m. after their contests on Sunday were postponed due to inclement weather. The two sides will play a pair of contests to round out their originally scheduled four-game set.
 
Records: NDC begins the week at 22-22 (16-10 MEC) and seated in third place in the Mountain East Conference North Division. Alderson Broaddus is currently 6-34 (6-22 MEC) and in the sixth and final spot in the MEC North Division. Note, the top three teams from each division earn a berth into the MEC Tournament. Currently, three games in loss column separate NDC and fourth place Wheeling (15-13).
 
Coaches Corner: Len Barker is in his 11^th season at the helm of the NDC baseball program for the 2022 season. Barker has a career record of 222-265. Zac Mishler is the interim head coach of AB in his first season.
 
Rankings: None of these teams are ranked according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame is 2-2 all-time when facing Alderson Broaddus since dating back to 2021.
 
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame College is coming off a 2-0 week in which they bested the top seed in the MEC North Division, Frostburg State. In game one, Ben Ross tied his career-high with five runs driven in, securing a 13-6 victory for the Falcons. In game two, Austin Mora pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just two hits to earn the 5-0 victory.
 
The aforementioned Ross leads Notre Dame on offense in every major offensive category except on base percentage where he ranks second. The shortstop posts a .367 batting average, 1.156 OPS, .734 slugging percentage, .422 on base percentage, 58 hits, 15 doubles, two triples, 13 home runs, 50 RBIs, 116 total bases and 43 runs scored. Amongst the Mountain East Conference, the redshirt sophomore is tied 13^th in batting average, seventh in OPS, fifth in slugging percentage, third in total hits, tied for third in doubles, tied for 11^th in triples, tied for second in home runs, second in RBIs and first in total bases.
 
Several other Falcons have contributed major offensive output, including Nick Farrell, Kyle Espineli, Michael Zeuli and Alec Mendoza. For example, N. Farrell is hitting .348 on the season with a .985 OPS, .576 slugging percentage, .409 on base percentage, 55 hits, 10 doubles, eight home runs and 29 RBIs. Espineli contributes a .328 batting average, .884 OPS, .471 slugging percentage, .413 on base percentage, 12 doubles and 16 RBIs. Zeuli is the king of on base percentage for the Falcons as he posts a .454 OBP, to go with his .321 batting average. Lastly, Mendoza has driven in 36 runs on the season to pair with his .308 batting average.
 
Fresh off his complete game shutout, ace Austin Mora headlines the Notre Dame pitching staff with a team leading 12 starts and 66.1 innings pitched. The redshirt senior carries a 6.11 ERA, .230 opponent batting average, with 63 strikeouts and 45 walks this season. Moreover, and amongst the MEC, the Falcon workhorse ranks tied for first in games started, tied for second in complete games (4), third in innings pitched, fifth in strikeouts and second in opponent batting average.
 
Freshman Alex Dicke has enjoyed a stellar rookie campaign as the Falcon's second starter. The right hander posts a 5-2 record, 4.37 ERA, .216 opponent batting average to go with 35 strikeouts over his 47.1 innings pitched and eight starts. Compared to the rest of the conference, Dicke is sixth in ERA and first in opponent batting average.
 
Aaron Miller headlines the Notre Dame bullpen with his team leading 3.00 ERA, .226 opponent batting average, to go with 24 punch outs and ten walks. The redshirt sophomore has also saved seven games this season as the Falcon closer, which is currently tied for the most in a single season in NDC program history. In addition, Jesse Clark is another valuable relief arm as he has appeared in a team leading 16 contests, while generating a team-high five wins.
 
As a whole, Notre Dame is slashing .297/.376/.432 (BA/OBP/SLG) with 73 doubles, nine triples, 30 home runs and 265 runs scored. On the mound, NDC has a team ERA of 7.04, surrender a .291 opponent batting average, while striking out 277 and walking 215 batters.
 
Noting the Battlers: Alderson Broaddus is coming off a week in which they faced Wheeling four times on Saturday and Monday. After claiming the series opener 6-5, AB fell over the next three contests, 7-1, 17-5 and 11-5.
 
The Battlers are led by Chandler Ballenger's team leading .365 batting average, .906 OPS and 15 RBIs. Joey Alcorn is the only other AB Battler who is hitting north of .300 (.346) this season, as he flashes a team best 15 runs driven in and a .453 on base percentage as well. Furthermore, Alex Perez leads the team in doubles (9) and slugging percentage (.461), while Cameron Sheets provides the power with a team best five home runs and 11 runs driven in.
 
On the bump, Ryan Varley and Will Knight headline the Battlers pitching staff with the most games started and innings pitched. Varley appears to be the ace of the group, with a team leading ten starts and 50.1 innings pitched. Varley has amassed a 6.62 ERA, .270 opponent batting average to go with 48 strikeouts and 25 walks. On the other hand, Knight has pitched in 41.2 innings, generating a 7.78 ERA, .308 opponent batting average, to go with 43 punch outs and 27 walks. In addition, Ballenger also sees work in the pitching department with five starts over his six appearances this season. Ballenger has accounted for a 5.96 ERA, .278 opponent batting average, to go with 32 strikeouts and five walks.
 
Out of the bullpen, AB features five main arms, however each player flashes an ERA north of 9.50. Julian Russell leads the team in appearances (16), as he shows a 11.52 ERA, .317 opponent batting average, 28 punch outs and 28 walks allowed.
 
As a team, Alderson Broaddus is slashing .232/.332/.321 with 49 doubles, one triple, 17 home runs and 151 runs scored. On the mound, AB has a team ERA of 9.67, opponent batting average of .315, to go along with 309 strikeouts and 253 walks allowed.