ASHLAND, Ohio – After meeting once on Feb. 25, Notre Dame College and Ashland University faced each other again, on Wednesday, and played a couple extremely close games. NDC took game one by a score of 7-5, while Ashland earned the win in game two, 6-5.
 
To start game one, Notre Dame's Danielle Fick reached first base on an error. That would become a trend in the contest as the teams combined for nine errors. Fick stole second, advanced to third on a groundout and came home on an RBI single by sophomore Emma Gumont. Sophomore Ella Collinsworth then hit her first collegiate home run to give NDC a 3-0 advantage.
 
Ashland responded with three singles in the bottom of the first to score two runs. The Eagles tried to tie the game with a double steal in the second inning, but the Falcons were able to tag the runner out at the plate.
 
Notre Dame expanded its lead in the fourth, after graduate student Alexi Maciejowski doubled to lead off the inning. Three batters later, senior Emily Marsh hit an RBI single to plate Maciejowski. Marsh, who had a season-high three hits in the game, later gave Notre Dame a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning with another RBI single.
 
The home team did not go away quietly. They closed within one run, again, in the bottom of the sixth inning, on a sacrifice fly. Freshman Grace Fisher would then enter the game for NDC and strike out the next two batters. Ashland stranded the tying run at third.
 
Fisher got her second career save after going 1 2/3 innings to close the game, allowing one, unearned run.
 
Sophomore Destany Blake, who had two hits in the game, stepped up to the plate with bases loaded in the seventh. She would give Notre Dame two insurance runs with a single to center field. Those would be very important runs, as Ashland added one more in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 7-5.
 
Gumont and Maciejowski both had two hits in the game. Both of Maciejowski's hits were doubles.
 
The second game of the day also went back-and-forth. NDC took a 3-0 lead, over the first three innings, highlighted by a two-run single by sophomore Alyssa Wahl in the third.
 
Ashland came back and tied the game at three in the bottom of that frame and the teams remained knotted up until the fifth inning. In the fifth, AU plated a pair of runs to grab its first lead of the day at 5-3.
 
Right back at it, in the top of the sixth, Blake hit a one-out double for Notre Dame. Marsh reached base, and Blake scored, on an error by the left fielder. Fick then knocked in another run with an RBI single to tie the game at five.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles found a way to take the lead back, with an RBI single. This time they would not give it away.
 
Gumont led the team with two hits in the second game and totaled four on the day. Between the two games, Blake hit two doubles.
 
Notre Dame comes home this weekend for a pair of games against both Concord University and Glenville State University.