This Week: The Notre Dame College baseball team hosts Frostburg State University for a four-game series on Saturday and Sunday Apr. 29-30. The Falcons and Bobcats will play a doubleheader both days beginning at 1 p.m. Next, NDC will travel to Mercyhurst University for a single contest against the Lakers on Tuesday May 2, beginning at 2 p.m.
 
Field Change: Notre Dame and Frostburg State will play the four-game set at Dill Field on the campus of Oberlin College, in Oberlin, Ohio.
 
Records: NDC begins the week at 10-28 (10-14 MEC) and in fourth place in the MEC North Division. FSU is currently 24-17 (16-8 MEC) and in first place in the MEC North Division. Lastly, MU maintains a 24-12 record this season.
 
Coaches Corner: Len Barker is in his 12^th season at the helm of the NDC baseball program for the 2023 season. Barker has a career record of 236-297. Anthony Williams is the head coach of Frostburg State in his fourth season. Joe Spano is in the middle of his 24^th season at Mercyhurst, amassing a 736-428 career record.
 
Rankings: None of these teams are ranked according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Poll.
 
Series History: The Falcons are 6-2 all-time when facing Frostburg State, dating back to their first meeting in 2021, and including NDC taking three of four from FSU last season. NDC is 3-17 all-time when squaring off with Mercyhurst, dating back to their first meeting in 2011 and including the MU's 3-2 victory on Apr. 26.
 
Noting the Falcons: Last week, Notre Dame grabbed a win against West Liberty 7-0 in game two, while the Hilltoppers claimed the other three contests. In addition, the Falcons fell to Mercyhurst in a tight battle, 3-2 in nine innings.
 
Tyler Shadle (.313) and Alec Mendoza (.271) highlight the Notre Dame College offense on the year, ranking one and two on the team in batting average, respectively.
 
Shadle is the team leader in slugging (.417), OPS (.786) and doubles (7), while Mendoza paces the squad in RBI (20). In addition, Mendoza is the toughest batter to strikeouts in the MEC, ranking number one in fewest strikeouts (6).
 
Several other Falcons contribute offensively, such as Nate Miller (13), Hayden parker (12) and Johnny Costella (10) who have also driven in double digit runs for NDC.
 
As a whole, Notre Dame carries a slash line of .233/.333/.291 (BA/OBP/SLG), to go with 141 runs scored, 38 doubles, five triples and five home runs.
 
On the bump, Mendoza is the Falcons' ace, touting four complete games, the second most in the MEC. He also ranks third in the conference in walks allowed per nine innings (2.58).
 
Fellow starting pitcher Johnny Anservitz posts the most strikeouts on the team with 40 in 41.2 innings pitched.
 
Reliever Devin Fish maintains the top ERA (3.48), WHIP (1.37), opponent batting average (.235) on the pitching staff, as he has appeared in a team-high 14 contests.
 
As a unit, Notre Dame holds a 9.13 ERA, 2.06 WHIP, .317 opponent batting average, to go with 175 strikeouts and 195 walks allowed.
 
Noting the Bobcats: Last weekend, Frostburg State swept Alderson Broaddus, 7-3, 7-2, 16-6 and 13-3, before turning around and falling to California (Pa.) 14-1 on Wednesday.
 
The Bobcats boast a potent offense as five players post batting averages north of .325. FSU's Ethan Kiple leads the pack at .371, ranking inside the top 10 in the MEC. Kiple adds 40 runs batted in on the year, a top five provision in the league.
 
Other key contributors are, Randy Steen (.357 with 27 RBI), Mikey Guy (.340 with 28 RBI), Trevor Jones (.326 with 40 RBI) and Danny Estrada (.293 with 37 RBI).
 
As a team, Frostburg State slashes .294/.386/.498, to go with 295 runs scored, 67 doubles, seven triples and 59 home runs.
 
On the hill, Max Proctor is the team's top arm, as he leads the squad in starts (10), innings pitched (47.1) and strikeouts (57), while maintaining a 2.85 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and .250 opponent batting average.
 
Kiple is the FSU closer, touting a team-high five saves in 11 appearances, totaling 15.2 innings pitched. Kiple carries a 0.57 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, .167 opponent batting average, to go with 29 strikeouts and three walks allowed.
 
As a pitching staff, Frostburg State has a 5.61 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, .271 opponent batting average, to go with 345 punch outs and 160 walks allowed.
 
Noting the Lakers: Last week, Mercyhurst defeated NDC 3-2 on Wednesday, before traveling to Indiana (Pa.) and dropping 4-1 and 4-0.
 
Mitchell Grosch carries a team-high .329 batting average, 1.013 OPS and .598 slugging percentage.
 
Zachary Kourous (.325), Eric Chorba (.320) and Matt Christopher (.304) also hold averages above .300 at the dish.
 
Folmar (26) and Chorba (24) produce the RBI for Mercyhurst, alongside Chris Juchno's team-leading 27 runs batted in.
 
As a squad, Mercyhurst slashes .273/.378/.437 to go with 209 runs scored, 65 doubles, 12 triples and 31 home runs.
 
On the bump, starting pitcher Jarrett Heilman has been lights out, surrendering a team-best 1.86 ERA over a team-high 58.0 innings pitched. Heilman ranks ninth amongst NCAA Division II in earned run average, thanks to five complete games, including three shutouts. Moreover, Heilman boasts a team-high 60 strikeouts.
 
Reliver Ben Berdino acts as the Lakers closer, registering a team-high three saves over 10 appearances (17.2 innings pitched). Berdino carries a 2.55 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and a .239 opponent batting average.
 
As a whole, Mercyhurst owns a 4.25 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, .236 opponent batting average, to go with 301 strikeouts and 144 walks allowed.