This Week: The Notre Dame College baseball team opens up a four-game set at Wheeling University beginning on Friday Apr. 7 and extending into Saturday Apr. 8. The two sides will play a traditional MEC doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. on both days. Next, NDC will travel to Malone University on Tuesday Apr. 11 for a nine-inning game beginning at noon.
 
Records: NDC begins the week at 4-19 (4-8 MEC), and tied for fourth place in the MEC North Division. WU sits at 14-12 (5-7 MEC) and tied for second place in the North Division. Malone holds a record of 15-13.
 
Coaches Corner: Len Barker is in his 12^th season at the helm of the NDC baseball program for the 2022 season. Barker has a career record of 230-288. Ryan Lewicki maintains an 84-91 career record in his fifth season as the head coach of Wheeling. Lastly, Tom Crank is in his 18^th season with Malone.
 
Rankings: None of these teams are ranked according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame holds a 20-14 all-time advantage over Wheeling, dating back to their first meeting in 2012 and including going 1-3 against the Cardinals last season. The Falcons are 11-31 all-time against Malone, dating back to their first meeting in 2005, and including the Pioneers 13-5 victory back on Apr. 4.
 
Noting the Falcons: Last week, Notre Dame went 1-5, securing a come-from-behind 8-7 victory at Charleston on Sunday. The Falcons earned a split with the Golden Eagles, however fell to Walsh on Thursday, West Virginia State on Saturday and Malone on this past Tuesday.
 
Redshirt junior Tyler Shadle leads the NDC offense with a .317 batting average and .798 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, during his 13 games played this season.
 
Redshirt sophomore Sean Fernald has come on strong as of late, maintaining a .250 batting average, while leading the team with a .450 slugging percentage.
 
Amongst qualified hitters, freshman Devon Minney sits atop the team with a .245 average at the plate, including a .355 on-base percentage.
 
Redshirt junior Alec Mendoza has started to find his groove by driving in multiple runs in three of the last four games. The Pickerington, Ohio native now leads the Falcons in RBI (10), hits (18), runs (9) and total bases (21).
 
As a whole, NDC owns a slash line of .206/.309/.256 (BA/OBP/SLG), to go with 69 runs scored, 19 doubles, two triples and three home runs.
 
On the hill, starting pitcher's Mendoza and Johnny Anservitz have accumulated the most innings pitched for the Falcons (25.2 IP each), as Anservitz leads the team in strikeouts (22), while Mendoza touts the top strikeouts to walk ratio (2.8) on the squad.
 
Reliever Devin Fish has given up just two hits and one run over his last four outings, totaling 5.1 innings pitched.
 
As a pithing staff, the Falcons hold an 11.34 ERA, 2.31 WHIP, .332 opponent batting average, to go with 93 strikeouts and 143 walks allowed.
 
Noting the Cardinals: Last week, Wheeling dropped four of five contests, picking up a victory in game one against Glenville State on Sunday 5-4. The Cardinals suffered a series sweep to Concord on Saturday, before splitting with Glenville State on Sunday. WU most recently fell 8-5 to Walsh University at home on Tuesday.
 
Wheeling is led Christian Boyles (.350) and Jacob Murray (.343) who rank 10^th and 13^th in the MEC respectively in batting average.
 
WU posts five players with double figure RBI totals, led by Braden Killens 22, tied for eighth in the league. Killlens also provides the power for Wheeling, registering five home runs on the season, another top 10 provision in the MEC.
 
The trio of Cardinal hitters also boast top 25 marks in OPS and slugging percentage in the MEC this year.
 
As a whole, Wheeling slashes .255/.353/.383 to go with 137 runs scored, 38 doubles, five triples and 17 home runs.
 
On the mound, Kody McCarley is the Cardinals ace, as he leads the MEC and NCAA Division II with five complete games (in seven starts). McCarley also ranks second in the conference in ERA (2.25) and strikeouts (51), and fourth in opponent batting average (.191) and innings pitched (44.0).
 
The Cardinals deploy solid relievers in Jake Rife and Hunter Dyck, with ERAs of 1.32 and 1.84, in six and nine appearances respectively. Dyck is the unit's closer, tallying a team leading three saves and 0.95 WHIP.
 
As a staff, Wheeling allows a 5.73 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, .284 opponent batting average, to go with 181 strikeouts and 97 walks.
 
Noting the Pioneers: Last week, Malone split the weekend series with Cedarville, taking the first two games 6-1 and 12-0, before falling 10-4 and 4-3. On Tuesday, MU bested NDC 13-5 in a non-conference affair.
 
Tyson Gingerich is an on-base machine for the Pioneers, leading the team and ranking inside the top 10 nationally in batting average (.467) and on-base percentage (.564).
 
In addition, three Pioneers boast 25 or more RBI on the year, as Jeremy Tonelli and Evan Balzano have driven in a team-high 27 apiece.
 
As a group, Malone slashes .303/.402/.408, with 192 runs scored, 48 doubles, 16 triples and five home runs.
 
On the mound, MU is carried by starting pitchers Mitch Maurer and Devin Norton who post 39 and 50 strikeouts, respectively. Norton owns an impressive 5.6 strikeout to walk ratio.
 
Closer Danny Miller flashes a 3.31 ERA, .190 opponent batting average and three saves over nine appearances out of the bullpen this year.
 
The Malone pitching staff holds a 5.69 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .278 opponent batting average, to go with 208 strikeouts and 88 walks allowed.