WHEELING, W.Va. – Redshirt junior Alec Mendoza tallied five hits on the day, however the Notre Dame College baseball team (4-21, 4-10 MEC) dropped both games on Friday at Wheeling University (16-12, 7-7 MEC), 6-5 and 7-1.
 
The Cardinals got the scoring started during the home half of the second inning, totaling three runs on two hits and capitalizing on one Falcon error (3-0).
 
Notre Dame found their groove in the top of the fourth inning, scoring four runs on three hits, aided by a Cardinal error (4-3). Johnny Costella began the frame with a leadoff walk, before stealing second base. Next, Damion Legaspe reached on an error, before Johnathan Cook drove home Costealla for the Falcons first run (3-1). NDC strung together three hits on a row as Tyler Shadle poked an RBI double to right field (3-2), before Mendoza cashed in on a two-run single to left center (4-3).
 
Wheeling responded during the bottom half of the frame, by generating a two-run home run, moving back in front 5-4.
 
NDC knotted the game at 5-5 in the top of the sixth inning when Hayden Parker stroked an RBI single, scoring Mendoza after a leadoff hit by pitch.
 
WU rallied during the bottom of the seventh inning with two hits, to win in walk-off fashion 6-5.
 
A trio of Falcons registered multi-hit efforts in game one, as Mendoza, Fernald and Cook picked up a pair of hits.
 
In game two, Wheeling jumped on the scoreboard during the bottom of the third inning, marking four runs on two hits (4-0). Moreover, the Cardinals added one run on two hits in the next frame to move ahead 5-0.
 
Notre Dame posted a crooked number in the top of the fifth inning, scoring one run on two hits (5-1). With one out, Cook drew a walk and later moved to third base following back-to-back hits by Shadle and Mendoza. Lastly, Preston Mauzy got the job done with a sacrifice fly to right field, bringing Cook around to score (5-1).
 
WU added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, concluding the scoring on the day (7-1).
 
Pacing the Notre Dame College offense was Mendoza sixth's multi-hit game of the year, flashing a 3-for-4 outing in game two, including a 5-for-8 day at the plate. In addition, Mendoza notched another multi-RBI effort in game one, the sixth of the campaign and 17^th of his career.
 
Shadle also generated multiple hits in game two, as he joined Cook, Mauzy, Parker and Mendoza as players to drive in runs on the afternoon.
 
The Falcons posted a strong .333 batting average on the day (19-57), as NDC out-hit WU in both games 10-7 and 9-7.
 
Notre Dame College will bounce back into action tomorrow Saturday Apr. 8 to round out the weekend series against Wheeling University, beginning at 1 p.m.