SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – After entering the season winless against Frostburg State University, Notre Dame College has turned that trend around by sweeping the doubleheader on Saturday and taking all four games of the season series. Notre Dame won game one by a score of 7-3 and took game two, 3-1.
 
At the beginning of the day, Frostburg State immediately showed off its offense. Arden Miller singled and, with two out in the first inning, Jaime Roberts hit a rocket that cleared the fence in center field.
 
As they continue to do, the Falcons fought back in the bottom of the inning. Junior Katelyn DeWeese and sophomore Emma Gumont hit back-to-back singles and moved up to second and third base on the throw. Sophomore Ella Collinsworth reached on a fielder's choice to the shortstop and a run scored, cutting FSU's lead in half.
 
The Bobcats added a run in the top of the third, but NDC responded with three runs to take the lead in the bottom of the frame. Freshman Danielle Fick singled and stole second, with one out, to start the rally.
 
Fick had three hits and three steals in game one and added a hit and a steal in game two. Her three steals are tied for the most in a game in program history.
 
"I don't think there is a catcher that can throw me out and I'm going to run until I'm thrown out," Fick said.
 
Still in the bottom of the third, the Bobcats' defense began to struggle. DeWeese hit an infield single and advanced to second on a throwing error. Fick scored on the play. Gumont then hit the ball to third and reached base on a fielding error. Collinsworth earned anther RBI with a fielder's choice groundout and, two batters later, sophomore Alyssa Wahl singled to center field to score the third run of the inning and give Notre Dame a 4-3 lead.
 
Senior Emily Marsh singled to right field, to start the fourth inning, and pinch-runner Kelly Troup ran to second on a sacrifice bunt. Fick then hit an RBI single to second base. The FSU second baseman, Samara Funk, made the diving play to knock the ball down but the ball rolled away and Troup came home. Fick stole second and later scored on a single up the middle by Gumont. Notre Dame led 6-3.
 
In the sixth inning, Notre Dame added a run on a sacrifice fly by Collinsworth, who finished with three RBI in game one.
 
The top three of the NDC order combined for six hits, as Fick had three, DeWeese added one and Gumont totaled two.
 
Freshman Grace Fisher pitched all seven innings for NDC. She allowed three runs, but none after the third inning.
 
The win was No. 20 for Notre Dame, equaling the team's win total from 2022.
 
Game two was a lower scoring affair, but NDC still came out on top. In the bottom of the first, Fick led off with a single and stole second. DeWeese singled and Fick went to third. NDC then took advantage of more Frostburg State defensive mistakes. DeWeese stole second base, but the throw from the catcher bounced into center field and allowed a run to score. Gumont reached on an error to score a second run.
 
The pitching matchup featured Frostburg State's Jaime Roberts, who had 10 wins, and Allison Weilnau, who was looking for her 10th win. Roberts settled in and sent down 10 straight from the second inning until the fifth. Weilnau got into trouble a few times but always found a way out and only gave up one run.
 
FSU scored its only run of the game in the third when Laura Gilford hit an inside-the-park home run down the right field line.
 
Notre Dame added a very important insurance run in the in the bottom of the sixth inning, when Gumont hit her sixth home run of the season.
 
The Bobcats did not go away quietly. They loaded the bases in both the sixth and the seventh. In the sixth, after an intentional walk of Roberts, Weilnau got out of the trouble with a strikeout. Two walks and a single put three on base in the seventh, but the final hitter of the game popped out in foul territory.
 
"I had faith in my defense, they were playing well all day. I knew if I threw the ball, and [Frostburg] hit it, my defense would have my back," Weilnau said.
 
The Falcons went 3-1 over a weekend that featured two teams who NDC is competing against for the top of the Mountain East Conference's North Division (Fairmont State, Frostburg State).
 
"Before the season, we talked about what we wanted to do against the North Division," said head coach Kelsey Stopp. "We wanted to set a tone and we wanted to be the best. It's been a goal. We played [Frostburg State] before and we took a lot of notes on how to pitch to them correctly and hitting off of their pitchers."
 
Alderson Broaddus University swept Fairmont State today, allowing NDC to move into a tie for first place in the division.
 
Notre Dame will welcome Alderson Broaddus to South Euclid, on April 12, for a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m.