EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Notre Dame College swept the first day at the Blue Bridge Battle, on Friday. The Falcons scored one run in four separate innings, as sophomore Grace Fisher allowed just one run in a complete game victory, leading NDC to a 4-1 win over Kentucky Wesleyan College. In game two, Ashland University came back to tie the game at four, before the Falcons scored five runs in the eighth inning and won, 9-5.
 
The Falcons got on the board right away in the bottom of the first inning against Kentucky Wesleyan. Senior Katelyn DeWeese doubled to left field and junior Destany Blake followed with an RBI single.
 
KWC's Guinny Garr reached base in the top of the second, with a two-out single. That would be the only hit that the Panthers would get off of NDC's Grace Fisher until the seventh inning.
 
Junior Alyssa Wahl doubled to start the bottom of the fourth inning, and with two out, a second Notre Dame run would cross the plate on an error. The Falcons also took advantage of two errors in the fifth, to put a third run on the board.
 
NDC then tacked on their fourth, and final, run of the game in the sixth inning. Junior Ella Collinsworth reached base on Kentucky Wesleyan's fourth error of the day and scored on an RBI double off the bat of freshman Caitlin Mitchell.
 
The Panthers' only run was scored in the seventh, on an RBI groundout.
 
Blake had two hits and an RBI in the first game. Fisher gave up one run, allowing just three hits and one walk. She struck out eight hitters in her second start of the year.
 
The Notre Dame offense was out in full force in the second game, against Ashland. In the top of the second inning, freshman Kaitlyn Mazzocca walked and Collinsworth moved her over with a sacrifice bunt. Mitchell hit her second double of the day, into left field, to score pinch runner Hailey Hurley.
 
Ashland responded by scoring a run on three hits in the bottom of the second, but Notre Dame's Allison Weilnau pitched well through six frames, only giving up one run and four hits.
 
To start the fourth, sophomore Lindsay Breuer and Mazzocca hit back-to-back singles. With one out, Mitchell came through, again, with an RBI groundout to put Notre Dame back in front.
 
DeWeese singled to start the fifth inning and Wahl walked. Following an Ashland pitching change, sophomore Danielle Fick knocked both runners in with a double to left field and Notre Dame led, 4-1.
 
Ashland fought back in the bottom of the seventh to tie the contest at four, with three runs on four hits. The Eagles had the winning run on second base, with one out, and then she moved to third base, with two out, but Weilnau worked out of the jam to send the game to extra innings.
 
With a runner on second base to start the eighth inning, Breuer wasted no time sending a base hit into right to score the go-ahead run. Collinsworth and Mitchell both singled to load the bases and senior Mia Cipriano came off the bench for a two-run single. A fourth run came home on an error and then DeWeese hit an RBI groundout.
 
AU added one in the bottom of the inning, but the Falcons secured the win.
 
Wahl, Breuer and Mitchell all had two hits. Fick, Mitchell and Cipriano all recorded two RBI. In the circle, Weilnau pitched seven innings, allowing four runs, while Madison Olszewski got credited with the win after pitching the eighth.
 
Notre Dame is back on the diamond tomorrow, battling Lincoln University, at 11 a.m., and Tiffin University, at 1 p.m.