April 5, 2008

CEDARVILLE, Ohio - Notre Dame battled back for a come-from-behind, extra-inning victory in Saturday's opener at Cedarville University. And in the nightcap, the Falcons staked starter Mick Robinson (Jr/Canal Winchester, OH) to a 3-0 lead. But three Falcon errors with two outs in the bottom of the fifth cost NDC an opportunity to sweep their first doubleheader since March 13.

Notre Dame won game one over the Yellow Jackets, 5-4. They fell in game two by a final score of 5-4. The road games at Cedarville were both American Mideast Conference (AMC) tilts. Notre Dame is now 5-7 in the 10-team league (seventh place).

Game one
In the opener, the Falcons scored a pair of runs in the top of the third to take a 2-0 lead over the Yellow Jackets. Senior Dustin Taulbee (Elyria, OH) keyed the inning with an RBI double.

Righthander Chris Balmert (Sr/Lakewood, OH) started for the Blue & Gold. He tossed four scoreless frames until Cedarville plated two in the home half of the fifth to tie the game, 2-2. The Yellow Jackets got to Balmert for two more in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead.

Down by two in the seventh, freshman Trent Crow (Daytona Beach, FL) drew a leadoff walk and then advanced to second on a one-out single by Taulbee. After an advancement ground out by second baseman Cory O'Keefe (Sr/Sheffield Lake, OH), junior right fielder Eric Pelot (Lakewood, OH) came up big for the Falcons.

The hard-hitting Lakewood native laced a two-out, two-run single into center field, tying the game at four.

Senior hurler Tony Canzoni (Walton Hills, OH), who had relieved Balmert in the sixth, pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth to get NDC in position for the eventual game-winner in the ninth.

The Falcons plated their go-ahead run in the ninth when Derek Lewis (Sr/Lakewood, OH) reached on a two-base error with one out. After a wild pitch and a walk, Lewis scored the Falcons' fifth run on a sacrifice fly by O'Keefe.

Sophomore Lafe Burnette (Romulus, MI) came on to pitch the ninth. He got out of a jam after walking the Yellow Jackets' leadoff batter, Phil Cruz (Fr/Pembroke Pines, FL). Burnette induced two ground balls after Cruz had reached scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. In finishing off the game, Burnette earned his second save of the season.

Game two
In game two, CU southpaw T.J. Taylor (Fr/Deshler, OH) hamstrung NDC batters. Taylor matched NDC starter Mick Robinson (Jr/Canal Winchester, OH) zero-for-zero through the first four, with Taylor recording five strikeouts.

In the fifth, Notre Dame broke through for three runs on a walk, a hit batsman, and two singles.

Then, with a 3-0 lead and the possibilty of their first twin bill sweep in nearly a month, the wheels came off for Robinson and the Falcons. The NDC portsider yielded a walk, a single, and a walk to the first three Yellow Jackets he faced in the bottom of the fifth. He rallied to retire back-to-back hitters, although a wild pitch allowed the leadoff batter to score.

Then, with two outs freshman outfielder Ryan Weaver (Baltimore, OH) committed an error in center field which led to two runs. Robinson hit the next batter and was relieved by senior Ryan Rico (Mentor, OH).

The next two CU hitters reached on two more errors, both by Cory O'Keefe at second. The second of those miscues plated two Yellow Jacket runs to put them ahead, 5-3.

After the shoddy fifth, the Falcon offense fell flat. Taylor set NDC down, 1-2-3, in the sixth, and then allowed just a solo base runner (a walk) in closing out the game in the seventh. For the game, Taylor pitched seven innings and allowed three runs on just three hits. He walked three, hit two, and struck out eight.

The loss after being up 3-0 ruined Notre Dame's (13-13, 5-7) opportunity to pick up their first doubleheader sweep since downing Miami University-Hamilton in two games on March 13. The win in the nightcap snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Yellow Jackets (8-19, 3-9).

Dustin Taulbee led the Falcon bat attack for the afternoon. He was 4-for-8 with a double and three runs scored. Phil Cruz went 4-for-5 with a walk to lead the Yellow Jackets.


NOTES FROM THE NEST...

EVEN STEVEN: Through 26 games, Notre Dame sports an even-.500 record of 13-13. The Blue & Gold have scored 117 runs and given up 118. NDC has 183 hits on the season. Falcon foes have collected 189. ... NDC's 13-13 record through 26 games ties a program best (2006). ... Saturday marked the second-ever meeting between Notre Dame and Cedarville. The Falcons and Yellow Jackets have split four contests in the series.

PELOT(TA) TRIPLES: Eric Pelot tripled to right-center in the first inning of game one. The three-bagger was his second of the season and a program-best sixth of his career. ... Pelot reached base four times in the twin bill - his season on-base percentage (OBP) now stands at .410, which ranks second on the team.

IRON MEN: Pelot and senior catcher Josh Bieneman (Baltimore, MD) have each played in, and started, all 26 of NDC's games this season. Pelot is batting .293/.410/.378 (BA/OBP/SLG); Bieneman is hitting .244/.327/.326.

WALK IN THE PARK: Junior Chris Palagyi (Parma, OH) drew his team-leading 12th walk of the season in Saturday's opener. Palagyi, a product of Valley Forge High School, has collected those walk in just 64 plate appearances; that's a walk rate of 18.8 percent. Palagyi has played in 22 games this season. Despite a batting average of .191, the right-handed first baseman and designated hitter owns an OBP of .391.

KEEPIN' IT IN THE PARK: In seven games and 40 innings this year, pitcher Mick Robinson has not yielded a home run. Opposing nines are hitting .253 (38-for-150) off the lefty newcomer. Robinson ranks ninth in the AMC with a 2.92 ERA.