March 24, 2008

CANTON, Ohio - Notre Dame split a pair of games with Malone College Wednesday. With the two squads playing in cold temperatures on a thawing Thurman Munson Stadium surface, pitching ruled the day. The Pionees won the opener, 3-0, and the Falcons won the nightcap, 3-1. The combined 14 innings on the day featured a combined 19 hits by the two teams, with all hits being singles.

Game one
In the first game, Malone's Sam Campitella (Jr/Massillon, OH) and Ryan Hartong (Jr/Navarre, OH) combined on a two-hit shutout. Campitella went six innings for the win, while Hartong earned a one-inning save. Campitella has not allowed an earned run in two starts this year (11.2 innings).

Notre Dame starter Ken Fields (Sr/North Olmsted, OH) was solid; he went 5-2/3, yielding seven singles and three walks. All three Pioneer runs scored in the Malone third, and all three were unearned, although Fields himself committed the throwing error that eventually led to the three scores.

Game two
In game two, NDC finally got some offense going with a two-spot in the first. The Falcons scored the runs on a pair of walks, a pair of singles, and a pair of Malone errors. Each squad would commit four errors in the second game.

Notre Dame's Jack Sito (Jr/Elyria, OH) took the ball in game two for what was his second start of the season. Sito was outstanding - he held the Pioneers, who average nearly eight runs per game, to just one unearned run while going the full seven.

Malone's lone run came in the home half of the second to cut the NDC lead to 2-1. The Falcons answered that run by plating an insurance run the next half inning. Junior right fielder Eric Pelot (Lakewood, OH), senior catcher Josh Bieneman (Baltimore, MD), and Sito garnered three consecutive one-out singles against Malone starter Adam Boudler (Jr/Louisville, OH). A Chris Palagyi (Jr/Parma, OH) walk scored Pelot but NDC then stranded three runners on a pair of fly outs.

Boudler, Malone reliever Todd Liberatore (So/New Philadelphia, OH) and Sito kept the cold bats under control the rest of the game. Sito finished the game allowing just four singles and two walks. He struck out three.

Bieneman led the NDC attack with two hits in the nightcap. He went a combined 2-for-6 with a walk on the afternoon.

The loss for Malone (11-3) was just their third of the season. Notre Dame remained one game over .500 (8-7) with the split.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

HATS FOR BATS: NDC's shutout loss in the opener was their fourth such loss of the season. The doubleheader without a double (or any other extra base hit) was NDC's first this season. Malone also failed to collect an extra-base hit on the afternoon. The two nines combined to go just 5-for-27 (.190) with runners in scoring position (MC went 0-for-9 against Sito). ... The recent spate of cold weather has not helped the Falcon offense - NDC has scored just eight runs over their last four games. In that stretch, they're batting .180 (18-for-100) with one double and no triples or home runs. ... For the season, NDC is batting .235/.345/.292.

HOT HANDS: Credit both pitching staffs somewhat for the low-scoring duels on Monday. Malone came into the day with a team ERA of 3.92, and Campitella and Boudler had been their most effective starters. With the Monday performances of Ken Fields and Jack Sito, Notre Dame's ERA now stands at 2.78 for the season.