Sevens wild
Seven walks hurt NDC in a 7-0 loss to 7-3 Patriots

WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. - Monday afternoon marked game four of a four-game set between Notre Dame and the University of the Cumberlands and the fourth game of the season for the Falcons. Other than that, Monday was all sevens. UC defeated Notre Dame 7-0 in a game that featured seven walks by a pair of Falcon hurlers in the first four innings.

Offensively, the Falcon bats were silent against the Patriots' Adam Blakey (Jr/Jamestown, KY), who threw seven scoreless innings, walking none and striking out four. Second baseman Dustin Taulbee (Sr/Elyria, OH) led the NDC effort - the Falcon veteran went 2-for-3 with a double.

The Patriots plated a run in the bottom of the second on a leadoff walk and a hit. They scored four more in the fourth and then a final pair in the fifth. The combination of walks and errors hurt the Falcons in the road route - in addition to walking seven batters, the NDC defense committed five errors.

On the other side of the ledger, Notre Dame (1-3) had trouble getting to Blakey, who is now 3-0 on the season with a 1.25 ERA. The Patriots righthander has now struck out 15 in 22.2 innings, while walking just three.

For the game, Notre Dame collected five hits and six total bases. UC pounded out eight and 10. The Patriots also stole four bases in five attempts.

The loss for Notre Dame closes out their four-game series with Cumberlands. NDC now travels to Coca, Fla. for three games beginning Thursday with a 12:00pm neutral-site affair against Lyndon State (VT).

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

SOLID START: Dustin Taulbee went 6-for-15 (.400) in Williamburg over the extended weekend. The Falcons' second sacker batted out of the two-hole in Head Coach Craig Moro's batting order.

PATRIOTISM: The University of the Cumberlands had a head start on NDC, getting in six games on their own schedule before the Falcons arrived Friday. The Patriots are coming into this season after a nice 39-16 campaign a year ago. They're off to a good start in repeating that kind of win total. Patriot pitching, in particular, has been solid early on. Through 10 games, UC hurlers have compiled a 2.74 team ERA, and they're holding opponents to a mere .313 on-base percentage. ... The Patriots and Falcons have played each other each of the last four seasons; the Patriots lead the all-time series, 10-2.