NDC swarmed by Bees
Ranked SCAD scores sweep
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SAVANNAH, Ga. – Notre Dame opened their 2008 season Tuesday, taking part in the Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) Smash Hit Tournament. The Blue & Gold took on the host SCAD Bees, who swept them, 7-2 and 10-4, in a doubleheader played in breezy 55-degree conditions.

The Bees, ranked No. 8 in the pre-season NAIA Coaches' Poll and coming off a 41-8 campaign in 2007, out-hit NDC 21-8 in the twin kill. The sweep runs their record to 5-1.

Game One
In the opener, Notre Dame (0-2) strung together three hits and a pair of SCAD errors to plate two runs in the first. The Bees, however, scored seven unanswered runs from that point on in the game to drop the Falcons by a final of 7-2.

Junior Katie Lapczenski (Willoughby Hills, OH) took the ball for NDC in the opener. She battled control problems, walking six in 3-2/3 innings. After yielding three runs (one earned) she was lifted by first-year Head Coach Amy Kyler for freshman hurler Brooke Hobson (Perry, OH). Hobson went the rest of the way, giving up four runs on eight hits in 2-1/3.

No Falcon reached base more than once in the game, as Kristen Curette (Jr/Baytown, TX) kept the NDC bats quiet. She went the distance (7.0) for the Bees, scattering four singles and striking out eight.

Game Two
In the second game, another freshman pitcher, Meredith Harbarger (Akron, OH) was in the circle for NDC. The Bees would get to her for seven runs (three earned) in 1-2/3 innings.

Again, the Falcons struck first, pushing across three markers in the first on a Jill Gigliotti (Jr/Medina, OH) three-run homer. As they had in the first game, SCAD called and then raised. The Bees plated a solo run in the first, six in the second, and three in the third to effectively put the game out of reach. Notre Dame closed out the scoring in the fifth off the bat of second baseman Jessica Simmons (So/Garfield Heights, OH).

Harbarger was relieved by Lapczenski in the second; she went the rest of the way for NDC. The junior righthander gave up three runs of her own in 4-1/3. Senior righthander Meghan Temple (Lake Elsinore, CA) went the route for SCAD. Her line included giving up five free passes, but she pitched effectively between the NDC home runs. She only allowed one leadoff batter to reach, and when the Falcons did get on base, they couldn't capitalize - NDC was 1-of-12 with runners on.

Gigliotti and Simmons were the top Falcon batters for the twin bill. Both collected a pair of hits and five total bases. Gigliotti garnered five runs batted in.

The Falcons will take on Goshen (IN) and Southern Weleyan (SC) on Wednesday.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

SMASHING, BABY: The SCAD Smash Hit Tournament features 30-plus teams from the NAIA, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and junior college ranks. NDC is scheduled to play 10 games against eight different opponents in five days during the week.