The West Burlington-Notre Dame Falcons (9-5, 5-2) built an early lead and never looked back, routing the New London-Winfield-Mt. Union Tigers (1-13, 0-7) 11-2 in five innings.

Three runs in each of the first two innings, capped off by a two-run blast to left off the bat of catcher Lyndsey Kelley, allowed the Falcons to build a 6-0 lead early. Pitcher Madelyn Thomas briefly lost command in the bottom of the second as Tiger batters Lillie Gallup and Jayda Nichols, the latter of whom was taking her first varsity at-bat of the season, walked home a pair of runs. Kelley rediscovered her command from there, though, allowing just one hit the rest of the way. A four-run flurry in the fourth and an extra insurance run in the fifth gave Notre Dame all the edge it needed as a 1-2-3 double play slammed the door in the top of the fifth, securing the mercy rule victory.

8th grade Tiger ace pitcher Kylea Schwenker, the only currently available pitcher for New London-WMU, surrendered 11 runs, all of which were earned, on 12 hits in the outing, but head coach Emily Parks praised her young starter regardless, “I can’t say anything but that I’m proud of her, being an 8th grader and coming to varsity, that’s a lot of pressure, but she doesn’t let it get to her. She puts her head down, knows what she has to do, and she keeps going.”

Thomas went the distance, surrendering two runs, both earned, three hits and five walks while taking home the win. She led the way offensively for the Falcons as well, recording three runs and three RBIs while batting a perfect 4-4 with a double.

The Tigers will return to action on Monday when they host the Hillcrest Ravens (4-7) in Winfield, while the Falcons’ next games will come on Saturday with a tournament at Cedar Rapids Jefferson.