ST. MARY'S CITY, MD - The conference opener for the Gators proved to be a hotly contested doubleheader as Notre Dame of Maryland narrowly fell to St. Mary's College of Maryland 6-1 and 3-2.

GAME 1:
Notre Dame of Maryland dropped a 6–1 decision to St. Mary's College of Maryland on Saturday afternoon at the Hawk's Nest in St. Mary's City in game one of the doubleheader.

The Gators struck first in the opening inning, showing early offensive life. After reaching base, Donny White came around to score on an RBI single from Brendan Altman, giving Notre Dame an early 1–0 advantage.

St. Mary's responded immediately in the bottom half of the inning, capitalizing on aggressive baserunning and a Notre Dame defensive miscue to tie the game before taking a 2–1 lead on an RBI single from K. Hnath.

The Seahawks extended their lead in the third inning with a three-run frame. Timely hitting and stolen bases helped St. Mary's manufacture runs, highlighted by another RBI hit from Kaden Hnath and a sacrifice fly that pushed the margin to 5–1.

Notre Dame starting pitcher AJ Williams battled through 4.1 innings, recording two strikeouts, but St. Mary's collected 10 hits against him. Braydon Valle provided solid relief work, tossing 1.2 innings and allowing just one unearned run while keeping the Gators within reach late.

GAME 2:
The Notre Dame of Maryland Gators dropped a tightly contested road matchup to the St. Mary's Seahawks, 3–2, Sunday afternoon at Hawk's Nest in game two.

After falling behind 3–0 through the first three innings, the Gators responded with their strongest offensive push in the fifth. Mark Reineke delivered the big swing of the day, ripping a two-run triple to center field that scored Gavin Boughton and Ryan Parks, cutting the deficit to one run. The rally marked Notre Dame's only scoring of the game but brought new life into the contest.

Notre Dame finished with six hits, led by Parks, who went 2-for-2 with a walk, and Reineke, who drove in both runs. Chase Cichocki, Zane Cook, and Brennan Deremeik each added a hit, while the Gators were aggressive on the base paths with stolen bases from Boughton and Anthony Venable.

On the mound, Braydon Valle provided a heroic effort, helping a depleted pitching staff by tossing five innings and allowing just two runs while striking out four to keep Notre Dame within striking distance. The Gators' defense was sharp throughout, committing no errors and turning a double play in the opening inning.

Notre Dame had a chance to mount a final rally in the seventh, putting runners on base, but St. Mary's closed the door to secure the win.

The Gators will look to build on the strong performance when they return home to host Penn State York on Tuesday, March 3 at 3 PM with the game being played at Joe Cannon Stadium in Hanover, MD.