SALEM - - Rahcel Fischer and Mindy Combs each hit a two-run home run and senior Rachel Hawks tossed a complete game shutout as UVa-Wise run-ruled Notre Dame College 9-0 in five innings in a winner's bracket game in the inaugural Mountain East Conference Softball Tournament.  The victory was the second in as many days for the Cavaliers who will advance to face number one seed West Virginia Wesleyan in the winner's bracket championship game at 5 pm on Saturday.

UVa-Wise (35-14) started its offensive explosion in the second inning when Fischer capped a 10-pitch at bat with a two-run homer to left field.  It would be all Hawks would need in the circle as she worked around a pair of errors in the first frame and a lead-off walk in the second inning to keep Notre Dame (24-29-1) off the scoreboard.

It would be the last real threat the Falcons would pose to Hawks. As she cruised to her 11th victory of the year in the circle.

The Cavaliers' offensive onslaught continued in the third when a Kristina Roumualdo base hit allowed Combs to scamper home with the third run of the game.

With Hawks in full control, UVa-Wise put the game out of reach with a six-run fourth inning.  In the big frame, Christina Ziemba had a two-run double,  Fischer added a two-run single, and Combs had her two-run blast in building a 9-0 lead.

Trailing by nine runs, Notre Dame needed to score at least two runs to continue the contest or lose by run-rule.  The Falcons would get a base runner on a walk but would be unable to push across a run as UVa-Wise claimed the tournament victory.

Six Cavs had at least one hit in the game and Fischer finished 2-2 with a pair of runs and four RBIs. Combs had a pair of hits, a pair of runs, and a pair of RBIs to go along with a stolen base for UVa-Wise.

In the regular season UVa-Wise and West Virginia Wesleyan split a pair of games with the Bobcats winning 1-0 and the Cavs winning 9-5.  The winner of the winner's bracket final will have to be defeated twice on Sunday in the championship series.

You can listen to the action live on www.mountaineast.org and also follow along with live in-game statistics.