y, Notre Dame will not play at home again until Jan. 5.TIP-IN

SEATTLE -- All the reports from the minors said Mike Zunino was making the changes the Seattle Mariners wanted to see. His power was still there, but the strikeouts were down and the pitch recognition was improved.Now back in the majors, Zunino provided a promising glimpse on Saturday night of what the Mariners hope is an improved version of the former first-round pick.Zunino homered twice in his first game of the season, Nelson Cruz and Seth Smith both hit three-run home runs, and the Mariners slugged past the Baltimore Orioles 12-6 on Saturday night.Adam Lind had four hits including a solo homer as the Mariners won for the sixth time in eight games and took their third straight from the AL East leading Orioles.Its always exciting to get back. Obviously how last year ended isnt how you write it up. Theres been a lot of work put into it and just to get the opportunity to come back and do that, that was a lot of fun, Zunino said. To come in and have that type of game was even better.Cruz staked Seattle to a 3-0 lead with his 21st homer of the season in the first inning off Baltimore starter Tyler Wilson (4-6) and Zunino extended it to 5-0 in the second on a two-run shot in his first at-bat of the season after being called up from Triple-A Tacoma earlier this week.Zunino, a former first-round pick by the Mariners, was rushed to the majors early in his career and his hitting suffered, bottoming out last year when he hit .174 in 112 games. Seattle spent the offseason retooling Zuninos approach at the plate, but the goal was to keep him at Triple-A for most of the season.When backup catcher Steve Clevenger suffered a broken bone in his hand earlier this week, a move needed to be made and Zunino was the obvious choice. He lined a 1-2 curveball from Wilson out in the second inning then drove the first pitch from reliever Mychal Givens in the sixth.Perhaps most impressive of his three times on base, Zunino walked in the eighth laying off borderline pitches he went after in the past.Its not easy to go back to the minor leagues and work on things and have a good attitude about it, Seattle manager Scott Servais said. Happy for him and a big night no doubt. Wasnt expecting two home runs but well take it.Cruzs homer was estimated at 459 feet and landed above the bullpens in deep left-center and the five home runs helped Seattle move into second in the majors with 122, trailing only Baltimore.Smith ended Wilsons night with a three-run shot in the fourth, getting the green light on a 3-0 pitch for his ninth homer of the season. It was Smiths third straight game with a home run and he finished with four RBI.I dont swing 3-0 very often but sometimes you want to take a chance and see what happens, Smith said.Wilson failed to record an out in the fourth before getting pulled. It was his shortest outing of the season as a starter.Hes not as quite as crisp as he was . Hes just not carrying the same crispness he had earlier in the season, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said.The offensive outburst gave leeway for Seattle starter James Paxton when he struggled in the later innings. Paxton (2-3) was dominant for four innings, but couldnt make it out of the sixth after allowing five base runners in the inning. Tom Wilhelmsen got a pop out from Adam Jones with the bases loaded to escape the sixth.Chris Davis had three RBI, including a two-run homer in the seventh off reliever Nathan Karns.TRAINERS ROOMOrioles: Showalter sounded pessimistic that RHP Darren ODay (hamstring) would be able to throw a bullpen session when the Orioles are in Los Angeles early next week. ODays been on the disabled list since June 3.Mariners: LHP Charlie Furbush threw a simulated game as he continues his recovery from shoulder problems. Furbush will likely be sent out on a rehab assignment soon.UP NEXTOrioles: Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7) goes for his third straight victory. Jimenez gave up one run in five innings in his last start against San Diego.Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma (7-6) starts the finale of the four-game series. Iwakuma threw 6 2/3 innings in his last start to get the win. 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Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Any thoughts of top-ranked Notre Dame looking past Valparaiso and peeking ahead to Wednesdays clash with No. 2 Connecticut were quickly put to rest Sunday as the Fighting Irish used a 26-0 start to coast to a 114-54 win over Valparaiso.It was a pretty good start, I was happy with that, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. Were trying to work on a couple different things and I thought we had some urgency and some intensity early on I thought was good.Freshman Jackie Young led six Irish players in double figures with 20 points.Despite hitting 1 of 8 from the field to start the game, the Irish (8-0) scored the first 26 points. During that stretch, Valparaiso attempted just five shots while committing 10 turnovers.Arike Ogunbowale scored 12 points in the decisive first half as the Irish raced to a 72-23 halftime lead. The 72 points tied a school record for most points in a half. Notre Dame hit 30 of 42 shots (71.4 percent) from the field in the opening 20 minutes and 48 of 75 from the field. Notre Dame shot a season-high 64 percent from the field.They came out just on a mission, Valparaiso coach Tracey Dorow said. They put us on our heels early and dominated that whole half, especially the first quarter.Young, a freshman guard, scored her career-high 20 points by hitting 8 of 9 from the field, including 3 of 4 3-pointers.I shot well, but I have a lot to work on and just understanding the defense a little more and then I think Ill get more comfortable, Young said.Ogunbowale finished with 18 for the Irish, Marina Mabrey scored 16, freshman Erin Boley added 15, Brianna Turner chipped in 13 and Kathryn Westbeld had 10.Valparaiso (4-4) was led by Dani Franklin, who scored 18 points as the Crusaders were limited to 22 of 58 from the field (37.9 percent). Valparaiso committed 31 turnovers and Notre Dame pounced. The Irishh held a 50-14 advantage in points off turnovers.dddddddddddd Notre Dame also outscored Valparaiso 70-16 in the paint. Georgi Donchetz added 10 points for the Crusaders.The 114 points Notre Dame scored fell shy of the school record of 128, which the Irish scored against Mercer in 2011 and Saint Francis in 2012.They could have run the score up on us, Dorow said, and I dont think they did.BIG PICTUREValparaiso: Before Sundays game, Valparaiso had not had a winning record this late in the season since 2008-09.Notre Dame: A challenging stretch awaits the Irish as they host Connecticut next, then embark on a string of six consecutive road games. After Wednesday, Notre Dame will not play at home again until Jan. 5.TIP-INSFormer Notre Dame standout and current associate head coach Niele Ivey was inducted in the schools Ring of Honor. Ivey captained Notre Dames 2001 national championship team. Valparaisos previous trip to Notre Dames Purcell Pavilion came two years ago when former Irish star Skylar Diggins was given the same honor. ... Valparaiso was Notre Dames first opponent in program history. The Irish were 48-41 winners over the Crusaders on Dec. 3, 1977. . Several members of Notre Dames mens team sat near the court and watched the game. The Irish men host North Carolina A&T later Sunday. ... Notre Dames 38 rebounds were a season low. ... The Irish had a season-high 19 steals.UP NEXTValparaiso: After playing on consecutive days, the Crusaders get a bit of a rest, not playing again until Saturday when they host Grace College. Valparaiso faces another quick turnaround, however, when it travels to face Indiana on Sunday.Notre Dame: The Irish host No. 2 Connecticut on Wednesday in a matchup of national powers. ' ' '