2 out of 3 ain't bad

Notre Dame Regional High School's three-sport Sportsfest wrapped up Saturday with championships in softball, soccer and volleyball.

The day belonged to Bulldogs fans. Notre Dame won the softball and volleyball tournaments, and the soccer team recovered from Friday's loss to finish third.

"From a Notre Dame fan's perspective, it doesn't get much better," Bulldogs softball coach Jeff Graviett said.

All three Notre Dame teams were in action at the same time, with a 5 p.m. start time in volleyball and soccer, as well as a delayed softball championship start time which began shortly after 5 p.m.

Notre Dame's softball team had a strong day, winning two tight games to improve to 6-0. The Bulldogs snuck by Poplar Bluff 3-2 in the semifinals behind 6 2/3 innings from Kristain Burger, then used a strong defensive performance to defeat Festus, Mo., St. Pius in the finals 3-1.

"Defense carried us through the championship," Graviett said.

St. Pius helped the Bulldogs out with some poor defense of its own. In Notre Dame's big inning -- a two-run second -- St. Pius committed three errors. Alana Weissmueller knocked in the second run of the inning with a single.

Notre Dame added another run in the third on a two-out RBI single from freshman Heather Menz. Burger started the rally with a double.

"We thought we'd have some growing pains," Graviett said. "But we've got three seniors who've been there before."

St. Pius made things interesting with a run in the sixth, but Notre Dame pitcher Beth Schnurbusch was able to get out of the jam. Schnurbusch came back in the seventh with a perfect inning to pick up her fourth win. Weissmueller, Notre Dame's third basemen, highlighted Notre Dame's strong defensive day with a diving catch in foul ground to end the game.

"I'll put them against anyone in the state," Graviett said of the left side of his defense.

Kelly took third with a 5-3 win over Poplar Bluff, and Delta finished the tournament 1-2 with a 19-0 win over Park Hills Central. Kaci Menz had five hits in Delta's two games on Saturday. Sarah Cook pitched both games, including a tough loss 4-3 to Sikeston in Delta's first game. Krystal Burnett had four RBIs against Park Hills and Jenny Dannenmueller added three RBIs.

Central falls in soccer final

The only non-Notre Dame final pitted soccer rivals Central and Carbondale against each other for the fourth time in the past two seasons. Central handed Carbondale three losses last season, as Carbondale went on to finish in second in the small school division in Illinois.

Saturday night's battle was physical, with Carbondale winning a whistle-filled game 4-0.

"They were probably a little more up for it," Central coach Tom Doyle said.

Central had the better chances early on, but several quality crosses just missed connecting with charging forwards. Just minutes after a near miss from the Tigers, Joey Kelly took a loose ball just outside the goal box and buried it in the lower left corner for a 1-0 Carbondale lead.

A muffed clearance from Central goalie Tony Leuckel led to the second goal with 10:21 left in the half. Kelly once again put the goal away for Carbondale. The score remained 2-0 at halftime.

"The first half, I felt we didn't play our game at all. We were kick and run, kick and run, and our game is possession," he said.

Carbondale's third goal midway through the half came off a deflection from a Central defender, and they added another goal late. The second half was slowed by several injuries along with 42 whistles.

In the third-place game Notre Dame held off Jackson 2-1. Abe Dirnberger and Andrew Buelow scored for Notre Dame. Frankie Ellis and Tyler LeGrand assisted. Chris Kraust scored Jackson's lone goal with an assist to Tyler Beussink.

Bulldogs dominate volleyball

Notre Dame powered past Marshfield 26-24, 25-17 in the volleyball championship. Amber Karnes and Allison Essner had 25 assists apiece for the Bulldogs. Amanda Essner led Notre Dame with seven kills.

Notre Dame made the championship match by defeating Trinity Catholic 25-20, 25-19 in the semifinals. Karnes had 27 assists and Allison Essner had 24. Amanda Essner had nine kills against Trinity.

In the junior varsity final Notre Dame beat St. Vincent 7-25, 25-6, 25-19.

Finals

Notre Dame 3, St. Pius 1

Notre Dame 021 000 0 -- 3 11 1

St. Pius 000 001 0 -- 1 2 5

WP -- Beth Schnurbusch, 4-0. 2B -- Kristain Burger (N). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame, Heather Menz 2-3; Burger 2-2. Records -- Notre Dame 6-0.

Semifinals

Notre Dame 3, Poplar Bluff 2

Notre Dame 000 201 0 -- 3 4 0

Poplar Bluff 000 001 1 -- 2 3 0

WP -- Kristain Burger, 2-0. LP -- Ploetze. 2B -- Burger (N), Ploetze (P). Multiple hits -- Poplar Bluff, Ploetze 2-3. Records -- Notre Dame 5-0.

Seventh-place

Delta 19, Park Hills Central 0

Park Hills 000 0 -- 0 0 X

Delta 433 9 -- 19 8 X

WP -- Sarah Cook, 4-3. LP -- Kennard. Multiple hits -- Delta, Kaci Menz 3-3; Kacie Seabaugh 2-3; Krystal Burnett 2-2. Records -- Delta 4-3.