BULLDOGS DEFUSE SIKESTON OFFENSE FOR SLICK 5-0 WIN

Notre Dame made it look easy Tuesday.

The Bulldogs were nearly flawless on the field and Brian Obermann tossed a four-hit shutout as Notre Dame pinned visiting Sikeston 5-0 to remain unbeaten in SEMO conference play.

Even when Notre Dame looked mortal, it quickly glossed over the situation.

* When Obermann walked the first batter he faced, he promptly picked him off.

* And when Notre Dame shortstop Josh Eftink threw the ball away on a tough double-play attempt in the second inning, Obermann picked off the runner at second.

* Runner at first and second with nobody out in the third? No problem: force out at third, strike out, unassisted put out, inning over.

That seemed to be the trend throughout the game Tuesday. Notre Dame (14-2, 6-0) extinguished threats before they became serious. Sikeston (10-5, 3-2) didn't even have a runner reach third.

Notre Dame's defense turned a double play, got good jumps on balls hit in the outfield and generally scooped up anything hit on the ground.

"Obermann got good defense behind him," Notre Dame coach Chris Neff said. "In his last three or four outings the defense has played well behind him. I like the way we're coming together here late in the season."

Obermann (4-1) continued Notre Dame's pitching prowess. Notre Dame, which entered the game with a 1.65 team earned run average, has allowed one earned run in its last four games. He went the distance, striking out six and walking two.

"Obermann looked sharp," Neff said. "He was changing speeds real well and hitting his zones."

Sikeston had been on quite a streak of its own, winning six straight games heading into Tuesday's contest.

Notre Dame jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after three doubles. Leadoff-hitting left fielder Nathan Essner's double to lead off the game was legitimate, but John O'Rourke's and Scott Reinagel's run-producing doubles were catchable flies that got lost in the sunlight by Sikeston right fielder Craig Jobe.

"They made the plays defensively and we didn't," Sikeston coach Kevin Self said. "If we catch those fly balls in the first inning, it's a whole different ballgame. We really looked flat.

"But I have to tip my cap to Obermann. He threw a real good ballgame. He stayed away from us and mixed his speeds really well. And the balls we did hit hard, we hit it right at them. To be shut out is pretty disheartening when you've been scoring 12, 13 runs a game."

Notre Dame tacked on two more runs in the third on RBI singles by Reinagel and Matt Bollinger.

Notre Dame scored its final run in the fifth when O'Rourke reached on a fielder's choice then later scored from second on a wild pickoff attempt by Sikeston hurler Billy Puckett.

Puckett allowed two earned runs on six Notre Dame hits. He fanned three and walked two.