Bulldogs get speedster back

Notre Dame featured one of the state's best offenses last fall, hitting for a .378 team batting average while capturing third place in Class 3.

The Bulldogs did that without their leadoff batter and possibly their best hitter, Paris Burger, who sat out the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.

Burger, a senior, is back after surgery and a lengthy offseason rehabilitation program, which also kept her from playing basketball this past winter. And despite Notre Dame graduating four starters off last year's squad, coach Jeff Graviett said the offense should be even stronger with Burger batting near the top of the order.

"Our offense is definitely where it was last year, and if you throw Paris in there, we're going to be a little bit better," Graviett said.

Burger, who played on varsity both as a freshman and sophomore and was an all-state outfielder as a sophomore, will start at first base. She spent the summer playing for the SEMO Magic and feels ready for the high school season. She thinks her team has enough talent to win a state title.

Burger batted .400 with 34 hits and 24 stolen bases as a freshman. She batted .521 with 49 hits and 13 stolen bases as a sophomore.

"I'm ready for this year because I've wanted a state title," Burger said. "I want to be the first [Notre Dame softball] team to win it. After sitting out last year, it just makes me want it more. This is the team to do it, I think. We are all compatible. We're all good friends. And we just have fun and we love what we do."

AARON EISEHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Paris Burger took a swing Wednesday during Notre Dame's game against Central.

Burger did dress in uniform, sit in the Bulldogs dugout and root on her team each game last year.

"I was well supportive of Notre Dame's team, and I'm glad they had a grand season, but it was hard sitting there and knowing that Paris wanted to be out there," Burger's father, Jamie Burger said. "She is extremely, extremely fired up about this fall season."

Mixed emotions

Burger, who tore the ACL and meniscus while playing basketball July 28, 2007, certainly experienced mixed emotions during the 2007 softball season.

She enjoyed supporting the team, but often was sad because she wanted to be out contributing on the field.

Her mixed emotions only were heightened by knowing that she could not contribute when her team was having one of its best seasons in program history. Notre Dame went undefeated in the regular season (23-0) then posted wins in its three district contests.

Notre Dame lost 3-0 to Webb City in the Class 3 semifinals before winning the third-place game,2-1 over Platte County, to finish 29-1.

"I always wanted to be out there," Burger said. "I wasn't sad because they had an amazing year last year. I was glad I was a part of the team, but it was just sad because I love the game so much and I love to play and I just missed it."

Jamie Burger said his daughter still was excited when the Bulldogs won.

"She'd come home and she'd be fired up that they won, and she'd be happy about the trips they were going to take and all the food they were going to [eat]," he said. "But I knew at the same time that it was hurting her inside not being able to play."

The road back

One positive sign right after the surgery was that Burger was able to straighten her knee completely and raise it straight up without assistance.

"He [her doctor] knew her rehabilitation was going to be fairly easy," Jamie said. "Not that it was easy, but we went ... for physical therapy and then we did the acceleration program and she really kind of breezed through it. It wasn't that she didn't have any pain. But all in all, it didn't go too bad."

Burger started physical therapy about a month after surgery. She then participated in an acceleration program three times a week, which took place into the basketball season.

"In acceleration, we worked on speed and I worked on getting back to where I was," Burger said. "Coach Graviett timed me and said that you couldn't even tell I had surgery."

Burger and the offense

Burger will be expected to provide speed to the Notre Dame lineup.

Burger batted second in the order behind Erika Reinagel in the first game this season, a 5-0 win over Central on Wednesday.

Reinagel, a left-handed slap hitter, did a strong job of getting on base by using her speed while leading the team through districts with 51 hits and a .614 batting average last fall. She also used her quickness to steal a team-leading 32 bases.

Graviett said Burger, along with Reinagel at the top of the lineup, provides a second pesky hitter able to use her speed to get on base and get into scoring position for the middle of the batting order. For that reason, Graviett thinks the lineup might be better than last year.

Burger is left-handed, like Reinagel. She typically is a slap hitter, but she thinks she has improved as a hitter by working on her upper-body strength.

"In the lineup she's a second Erika," Graviett said. "And if you get two of those girls with speed on the left side and they're going to bat right around .500, that's all you can ask for. ... Now you almost have two in the same spot where we almost lived off of one last year. Now you've got to deal with two of them at the top. It's going to be tough for a lot of teams."

Ace pitcher Lauren Reinagel said Burger will be a big help joining center fielder Erika Reinagel at the top of the lineup.

"Paris' power is her running," Lauren Reinagel said. "Her and Erika are going to help us out a lot. I think they're going to run and they're going to score."

Graviett will look for Erika Reinagel and Burger to get on base in front of the middle of the lineup that is somewhat different from last year.

First-year starter Jane Morrill, a junior, hit third in the order Wednesday. Alexis Ralls returns to bat cleanup, while Lauren Reinagel hits fifth.

Junior Alecia Glaus replaces Lauren Bond at catcher. Brooke Glastetter replaces Allison Peters at third base.

Ready to go

Burger did not play any organized sports until this summer when she was a member of the SEMO Magic.

She said playing 50 to 60 games with the Magic helped her to gain back some confidence and eliminate any fear about the leg being a problem.

She said she is ready both physically and mentally for the high school season.

"First game back [during the summer] I was really nervous," Burger said. "I was like, 'Oh, how is this going to be?' ... If I think about it too much it will affect my game. It doesn't hurt. It doesn't ever bother me. So I just play my game and do what I do and just pray for the best."

There were a few times during the summer when the knee was tested, Jamie Burger said. His daughter's knee felt funny when she slid into second base early on.

Later in the season, there was a play at the plate where Burger slid into home and the knee popped. But after icing the knee, she felt fine.

"We felt that put it to a pretty brutal test and she survived, so we're very, very pleased with the surgery and the rehabilitation and everything," Jamie Burger said.

Burger also played first base during the summer. It's a position she had not played for about four years. It helped since she will be playing the position this fall as she takes over the position from Whitney Eftink, who graduated.

Burger feels ready. She said her team does, too.

"Hopefully, we can go 30-0," she said.