Bulldogs' offense overpowers Festus

~ Lauren Reinagel threw her fourth no-hitter in her last five outings.

The Notre Dame softball team had all phases of its game working Saturday afternoon.

Lauren Reinagel threw five innings of no-hit ball, her fourth in five outings.

The Bulldogs cranked out 12 hits along with three successful sacrifices or squeezes and four stolen bases.

And Reinagel was backed by some nifty defense, including eliminating two Festus baserunners with pickoff plays.

With everything working, Notre Dame (26-0) needed just five innings to crush the Tigers 11-0 in the Class 3 District 2 championship game.

The Bulldogs, winners of four straight district titles and six of the last seven, advanced to Wednesday's sectional contest against De Soto (24-3). The Bulldogs will try to avenge last year's loss in a 4:30 p.m. meeting at the Park Hills Memorial Sports Complex.

"That's the best team we faced all year," Festus coach Jeff Montgomery said after facing the Bulldogs in a district final for the second year in a row. "Outstanding. We knew we couldn't make any mistakes and when we did, they took advantage."

Festus (14-9, including two losses to De Soto) made five errors, but Notre Dame also took matters into its own hands by putting the ball in play on 27 of 28 at-bats and running at nearly every opportunity.

"They run the bases well," Montgomery said. "They're smart, fast and an experienced team."

Experienced but young. Notre Dame has only four seniors in its lineup.

One of those seniors, catcher Lauren Bond, made her presence felt defensively by picking a runner off first base to end the third inning and another off second to end the fourth.

"We haven't been getting very many pickoff plays because we haven't had a lot of baserunners," Bond said.

"They work on them throughout the summer and throughout the season," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "It's nice to have it when you need it, and it paid off today and may pay off later in the year."

The first pickoff bailed Reinagel, who improved to 25-0, out of a bit of a pickle. With Notre Dame leading 5-0, Reinagel allowed her first baserunner on a leadoff walk in the top of the third and then threw wildly into center field on Festus' one-out bunt attempt. Leadoff hitter Brittany Abrams then struck out on a swinging bunt and Bond threw to second baseman Alex Fowler behind the baserunner at first, leading to a rundown for the final out.

"That was just a coincidence," Bond said of the strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out. "Usually when she pitches it, it's supposed to be outside where they can't hit it."

The only other threat came in the fourth, when Reinagel walked the leadoff hitter and Festus' Brianne Frey hit a ball down the third-base line that was too difficult for Allison Peters, who made a hit-robbing play in the second inning, to record an out. That inning ended with Bond picking off the lead runner at second base.

Reinagel finished with eight strikeouts.

"She has several pitches, and they're all out pitches," Montgomery said.

Bond, who caught Notre Dame's duo of Beth Schnurbusch and Miranda Schlosser last year, said Reinagel is effective at controlling a variety of pitches that have a lot of movement.

"Lauren has a lot more movement" than Schnurbusch and Schlosser, Bond said. "She throws a little harder than Miranda, but not much. And Beth had just as many pitches, but Lauren throws with more accuracy."

Reinagel also helped herself by pounding a two-run double to the wall in the first inning. That capped a three-run inning that featured a single by Erika Reinagel, a bunt by Britney Schott, a single by Alexis Ralls and a squeeze bunt by Heather Menz. On the squeeze, Festus pitcher Ashley Sauer threw wildly to the plate and Ralls and Menz ended up in scoring position for Reinagel.

Notre Dame added two more in the second. Bond singled, Peters sacrificed and Erika Reinagel singled and stole second. Schott ripped a line drive that Sauer snagged for the second out. Ralls hit a grounder that shortstop Janeisha Culton could not handle, scoring one run and moving Erika Reinagel to third, from where she scored on a wild pitch.

In the third, Whitney Eftink and Fowler singled to set up an RBI single by Peters.

The Bulldogs put the game out of reach in the fourth. Two runs scored when Lauren Reinagel hit a ball that Festus' shortstop could not handle. Pinch-hitter Nikki Chambers drilled a two-run single into left to give Notre Dame a 10-run cushion. She scored on part of a double steal as an insurance run on the mercy rule.

"They're a good-hitting team and Lauren threw well," Graviett said. "We executed when we needed to and we got hits when we needed to."

Festus 000 00 -- 0 0 5

Notre Dame 321 5x -- 11 12 2

WP -- Lauren Reinagel, 25-0. LP -- Ashley Sauer. 2B -- L. Reinagel (ND), Alexis Ralls (ND). Multiple hits -- ND, Erika Reinagel 2-4, Ralls 2-3, Whitney Eftink 2-3. Records -- Notre Dame, 26-0; Festus, 14-9.