Bulldogs settle for runner-up finish

~ Kearney held on for a 4-3 victory against Notre Dame in the final.

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Notre Dame's game plan throughout the softball season was to get its two speedy freshmen on the basepaths for the heart of the order and put teams away by grabbing an early lead.

The Bulldogs appeared to have those conditions met in the bottom of the first inning of the Class 3 championship game Saturday against Kearney at the Rainbow Softball Center. Paris Burger opened the inning with an infield single, and Erika Reinagel reached on a bunt when the Kearney third baseman failed to retire Burger at second.

But Notre Dame failed to score -- two runners were thrown out at the plate in the inning -- and Kearney grabbed the momentum, scored three runs in the fourth inning and held on for a 4-3 victory in the state title game.

Kearney (25-4) captured its first crown after finishing second two of the last three years. Notre Dame (29-3) failed to capture its first state softball title in its first title-game appearance after finishing third last year.

"When you lose, you want to say the other team beat you, you didn't lose yourself," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "They just beat us today."

While Kearney's big bats delivered the victory, the first inning was the key.

Notre Dame was right where it wanted to be, with top hitter Kristain Burger up and runners on first and second. Kristain Burger failed on two bunt attempts to start the at-bat but battled back and hit what appeared to be a single through the left side of the infield. The ball did not make it to the outfield, though, and Kearney shortstop Ashley Hudson gunned out Paris Burger attempting to score from second.

"I thought it was through, there was no thinking about it," Graviett said. "Paris made a great slide but the catcher made a great tag.

"The big thing is she [Hudson] made a great play. Most shortstops give up on those balls, but she cut it off."

Reinagel and Kristain Burger moved up on the throw home, making it second and third with one out. Miranda Schlosser then attempted to lay down a squeeze bunt, but the ball stopped right in front of the catcher, who tagged out Reinagel at home. Bailey Reutzel grounded out to second to end the inning.

"You get one or two runs in the first and it's a totally different ball game," Graviett said.

Notre Dame starter Beth Schnurbusch sailed through the first three innings without allong a baserunner. She struck out the side in the third.

But in the fourth, Kearney's first four hitters hit Schnurbusch hard. Hudson led off with a single, and Amanda Bradberry blooped a single just in front of left fielder Paris Burger. Kristen Hessel, who was 3-for-3 in the semifinals, laced a full-count double to the fence to give Kearney a 2-0 lead. Brittany Johnson then hit a long fly to center that hit off Reinagel's glove and scored Hessel for a 3-0 lead.

"We talked to the kids about being patient," Kearney coach Paul Lorbert said. "That's been our strength this season, our hitters. The kids stayed patient, and things started falling in for us."

Kearney added an insurance run on Hudson's home run.

Notre Dame began to rally in the bottom of the sixth. Reinagel and Schlosser both reached on errors. After Reutzel walked with two outs, Cortney Ostendorf singled into right field to put Notre Dame on the board. Heather Menz flied to center to end the rally.

"We may have been able to score two in the sixth if I pushed Miranda on," Graviett said.

Down 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Eden Ellison and Allison Peters, Notre Dame's Nos. 8 and No. 9 hitters, started the inning with back-to-back singles. Paris Burger sacrificed to make it second and third with one out. Reinagel delivered an RBI infield single to close the gap to 4-2, and Kristain Burger followed with a sacrifice fly to right field. Reinagel, representing the tying run, moved into scoring position on the play. Cleanup hitter Schlosser hit the ball sharply, but Johnson knocked it down and made the throw to first to end the game.

"Once those two [Ellison and Peters] got on, you're pretty sure Kristain's going to the plate, and that's what we wanted to accomplish right there," Graviett said.

Johnson allowed seven hits and one walk along with four strikeouts to get the win. Hudson had two of Kearney's six hits and scored twice.

"It's exciting," said Lorbert, whose team has only two seniors. "We've been here before, and second place is quite an accomplishment. It's hard to express in words how exciting this is, how great it feels to be a state champ."

On the other side, Notre Dame's lone senior, Ellison, had two hits.

"She'd been struggling in the postseason, and she stepped up today and answered the bell and had two hits," Graviett said. "That's what you expect of a leader. Hats off to her, she ended her career on a positive note."

Schnurbusch allowed six hits, struck out six and did not walk a batter.

Notre Dame had two freshmen and two sophomores in its starting lineup.

"You look at all four teams up here and they're all young," Graviett said. "We challenged the girls, it's whoever works the hardest between now and then.

"We came up here last year to see whether we belonged. Now we have a lot of confidence in Class 3. We feel we can compete with anyone in the state."