CHAFFEE FINALLY COLLARS BULLDOGS

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Notre Dame's recent dominance in Class 2A baseball officially came to an end Wednesday.

Chaffee, which always seemed to come up on the short end of Notre Dame's big sticks, downed the Bulldogs 10-2 in a SEMO Conference game at Harmon Field.

"This was a big win," Chaffee coach Brian Horrell said. "It seems they've had our number the last few years. They've been a juggernaut in 2A, but we finally got 'em. We've got to enjoy this while we can."

Chaffee rode another solid outing by ace Matt Stroup. Though Notre Dame hit some balls hard against the 6-foot right-hander, Stroup struck out 10, walked none and induced two double-play balls. He allowed six hits and hit a batter. Both Notre Dame runs were earned.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, struggled with some of the fundamentals. Three Notre Dame hurlers combined for six walks, one hit batsman and a wild pitch. On top of that, the Bulldogs committed three errors which led to three unearned runs.

"We have to be ready on defense, but we have to throw strikes, too," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "But I'm pretty satisfied with the way we hit. Sure, I would've liked to put the ball in play more, but Stroup's a good pitcher. I thought we hit the ball harder than they did."

Chaffee, unlike Notre Dame, was able to string some hits together and produce with runners in scoring position. The Red Devils had nine hits total, two by Rusty Duncan and two by G.P. Glueck.

Duncan and Glueck had two runs batted in each.

Chaffee got out to a 3-0 lead with a three-run second inning. Duncan walked, Shawn Powderly singled and Zac Horman singled to lead off the inning. Horman's single drove home Duncan, Powderly scored on an error and Rice drove home Horman on an error.

The Red Devils plated another run in the third on Duncan's first RBI single to take a 4-0 lead.

"We go back to the game against Jackson and the game against Sikeston where we got in big holes early and have to fight our way out," Graviett said. "We're a better team and I'm a better coach when we get ahead. We're not handling adversity real well right now."

Notre Dame cut the lead in half with two runs in the fourth. Scott Wittenborn, Notre Dame's starting pitcher, drove home two on a sharp single.

Chaffee answered with two in the botom of the fourth when Glueck ripped a bases-loaded single to left field. The Red Devils kept attacking in the sixth when three singles and an error resulted in three more runs.

Shane Kistner led Notre Dame with two hits.