Heisserer pitches Notre Dame baseball team past Chaffee 8-2

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- The Notre Dame baseball team was in need of a pick-me-up after Tuesday's rare lopsided loss.

Having their ace pitcher on the mound was the right tonic for the Bulldogs.

Cody Heisserer struck out 14 and struggled in just one inning as the Bulldogs beat host Chaffee 8-2 on Wednesday.

Notre Dame, which lost at Class 3 District 1 rival Kennett 8-1 on Tuesday in the SEMO Conference tournament championship game, is 15-4.

"We knew we had to win this game," said sophomore Cody DeBrock, who aided the cause with his first varsity home run. "We had a good pitcher on the mound."

The ball slips from the hands of Chaffee's Cody Johnson as Notre Dame baserunner Justin Landewee slides safely into second base during the seventh inning of their game Wednesday in Chaffee, Mo. (Laura Simon)

Heisserer, a junior right-hander among the best in the area, improved to 6-1 as his ERA remained well below 2.00.

"When you have to take a loss, you want to have your ace on the mound [the next game]," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "He comes to the point where you expect him to win every time out."

Heisserer carried a two-hit shutout and a 6-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Red Devils got four of their six hits in the frame that produced both their runs.

"I started getting tired toward the end," said Heisserer, who finished strong with a hitless seventh inning. "I had to bear down and throw strikes.

Notre Dame's Cody Heisserer delivers a pitch during Wednesday's game in Chaffee, Mo.

"Chaffee is a solid team. This gets our confidence back up. We just have to put that Kennett game behind us and move on."

Chaffee coach Brian Horrell liked the way his players kept battling against Heisserer, who did not issue a walk while hitting one batter in the final frame.

"Early we had some chances," said Horrell, whose squad put a runner on third base with nobody out in the second inning only to see Heisserer strike out the next three batters. "But Heisserer is a great pitcher, one of the best in the area.

"It was nice to see us battle late."

Junior left-hander Alex Davie also had his moments despite taking the loss.

Davie allowed eight hits and six runs, five earned, in five innings. He struck out four and walked two.

"We beat a quality Chaffee team," Graviett said. "I thought Davie did a good job and they made some great plays in the field."

Notre Dame broke a scoreless tie with an unearned run in the third inning.

Kyle Campbell reached on an infield single with one out. He stole second with two outs.

Jonathan Lynch hit a ground ball to the right side, where first baseman Cole Hanna made a diving stop.

But Hanna's toss to Davie covering the bag was wild. Lynch reached on the infield single and Campbell came home on the throwing error.

"He [Hanna] made a great play getting to that ball," Graviett said.

Davie's only inning of wildness burned him in the fifth when Notre Dame scored three times to go up 4-0.

DeBrock was hit by a pitch leading off and Campbell sacrificed. Derek Landewee and Lynch drew consecutive walks to load the bases.

DeBrock came home on a wild pitch and Eric Hayes delivered a two-run single.

Davie was relieved in the sixth inning after Tyler Buelow led off with a single and DeBrock crushed a two-run homer well beyond the right-field fence, making it 6-0.

"All in all I thought he [Davie] pitched all right," Horrell said.

DeBrock, a part-time starter who bats left-handed, made no mistake by turning on a Davie fastball.

"He left a fastball up. I didn't miss it," DeBrock said. "I knew it was out once I hit it."

Chaffee finally broke through against Heisserer in the sixth inning.

Cody Payne singled with one out and Jared Walker doubled. Trevor Cannon's ground out scored Payne and Walker came in on a wild pitch.

Davie and Andrew Terhune followed with singles but Heisserer escaped further trouble with a strikeout.

Notre Dame tacked on two seventh-inning insurance runs, getting RBI singles from Buelow and DeBrock.

DeBrock had two hits and three RBIs. Buelow added two of Notre Dame's 10 hits.

Terhune paced the Red Devils with two hits.

Horrell was glad Chaffee got to face two of the area's top pitchers -- the Red Devils were shut out by Oak Ridge's Brett Thomas later Wednesday to fall to 17-6 -- with district play set to begin Saturday.

"These are the kind of pitchers we need to see," Horrell said.

Notre Dame 001 032 2 -- 8 10 0

Chaffee 000 002 0 -- 2 6 4

WP -- Cody Heisserer. LP -- Alex Davie. HR -- Cody DeBrock (ND). 2B -- Jared Walker (C), Trevor Cannon (C). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame: DeBrock 2-3, Tyler Buelow 2-4. Chaffee: Andrew Terhune 2-3. Records -- Notre Dame 15-4, Chaffee 17-5.