Himmelberg again in middle of a ND state title quest

It's state tournament time, which means Notre Dame senior Mark Himmelberg's bags are packed.

For the third time this year, Himmelberg will compete in a state final four. He hopes to add a third championship ring when the Bulldogs face St. Dominic (24-3) in a Class 3 state semifinal today at Meador Park in Springfield. The first pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m.

"You can't do much better," Himmelberg said. "When you set your goals, your goal is always to get to state. To make it, it's a great feeling."

Himmelberg was the sweeper on Notre Dame's Class 2 state title soccer team, then was a guard on the Class 4 basketball state champs. According to Rick Kindhart, a Missouri State High School Activities Association assistant executive director, Himmelberg may be the only male athlete to reach the final four in three sports in one school year. Even if he isn't able to help the Bulldogs (19-6) win the state title, he knows he's enjoyed an exceptional senior year.

"You've got to be real happy, but it's kind of like the triple crown," he said. "Me and Big Brown are going at it. I'll be disappointed [if we lose], but when I look back on it when I'm in college and when I'm older, it's something I'll realize I was just really fortunate to have the opportunity to go to one final four, much less win a state championship."

Starting today's semifinal

Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett plans to start Himmelberg on the mound in today's game. Himmelberg is coming off a one-hitter against De Soto in Notre Dame's sectional game.

"I've just got to keep hitting my spots," he said. "I didn't think my stuff was the best it's been the other day, but I was hitting my spots."

Himmelberg is 7-3 with a 2.02 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 52 innings. If Himmelberg gets into trouble, Graviett said he won't hesitate to go to Dylan Drury or Colton Young.

"Himmelberg will open up for us Friday, then we'll see from there," Graviett said. "If it takes all three to get to Saturday, we'll use it. We have other guys we haven't got in the last few weeks that we have confidence in. This time of year, you could go with those three guys on Friday and they could turn around and piece something together for you Saturday."

Senior right-hander Tony Schulte saw the most action on the mound for St. Dominic. He went 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 43 innings. Kyle Kiely (4-1, 1.70 ERA), Mike Fowler (5-0, 1.00) and Mike Gebhardt (4-0, 4.10) all pitched at least 25 innings for the Crusaders this season.

Schulte leads the way at the plate, too. He's batting .506 with six homers and 42 RBIs. Junior Alex Larkin sports a .482 average with four homers and 34 RBIs, while senior Maury Wilmes has a .429 average with 19 RBIs. The Crusaders hit .371 as a team.

St. Dominic likes to run, having stolen 123 bases this season. Schulte leads the way with 25, while Wilmes has 21 swipes.

Ryan Bass leads Notre Dame's offense. He's batting .405 with nine RBIs. Austin Greer heads the Bulldogs in the homer department, having belted five round-trippers this season. He's also driven in a team-best 23 runs. The Bulldogs hit .358 as a team.

While the Bulldogs feature a strong pitching staff and impressive hitters, Graviett predicted it will be defense that will make the difference. He's preached the importance of fielding the ball in Springfield.

"I don't know that the best team wins every time out there," Graviett said. "When you get to this point, everyone's good. Everybody's got good pitchers and everybody's got good hitters. It's going to be the team that makes the fewest mistakes in the field that is going to come out on top."

If it comes down to dealing with pressure situations, the Bulldogs get the edge. Six players on Notre Dame's roster already won a state title this year in either soccer or basketball.

"I think it's what's got us here," Graviett said. "It's not being satisfied with anything less. It's expecting to be here and you see the confidence these guys have gotten over the last year. This group of guys, they expect to be here. They expect to compete for a state championship in everything they do.

"They're not going to back down from nobody. They're not going to be intimidated by nobody. It don't matter the situation, the crowd. They're going to keep their composure and play well."