JACKSON LOSES HANDLE ON GAME, FALLS TO ND

Kyle Diveley didn't just take one for the team.

He took one for the win.

Diveley was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth as Notre Dame beat visiting Jackson 8-7 in a crazy, sloppy game that the Indians gave away in the bottom of the seventh.

Jackson outplayed Notre Dame for six innings and led 7-2 going into the final inning.

After a long, three-run homer off the bat of Todd Friend, a bloop double by Timmy Wencewicz and a solid RBI single up the middle by Lance Dohogne, the Bulldogs (5-4) found themselves down just 7-6 with one out.

Pitcher Jason Brown then retired Diveley on a grounder to third.

The Indians (3-5) should've got the win on the very next play, but first baseman Lance Limbaugh had the ball pop out of his glove on a low, but catchable throw from shortstop Bryan Austin. Scott Wittenborn reached safely and Matt Pobst, pinch-running for Dohogne, scored the tying run.

Jackson committed two errors in the inning, but only one run was unearned.

Indians coach Sam Sides, though, was disappointed with some of the decisions his team made, including allowing runners to advance on throws to the wrong base.

"We gave it away," Sides said. "We had all kinds of chances. We had some physical errors and we had some mental errors. We threw to the wrong base a time or two and that hurt us. But I've seen this type of thing before. You've got high school kids out there and you never know what's going to happen."

Notre Dame relief pitcher Timmy Wencewicz walked the first batter, but retired the next three as Jackson failed to score in the top of the eighth.

In the bottom of the eighth, John O'Rourke who homered in the first, singled in the fifth and walked in the seventh drew a leadoff walk to start the inning. Jackson's Josh Parhan got the next two batters out, but gave up a single to Wencewicz and a walk to Dohogne to load the bases. Austin McDowell came in and hit Diveley on a 2-2 pitch.

After the game, Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett was almost as disgusted as Sides.

Notre Dame made several mistakes of its own. The Bulldogs allowed three unearned runs in the sixth.

"They outplayed us for six innings," Graviett said. "What's sad is they played about as good as you can play for six innings. We've got to get better. We can afford one-run innings, but we dug ourselves in a hole again."

Jackson scored three runs in the first inning off starter Wittenborn.

Bryan Austin was hit by a pitch, Brown blooped a single to right and Patrick Kohm chased both home on a double to leftcenter. Dusty Roberts drove home Kohm on a chopper up the middle.

O'Rourke, with a stout wind blowing out, hit a homer to leftcenter to cut Jackson's lead to 3-1.

Notre Dame cut it to 3-2 in the second inning when Scott Eftink doubled and came home on an RBI single by Shane Kistner.

Jackson made it 4-2 in the fifth when leadoff hitter Michael Birk homered to leftcenter.

Jackson appeared to have the game won when it scored three in the sixth. Garrett Williams drove home a run on an error and an RBI single by Austin made the score 7-2.

"We had put three or four good games together until that (seventh) inning," Sides said.

Wencewicz picked up the win for Notre Dame. In 2 2/3 innings, the hard-thrower allowed no runs, one hit and one walk. At the plate, Wencewicz went 4-for-4 with a double, a walk and one run scored.

Wittenborn went 5 1/3 innings and gave up six runs, four earned, on eight hits and no walks. He fanned five.

Jackson starter Dusty Roberts deserved better in his first varsity start. He went 4 2/3 innings and gave up two runs, both earned, on eight hits and a walk. Brown was tagged with the loss. He pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed six runs on four hits and two walks.

Austin and Ricky Renfroe each had two hits for Jackson.