ND CLEARS ROAD TO COLUMBIA; 'DOGS CHAIN 9-5 LOSS ON CLEARWATER

Clearwater came out as flat as Interstate 55.

And because of that, Notre Dame will be zipping west on Interstate 70 Tuesday.

Clearwater (17-4) committed six errors and wasted numerous opportunities as the Bulldogs rolled to a 9-5 win at Notre Dame Saturday, advancing to the Class 2A Final Four in Columbia.

Notre Dame (25-3) will play Valley Park at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Valley Park (22-1) defeated Lutheran North (17-2) 5-3.

The Bulldogs didn't play particularly well themselves and the outcome wasn't nearly as dramatic as their 4-3 come-from-behind win over South Pemiscot in Thursday's sectional.

But for Nathan Essner, the only senior starter on the team, any quarterfinal win is a good one.

"I've been working four years for it and I finally get to go," said Essner. "We felt that for the past two years we should have at least won our district, but we struggled in district. At first it was just good to get out (of districts). Now every game gets bigger and bigger. And it just keeps getting better and better."

Although the Bulldogs came up with some big hits, including a two-run homer by Josh Eftink, the Tigers did everything they could to lose.

Clearwater's infielders botched two easy pop-ups. They missed ground balls and, in general, made poor decisions.

It was not the type of play that Clearwater fans had come to expect.

"We had a lot of opportunities, we gave them a lot of breaks and they capitalized on them," said Clearwater coach Tim Green. "We'll, hopefully, learn from it.

"We didn't quit, though. We were down 9-2 at one time and we kept battling until the last inning. We had a good season."

Perhaps the biggest play of the game came in the fifth inning.

Notre Dame had just taken a 7-2 lead on Eftink's homer in the bottom of the fourth, but the Tigers were threatening with runners at first and third with one out.

Notre Dame pitcher Mark Ostendorf induced cleanup hitter Joey Foster into hitting a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.

"He gets some rocky starts at the beginning of innings sometimes," said Notre Dame coach Chris Neff. "I thought he pitched well. For him to go a complete game like that is good for him. He's going to be counted on to do that. He's going to get the state championship game if we get there."

Ostendorf went the distance, giving up three earned runs on 12 hits and a walk. He fanned four.

Notre Dame, the visiting team on the scoreboard, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a single by catcher Scott Reinagel.

Eftink scored on a wild pitch in the third to push the lead to 3-0.

Clearwater made it 3-1 on a long double by first baseman Mark Keister in the bottom of the third.

The Bulldogs opened up the game with four runs in the fourth.

Matt Bollinger doubled down the right-field line and was singled to third by Todd Friend.

Friend stole second base and Clearwater second baseman Jesse Hillis missed the throw from the catcher and Bollinger trotted home safely.

After Tommy Wencewicz reached on an error, Essner hit a potential double-play grounder to second, but beat the relay throw.

Friend, without hesitation, chugged home from second on the fielder's choice ground ball.

Eftink, who is batting .667 in the postseason, followed with a blast over the right-center field fence that traveled approximately 380 feet.

Eftink didn't even get a full swing on it.

"It was a little outside and I was a little offbalance when I swung," said the stocky shortstop. "I kept my weight back and got all of it.

"I was looking for one of those knuckle balls that he was throwing. I was looking for one that was high, because when they're up, they're a little easier to hit."

Notre Dame put two more runs on the board in the sixth on RBI singles by Essner and John O'Rourke.

Willard Finch suffered the loss for Clearwater in four innings of work. He gave up seven runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks. He struck out four.

Tom Shultz pitched in relief for Clearwater, giving up two unearned runs on three hits.

Clearwater scored a run in the fourth on a double by Jamie McAlister.

The Tigers then added three in the sixth. Finch scored on a wild pitch and two runs came home on a two-run throwing error by Wes Steele.