ND MANUFACTURES WIN OVER JACKSON; BULLDOGS STILL UNBEATEN

JACKSON -- The Notre Dame High baseball machine continues to churn out victories.

The Bulldogs rolled up 13 hits -- at least one in each inning -- as starter Brian Obermann curbed Jackson to just two third-inning hits during a 5-2 win Tuesday at Legion Field.

Notre Dame, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, advanced to 7-0-1 overall and 5-0 in SEMO Conference play, dropping Jackson to 4-5 and 0-3. The Bulldogs had vanquished Jackson 12-2 in the teams' first meeting.

Jackson's starter, ace right-hander Chris Kohm, didn't pitch poorly. Notre Dame simply pummeled the ball, whether the offerings were good or bad.

"We've hit stride with our bats," Notre Dame coach Chris Neff said. "If we can only allow people to get two runs a game, we're going to beat a lot of people because we can produce runs."

Notre Dame struck in the second inning. Wes Steele was hit by a Kohm pitch and Obermann reached on a fielder's choice. After Kohm's errant pick off attempt enabled both runners to move up, Todd Friend brought them home with a single.

Jackson slugged back in the third. With one out, Josh Hopkins singled and Ryan Beltz reached on a walk before Tory Meyr's well-placed bunt single loaded the bases.

Kohm then bounced a grounder, scoring Hopkins, and Beltz's courtesy runner, Todd Metheny, also scored on the play as Notre Dame first baseman Matt Bollinger mishandled shortsop Josh Eftink's potential double play-turning throw.

But Jackson mustered no runs, or hits, after the third inning, while Notre Dame tacked on three runs. The Bulldogs scored twice in the fourth as John O'Rourke singled in Nathan Essner and Eftink plated Tommy Wencewicz with a sacrifice fly. Then in the sixth, Eftink pushed in O'Rourke with a ringing single after he had launched a mighty shot that was ruled foul.

Obermann, a left-hander and Notre Dame's ace, permitted one earned run on two hits, struck out four and walked one in seven innings. "That's impressive," Neff said.

As has been Notre Dame thus far.

"It's just good play, solid play," Neff continued. "It's really exciting to watch these guys. Man, everything's right."

Eftink, Southeast Missouri's preeminent power hitter with four home runs and 13 RBIs, said: "We're just playing great baseball right now. If someone gets out with a runner on base, then the next guy will come up and hit him in. It's just all working real well right now. If we can keep it up, it will be a great season."