ND offense flourishes in marathon win over Chaffee

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Through the first four games of the season Notre Dame junior Matt Wulfers was all about offense.

On Wednesday, the Bulldogs called on their sweet-swinging outfielder to try to limit the offense of Chaffee in a wind-blown, zany game.

Wulfers, who had four home runs and 11 RBIs in the Bulldogs' previous two games, made his varsity pitching debut in relief. He provided a little sanity to an unpredictable afternoon, picking up the victory as Notre Dame defeated Chaffee 19-14 at Harmon Field.

In addition to 33 runs, the teams combined for five home runs and nine errors -- eight committed by a porous Red Devil defense. Eighteen of the runs were scored in a marathon third inning that saw both teams bat around and score nine runs apiece.

Wulfers, who entered after the free-for-all third inning, was the third Notre Dame pitcher in the Bulldogs' struggle to protect a 13-1 lead. It melted to two runs at one point.

It was a strange day for baseball. Just ask Chaffee's No. 2 hitter, James Reischman, who belted his first two career home runs.

"I've never hit a home run. Never in my life, little league or nothing," said Reischman, who went 4-for-4 with three RBIs. "I hit them good, but it was mainly the wind."

In the context of the events, Wulfers' four-inning, four-run stint looked like a gem. He allowed three hits and struck out three.

Wulfers' bat has often overshadowed his arm. It was his bat that put him on the varsity as a sophomore and kept him from getting pitching innings on the junior-varsity level.

"He's a little bit raw as far as mound time, but he's got the stuff to be an effective pitcher," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said.

Wulfers went 2-for-2 with a triple and drew three walks, but this time he left the power to his teammates.

Catcher Kyle Diveley and first baseman Matt Smith both belted three run homers in the third inning, and Wayne Essner added a two-run blast in the sixth. The Bulldogs have 10 home runs in their 4-1 start and are on pace to shatter the school record of 24.

"It's great to see everyone swinging the bats," Wulfers said. "We didn't expect to be an offensive team this year. We expected to be a defensive team, but so far it's been the other way around."

Notre Dame (4-1, 3-0 SEMO Conference) also expected pitching to be a strength, but the Bulldog hurlers struggled Tuesday. Junior Blake Urhahn gave himself a first-inning lead when his two-out grounder to third was booted, allowing two runs to score.

Reischman connected for his first home run in the bottom of the inning, but another Chaffee error led to two more unearned runs in the second for a 4-1 Notre Dame lead.

Two more errors behind starter Sam Burnett in the nine-run third led to five more unearned runs and a commanding 13-1 lead.

Red Devil errors led to 12 unearned runs overall.

"We're usually solid defensively, but we weren't today," said Reischman, the Red Devils' shortstop. "The pitchers pitched good. We didn't make plays."

After Notre Dame sent 12 batters to the plate in the top of the inning, Horrell huddled his team.

Chaffee (2-2, 1-2) promptly got its first six batters on base in the home half and sent 14 batters to the plate in the inning. Urhahn retired just one of the first nine batters before being lifted for Blake Essner. Bulldog pitchers issued six walks in the inning, and Chaffee added four of its eight hits on the game.

A Burnett two-run double capped the outburst and closed the score to 13-10.

"I'm very proud of the kids," Chaffee coach Brian Horrell said. "It was an excellent job of battling back. A lot of times in high school baseball you can easily fold, and we could have waited for tomorrow to try to correct ourselves. I was happy with the way we made a run at them."

Notre Dame added an unearned run in the fourth for a 14-10 lead but failed to score a runner from third with nobody out in the fifth when Brent Thomason relieved Burnett and wiggled out of the jam.

Chaffee seized the momentum as Reischman closed the gap to 14-12 in the home half with a two-run homer to center field off Wulfers. The Devils never got closer.

Essner widened the gap to 16-12 with a two-run clout in the sixth, and the Bulldogs added three more insurance runs in the seventh.

Smith went 3-for-4 in Notre Dame's 13-hit attack. Essner added a pair of hits.

Burnett went 2-for-4 for Chaffee with both his hits going for doubles.

jbreer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 124