ND's golden grail is 30 wins, state title

Notre Dame takes 26 victories into today's sectional game against Fredericktown.

The Notre Dame softball team set a school record for wins in a season by wrapping up its second straight district title on Saturday.

But the Bulldogs aren't thinking about the 26 wins they have as much as the four wins they have left to get.

Notre Dame (26-2) will begin its quest for a second straight state final four appearance and its first softball state title at 4:30 p.m. today in a Class 3 sectional matchup with Fredericktown at Park Hills.

"There wasn't a lot of celebration. We have bigger plans," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "We talked about Wednesday; we don't want to overlook it to Saturday. We're really focused right now."

Two other area softball teams will also be in action today. Defending Class 2 state champion Kelly (19-10) will face Strafford (25-1) at 3 p.m. at Three Rivers Community College, and Chaffee (11-6) will make its first sectional softball appearance by hosting Miller (13-13) at 4 p.m.

Notre Dame, led by a balanced lineup, strong defense and stingy pitching, is brimming with confidence. The Bulldogs, who finished third last season, routed second-seeded Herculaneum 8-0 to win its district title and has won nine straight. Both losses for the Bulldogs came to Class 4 District 1 winner Poplar Bluff.

"Only one team beat us, but it's tough to look back on the regular season because we're looking to the postseason now," Graviett said.

Notre Dame did not face Fredericktown this season, and Graviett said he was not expecting to face them in the postseason.

"Don't know a whole lot about them, but I was really expecting to play De Soto," Graviett said. "They have two wins over De Soto so that kind of scares me."

The Blackcats (15-7) are led by a pair of .400 hitters. Amy Hendrix leads the team with a .471 average along with 26 runs scored and 20 RBIs. Lindsey Wagganer is hitting .437 with a team-high 22 RBIs.

"We play our game no matter who we play," Graviett said. "We continue to build off our speed and defense."

Notre Dame's offense has a pair of freshmen .400 hitters in Erika Reinagel and Paris Burger who can get on base for the heart of the Bulldogs' order. Kristain Burger set a school-record with her fifth home run in the district championship game, and she has more than 30 RBIs while hitting nearly .500 for the season. Overall, the Bulldogs average more than eight runs per game.

"The combination of speed and power is tough to stop," Graviett said.

On the mound, Beth Schnurbusch will bring a 17-0 record into today's game. Schnurbusch sports an ERA under one.

Hawks try to defend

Kelly will attempt to defend its Class 2 championship and search the school's third state title.

A mostly inexperienced Kelly lineup suffered through one of its highest loss totals in more than a decade, but still managed to cruise into the sectional round. Kelly won a district title for the 19th time in 20 years by outscoring its District 5 opponents 42-2 in three games.

Hawks coach Rhonda Ratledge said while many of players may have changed, there still are great expectations when it comes to Kelly softball.

"I think every year there's pressure because we've been a good ballclub," she said. "Across the state, everyone knows who we are.

"What helps is that they play a lot of ball. They play a lot of tournaments over the summer. The more you play, the more you know how to handle the pressure."

Strafford advanced to the quarterfinals last year and the state final four two years ago.

"I've heard they are a pretty sound team, very well disciplined," Ratledge said. "Their pitcher may not throw hard, but she mixes up her pitches well."

The Hawks have primarily used two pitchers throughout the season. After losing two of the top pitchers in the area to graduation last year in Kelly Essner and Whitney Beggs, the Hawks have used junior Kalie Hughes and freshman Casey Kern this season. Hughes is more of a traditional hard-throwing hurler, while Kern uses an array of different pitches.

"I feel like either girl can do a good job for me," Ratledge said.

Offensively, Kelly has been hitting the ball as well as it has all year down the stretch. Kelly had 35 hits in its three district wins, and Ratledge said Kelly's offensive numbers are slightly better than last year's state title team.

A win today would inch Kelly closer to its 10th appearance in the state final four.

"In your head, you're thinking two games away from going back," Ratledge said. "We're excited. We're ready to go back."

A first for Chaffee

Chaffee's win against Delta on Friday marked the first softball district title for the Red Devils after making the move to fall softball last year.

Chaffee brought back nearly its entire roster from last year. The Red Devils bulked up their schedule this season as well, playing Kelly, Notre Dame, Central and Jackson.

Red Devils coach Debbie Lewis said the team's success stems from the players' extensive softball backgrounds.

"These girls are the way they are because they started playing ball when they were 8," Lewis said. "They worked since childhood to be here today."

Chaffee's opponent, Miller, is coming off a third-place finish in Class 1 last season. The last state final four appearance for a Chaffee team was by the baseball team in 1992.

"We want to go as far as we can," third baseman Courtney Walter said.

Noteworthy

• Poplar Bluff (24-2) will face Oakville in a Class 4 sectional at Jackson City Park at 5 p.m. today.