NOTRE DAIM FALLS; ST. VINCENT TO PLAY FOR TITLE; ST. PIUS X RALLIES PAST 'DOGS 6-4

COLUMBIA -- The kings are still kings.

And the top-ranked baseball team in Class 2A? They were beaten by two runs and got knocked back at least two notches.

For the second straight year, Notre Dame's state championship hopes were snuffed out by two-time defending state champion Kansas City St. Pius X -- this time 6-4 in a down-to-the-last-pitch thriller in a 2A semifinal game at Simmons Field Wednesday.

The Bulldogs will take on Forsyth at 2 p.m. today for third place while the Warriors will shoot for their third consecutive state title when they face Crystal City at 8 p.m.

Notre Dame (22-5), which found itself down 6-2 after a disastrous five-run fifth, battled back with two runs in the sixth to make it 6-4.

In the seventh, Notre Dame managed to get runners at second and third with one out, but Scott Reinagel struck out looking on a borderline pitch and Matt Bollinger ended the game with a pop out to the second baseman.

"You just have to give them credit," said Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett. "They had three hits in the one inning with runners in scoring position. We had a real good opportunity to win today but we couldn't get that big hit when we needed it."

Notre Dame, a senior-loaded team, will be left with many what-if thoughts.

First of all, walks killed the Bulldogs.

Notre Dame starter Brian Obermann and relief pitcher Mark Ostendorf combined to walk eight batters. Three of those walks led to runs.

Like last year's title game in which a four-error, six-run inning doomed Notre Dame in a 13-7 loss to St. Pius, it was one bad inning that doomed Notre Dame again.

The Warriors (19-8) started the fifth inning when Mike Murphy the starting pitcher and No. 9 batter reached on a walk. Eric Guetterman followed with a grounder to second. Notre Dame missed a double play by inches, but Guetterman stayed at first. Nick Zicarelli and Mike Herr then proceeded to walk to load the bases.

Then Ostendorf, who pitched the quarterfinal game on Monday, came in and served up back-to-back singles, one of which was a swinging bunt.

Ostendorf struck out the next batter, then gave up a two-run single to Jon Crocker. That put Notre Dame in a 5-2 hole.

"We tried to run (Ostendorf) out there and he's been our best all year long," Graviett said. "He looked good in the pen earlier."

But the loss can't be hung solely on the backs of Notre Dame's hurlers.

The Bulldogs had several opportunities to put runs on the board but didn't.

Notre Dame also committed two errors, one of which led to an unearned run in the sixth which gave St. Pius X a 6-2 advantage.

Tommy Wencewicz had by far the best day for Notre Dame. The senior center fielder went 3-for-4 with RBI singles in the first and third innings. He also legged out a slow roller in the bottom of the seventh to represent the game-tying run.

Josh Eftink, Notre Dame's power hitter, went 0-for-3 with a walk. All three outs were deep drives to right field. At least one of his fly balls and possibly two would have been home runs at Notre Dame.

"That's why we threw him fastballs," said St. Pius X coach Rick Ringel. "You get a big field like this (400 feet to straight center, 340 down the lines) you can afford to throw some fastballs. It's going to take a shot to get one out of here."

The Bulldogs sliced the deficit to two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Adam Seyer started a two-out rally when he doubled off the top of the left-field wall. Todd Friend walked, then St. Pius X first baseman Ross Kelling let a harmless grounder off the bat of John O'Rourke trickle through his legs. Two runs scored on the play.

Notre Dame actually outhit St. Pius X 7-5, but the Warriors came up with more clutch hitting. No player had more than one hit for St. Pius X.

Murphy, a lefty, picked up the win for the Warriors in 5 2/3 innings. He allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits and five walks. He struck out seven.

"The changeups gave some of those kids some problems," said Ringel, whose pitchers induced seven pop-ups or fly outs. "But other than that we decided to challenge their hitters with fast balls because we knew if we walked them they could hit up and down that lineup."

"You have to give their pitchers credit, especially the left-hander," said Graviett. "He did a great job of adjusting to the zone today. We didn't get held to four runs this year very often. We had double figure hits almost every game this year."

Obermann suffered the loss despite giving up just one hit in 4 1/3 innings of work. But Obermann, who had trouble locating a tight strike zone, walked six and was repeatedly pitching behind in the count. Obermann allowed three earned runs and struck out three.

"Brian threw well today but he was in out of all trouble all day," Graviett said. "He was getting behind hitters and you knew sooner or later they were going to get a big hit off him."

Ostendorf pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed three earned runs on four hits and a pair of walks while fanning five.