Notre Dame a little shaky, but too much for Central

~ The Bulldogs hammered out 11 hits in a 12-2 victory against the Tigers.

Notre Dame reached double digits in hits, took advantage of six Central errors and overcame its own sloppy defensive play to win its softball opener 12-2 on Wednesday at rival Central.

The Bulldogs, Class 3 state runner-up last season, committed four errors but mashed out 11 hits.

Notre Dame lost two starters from last year, but returned most of its position players.

"Our infield minus catcher all played at the final four last season," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "The first game, you probably can chalk it up to a bit of nervousness, but with the upper classmen playing at this point you shouldn't be nervous. I think the girls know we have a lot of work to do."

Bulldogs sophomore Paris Burger singles and stole second to lead off the game, and fellow sophomore Erika Reinagel followed suit. That set up a second-and-third situation for Kristain Burger.

The situation was a familiar one for Bulldogs fans, as all three hitters had batting averages of .400 or better last season.

Kristain Burger hit a double off the base of the fence for a 2-0 lead.

Central (1-1) seemed undeterred after getting out of the inning down just 2-0. The Tigers used two hits and an error to score twice in the bottom half of the first. Starting pitcher Amanda Nichols helped her own cause with an RBI in the inning.

"I was proud of the way we fought back in the first inning after giving them two runs," Central coach Amy Blattel said, "but the bottom line is we have to make the routine plays, and we didn't today."

Notre Dame held a 3-2 lead through four innings, and the Tigers began to fall apart in the fifth. The Bulldogs scored three runs in the fifth, scoring on a wild pitch and a two-run single that appeared to go through about two Tigers infielders.

The sixth was much of the same, with three Central errors leading to two more runs. Notre Dame was able to score a runner from third when a return throw to the pitcher following an infield single got away.

"The difference in the game was Notre Dame made the routine plays and we didn't make the routine plays," Blattel said. "We have to play defense behind our pitcher. The good thing is it's very early in the season, and all the mistakes we made are very correctable."

Kristain Burger finished the scoring with a three-run home run off the top of the scoreboard in left field. Burger finished with two hits and five RBIs.

"She's going to put up big numbers," Graviett said. "She's such a big hitter. The key for us is Miranda Schlosser. She's got to be big for us in order for Kristain to get pitches to hit."

Schlosser was one of four Bulldogs to finish with two hits. Reinagel added a pair of singles, and Allison Peters had two hits including a double.

"We actually probably swung the bats better than I thought we would, and we hadn't spent a lot of time on that," Graviett said.

Returning all-state pitcher Beth Schnurbusch struck out eight, walked none and allowed just two hits for the complete-game victory.

Both teams are back in action Friday. Notre Dame will travel to Perryville, and Central will host Chaffee.

NOTRE DAME 12, CENTRAL 2

ND 201 032 4 -- 12 11 4

Central 200 000 0 -- 2 2 6

WP -- Beth Schnurbusch, 1-0. LP -- Amanda Nichols, 0-1. HR -- Kristain Burger (N). 2B -- Burger (N), Miranda Schlosser (N), Allison Peters (N). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame, Erika Reinagel 2-3; Peters 2-3; Burger 2-5; Schlosser 2-5. Records -- Notre Dame 1-0, Central 1-1.