Notre Dame baseball team defeats defending Class 2 state champion Valle

Notre Dame senior Adam Pope rarely finds a bat in his hands these days, regularly replaced in the batting lineup by a designated hitter.

But the Bulldogs senior right-hander has created the role of designated hitman this season, taking down two defending Missouri high school baseball state champions.

Pope held 2014 Class 2 state champion Valle Catholic to five hits in a 2-1 victory Friday in the opener of the Fourth Annual Notre Dame Bulldog Classic, a nine-game showcase played over two days.

The victory was the third of the season for Pope, who also notched a win over Westminster Academy, the defending Class 4 state champion and Bulldog nemesis the past couple of seasons.

"We've got a good pitching staff, so whoever we throw is going to work out for us," said Pope, who efficiently disposed of the Warriors on less than 90 pitches in a game that lasted just 1 hour and 27 minutes. "It's felt good to win those two especially."

The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in Class 4 in the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association, extended their winning streak to 11 games in improving to 13-3.

The Bulldogs also ended a 12-game winning streak for Valle -- ranked No. 1 in Class 2 -- in defeating Southeast Missouri State signee Daniel Bergtholdt for the second straight year.

Bergtholdt (3-1) limited the Bulldogs to five hits, but was matched by Pope (3-1) in the other dugout.

"We play close games with him," Notre Dame first baseman Dean Crippen said about Pope. "They always seem to work out in the end."

Pope is just part of a talented staff that includes Missouri signee Graham Ruopp and allowed the Bulldogs to string together a winning streak after a 2-3 start that included three one-run losses.

"He's been one of the top arms," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said about Pope. "Right now we can run four guys out there, quality, what we consider top-notch guys as far as starters. We're fortunate enough to do that, and he's been a guy who's been a big-game pitcher so far this season for us."

Notre Dame strung together three consecutive hits with one out in the first inning in getting a jump on the 6-foot-5, left-handed Bergtholdt.

Logan Heisserer bounced a ground ball past the third-base bag for a double and moved up to third on a wild pitch on the first delivery to Crippen, who singled sharply into the hole on the left side three pitches later to score Heisserer for a 1-0 lead.

"Dean's by far one of the best hitters on our team," Pope said. "You always know he's going to come through clutch for us."

Crippen went to third on a single to right-center by Christian Job, but he became the second out of the inning when he tried to score on a ball in the dirt that catcher Cole Wood retrieved and flipped to Bergtholdt for the tag.

Bergtholdt then retired Tom Siebert on a fly out to right field to strand pinch-runner Tyler Essner at second base.

It was a somewhat squandered opportunity against Bergtholdt, who pitched a shutout against Linn in the Class 2 state semifinals last year, striking out 15 batters.

"We only got one out of that first inning, but we got three hits," Graviett said. "I would have liked to have put up two or three that inning. We've seen a lot of good pitchers this year, but he's been solid. He's going to be tough for anybody to knock off."

Bergtholdt allowed just two hits over the next five innings, striking out five and walking three.

"I missed location with it there in the first inning, came out a little shaky I guess, but after that I started to figure things out," said Bergtholdt , who signed with the Redhawks in November.

The Warriors (15-2) stranded five runners over the first five innings, including two in the first after a pair of two-out singles and two in the fifth after another two-out threat arose from an error and a hit batsman.

Notre Dame took advantage of wildness by Bergtholdt in the fifth inning for a 2-0 lead. Bergtholdt issued a four-pitch, one-out walk to Ross Essner, the Bulldogs' No. 9 hitter, who took second on a two-out single by Heisserer, who was 2 for 3 on the game.

Essner came around to score on a pair of wild pitches with Crippen at the plate.

"That was huge getting that second one across," Graviett said. "It gave us a little breathing room, and it ended up being the winning run. Any time you can get that two-run cushion it's huge in this game."

Valle scored its lone run in the sixth after a leadoff double by Bergtholdt, who went 2 for 3. Pinch runner Tristan Rollhaus took third on a fly out to right field and scored on a two-out single by Tyler Shuh. Pope got out of the inning when Chet Meyer followed with a sharp grounder back through the box that deflected off Pope's shin to Crippen, who beat Meyer to the bag.

Pope retired an aggressive swinging Valle squad in order in the seventh on a fly ball and two groundouts. He struck out two batters in the game and did not walk a batter.

"I took advantage of [their aggressiveness], throw strikes, pound the zone and let the defense work for you," Pope said. "We have probably one of the best defenses in the state."

First-year Valle coach Nathan Gegg thought his team had too many quick at-bats.

"We knew the Pope kid doesn't walk many at all," Gegg said. "He has great control and he stays down in the zone. He does a good job, he really does. I'm OK with being aggressive, but we've got to be aggressive on the right pitches. We can't be aggressive on his pitches."

The Bulldogs handed Bergtholdt just his third high school loss. The left-hander went 5-0 as a sophomore, 9-2 as a junior with his only losses to Notre Dame and CBC, and was 3-0 entering Friday's contest.

"We're use to winning with him on the mound, but Notre Dame is a really good team," Gegg said. "I thought Daniel battled really well on the mound and I thought did a good job. They're obviously really good. I mean, they're ranked No. 1 in Class 4 for a reason -- they're good. They can swing it up and down the lineup, and Daniel held them to five hits. We'll take that from him. We have to just get a little more going offensively."

Bergtholdt, who has an array of pitches, including a mid-80s fastball and a knee-bending curve, said he was wanting to make an impression in the city that will be his home for college next year.

"I accept the challenge and I'm glad that coach trusts me to pitch against a team like this," Bergtholdt said. "We didn't get the amount of runs I wanted, but I thought I pitched a pretty good game, and to hold the No. 1 team in Class 4 to two runs is pretty good."

The Warriors were the third defending state champion the Bulldogs faced this season. They lost to Class 5 champion Rock Bridge in their 2-3 start and will visit defending Class 1 state champion Cooter on May 9. Bergtholdt and Valle were just another part of what Graviett views as preparation for what he hopes will be a long and successful playoff run.

"We want to see everybody's best, and that's just going to make us better," Graviett said. "And as we keep going through these guys and getting these opportunities, there shouldn't be a lot we haven't seen."

Valle 000 001 0 -- 1 5 0

Notre Dame 100 010 x -- 2 5 1

WP -- Adam Pope (3-1). LP -- Daniel Bergtholdt (3-1). 2B -- Bergtholdt (V), Logan Heisserer (ND). Multiple hits -- Valle: Bergtholdt 2-3; Notre Dame: Heisserer 2-3.