Notre Dame baseball team routs Potosi in Class 4 sectional

Notre Dame starting pitcher Graham Ruopp had retired 11 consecutive batters before an infield single, an error and a bunt single loaded the bases for Potosi with no outs in the bottom of the fifth inning Monday in a Class 4 sectional at Notre Dame Regional High School.

It was the first and only time the Trojans managed to get a runner on third base, and with the Bulldogs clinging to a 1-0 lead, something had to give.

Ruopp responded with a strikeout and a ground-ball double play to end the threat, and Notre Dame combined for 10 runs in the final two innings to come away with an 11-0 victory over Potosi.

"That was awesome," Ruopp said about escaping the bases-loaded jam. "In that situation, my first thought is to strike all three of them out. ... I got the first strikeout, and I got that ground ball and realized it was a double play. I couldn't have been any happier. It was awesome. It worked perfectly."

Notre Dame's Christian Job looks to the dugout before batting in the fifth inning against Potosi during a Class 4 sectional Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Glenn Landberg)

The Bulldogs find themselves in familiar territory in the state quarterfinals for the third season in a row. Notre Dame (25-5) is the top-ranked remaining team in the Class 4 Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association rankings and aims to end a six-year drought in the final four with a victory over Clayton on Thursday. Clayton defeated host Pacific 4-1 in a state sectional on Tuesday.

"We know we want to be in that spot," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "We know what's at stake. It's been taken from us the last two years, so we should be highly motivated going into Clayton on Thursday."

The Bulldogs scored the deciding run of the game in the top of the fifth when Ross Essner reached on a walk to begin the inning. Chase Urhahn followed with a bunt down the first-base line and the throw bounced out of the glove of Potosi second baseman Jacob Nicholson, who was covering first. Essner advanced to third on the play. Urhahn stole second before Logan Heisserer plated Essner on a sacrifice fly to center field, but a throw by center fielder Dylan Coleman to third baseman Ethan Nixon caught Urhahn tagging from second for out No. 2. A pop fly by Dean Crippen to right field allowed Potosi (21-8) to retire the side.

"That's high school baseball. When you run into those good pitchers, that's what's going to slow your guys down," Graviett said. "You've got to be able to manufacture runs, and we had the leadoff runner on almost every inning and just couldn't get him around. We finally did and took advantage of an error to get us a run to get through that inning, but we were lucky to get away at that point."

Christian Job led off the top of the sixth with a single for Notre Dame and was replaced by courtesy runner Cramer McGarr, and Thomas Himmelberg followed with a one-out single to right field before both runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. After Hunter Eftink reached on a walk to load the bases, Adam Pope lined a two-run single up the middle to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 3-0. Pope finished 2 for 3 with four RBIs to lead Notre Dame at the plate.

Notre Dame's Ross Essner throws to first base for an out in the second inning against Potosi during a Class 4 sectional Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Glenn Landberg)

Ruopp erased Brendan Hovis' leadoff bunt single by inducing another 6-4-3 double play in the bottom of the sixth.

Hovis entered the game in the bottom of the first when Potosi's No. 2 hitter, shortstop Tristan Brown, attempted to lay down a bunt, but the ball ricocheted off the bat and struck Brown in the face. After several minutes on the ground, Brown was able to leave the field under his own power, and Potosi coach Steven McCoy told The Daily Journal after the game that Brown suffered a broken right orbital bone.

Ruopp pitched six innings in the Bulldogs' shutout victory. The University of Missouri signee allowed four hits and had five strikeouts and three walks.

The performance came less than a week after Ruopp earned a win against Perryville in the district title game but allowed three earned runs on six hits. Ruopp admits he could never find a groove against the Pirates and said he used his four days of rest to rediscover some confidence in his two-seam fastball.

"That's my pitch, my two-seam fastball, where my movement works, and I can keep it anywhere from 87-88 [mph]," Ruopp said. "We had a great crowd out here today, and our bench was very helpful. They kept us up and kept us going no matter what."

Eftink, Notre Dame's left-handed closer, recorded three strikeouts in an inning of relief.

Notre Dame players and coaches celebrate after their 11-0 win over Potosi during a Class 4 sectional Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Glenn Landberg)

"I made a decision to use him out of the bullpen here at the end of the season just to try to utilize him in both games and to take away some of that pressure off our pitchers that they've got to finish," Graviett said. "We've just been fortunate that we've been putting up as many runs and haven't had to use him on that big stage, but he's there if we need him to finish out games."

Potosi starting pitcher Noah Skaggs was relieved by Coleman in the top of the seventh, and Notre Dame showed no mercy on the highly touted senior.

Coleman walked Crippen to begin the inning before an RBI single by Tom Siebert, an RBI double by Himmelberg and a two-run single by Pope pushed the Bulldogs' lead to 7-0. The Trojans recorded their first out of the inning on an RBI sacrifice fly by Urhahn, but Heisserer hit a two-run double that was followed by an RBI sacrifice fly by Crippen, giving the Bulldogs an 11-0 advantage.

"It was as good as advertised for five innings. We just kind of opened it up there in the seventh inning," Graviett said. "... It seems like the second or third time through the lineup, we start figuring guys out, and our guys relax at what they do. When you bat eight seniors in your lineup, that's just a lot of maturity in your lineup and guys that have been up and down through the battles and have seen all kinds of pitching."

Coleman gave up six hits and eight earned runs in the final game of his high school career. The Trojans' standout will play next season at Missouri State.

Skaggs took the loss in six innings of work. The left-handed hurler finished with two strikeouts and four walk. He allowed six hits and three earned runs.

Notre Dame prepared to play against both pitchers but expected to see Coleman get the start on the mound. Graviett said he was impressed with Skaggs' pitching.

"He held us in check for most of the game," Graviett said about Skaggs. "We had leadoff guys on them almost all game long, and he stepped up and made big pitches when he had to and kept us off the board for a long time. So I'm very proud of my guys for staying in there and battling and opening this thing up late."

Notre Dame 000 012 8 -- 11 12 1

Potosi 000 000 0 -- 0 4 2

WP -- Graham Ruopp. LP -- Noah Skaggs. 2B -- Logan Heisserer (ND), Thomas Himmelberg (ND). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame: Adam Pope 2-3, Heisserer 2-4, Himmelberg 2-4, Tom Siebert 2-4, Christian Job 2-4.