Notre Dame claims district crown in run-rule fashion

DONIPHAN, Mo. -- Dean Crippen couldn't be stopped Thursday.

The senior first baseman stepped to the plate with one out in the bottom of the second inning and blasted a 1-1 pitch over the center-field fence for a grand slam that gave the Notre Dame baseball team an early six-run lead.

Crippen added another home run in the next inning and finished his 3-for-5 outing with a two-run double in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Bulldogs a 15-5, six-inning victory over Perryville in the Class 4 District 1 championship at Doniphan High School.

"I've really been slumping in the second half of the season, but today it worked out," said Crippen, who finished the game with eight RBIs. "I was just getting my hands back. It was just some of the little things in my swing. I got my hands back, and there you go. It opens everything up."

Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said Crippen struggled in Tuesday's quarterfinal win over Kennett but was pleased to see the senior slugger break out of his slump in a big way.

Notre Dame's Graham Ruopp delivers a pitch during Thursday's Class 4 District 1 championship against Perryville in Doniphan, Missouri. (Trent Singer)

"Once he gets locked in, he's as good as anybody that we've got, and he was really just seeing the ball extremely well today," Graviett said about Crippen. "... Anything they threw up there, it seemed like he hit hard."

Notre Dame (24-5) fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning when Trent Steffens and Trevor Green each hit back-to-back singles for Perryville (18-5) in the game's first two at-bats. A sacrifice bunt by Luke Dobbelare moved both runners into scoring position before Kameron Fears drove in Steffens on a sacrifice fly to left field.

An RBI single by Christian Job and a pair of errors allowed the Bulldogs to plate two runs and take the lead for good in the bottom of the inning, and Notre Dame added to its lead with an explosive second inning.

Hunter Eftink walked to reach base, and Adam Pope followed with a single down the left-field line. After Ross Essner grounded into a fielder's choice at third for the first out of the inning, Chase Urhahn scored Pope on a single to left field. The next batter, Logan Heisserer, walked to load the bases for Crippen, who gave the Bulldogs a 7-1 lead with one swing.

"I was in the batting cage earlier, and something just wasn't right, so I said I was going to get my hands back a little more. And it worked," Crippen said. "I'm pounding the ball now. It's just so weird how baseball works. It's just so often about the little things you do."

Crippen's home run prompted a pitching change, and Marcus Steffens was replaced by Luke Dobbelare, who allowed two more hits in the inning but was able to retire the side with no more damage done.

The Pirates scored four runs in the top of the third, thanks to three uncharacteristic defensive errors by Notre Dame and a two-run infield single by Kameron Fears, which trimmed the Bulldogs' lead to 7-5.

"We knew it was only the second inning. We had another 15 outs for them to get on us, so we felt comfortable," Perryville coach Jeff Steffens said. "They weren't afraid of the pitcher. We'd seen him earlier in the year. We put the ball in play against him all game after seeing him a couple times, so we were pretty confident stepping into the batter's box."

Notre Dame quickly cushioned its lead in the bottom of the frame. Pope reached on a walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a groundout by Essner. Urhahn plated Pope with a one-out single to right field, and two batters later, Crippen lifted his second home run of the day, this time an opposite field shot over the right-field fence that gave the Bulldogs a 10-5 lead.

"We just break the game down. We want to win every inning," Graviett said. "... We break it down to seven mini-games and talk about winning every inning, so you've got something to kind of shoot for, whether you're down or not."

Notre Dame starting pitcher Graham Ruopp finished his outing with a pair of shutout innings. The Missouri signee allowed six hits and five runs -- three earned -- and had three strikeouts and two walks.

"They hit two balls hard off him in the beginning," Graviett said about Ruopp. "I really put a lot of pressure on him in the first inning to come out there and set the tone, and they got a couple good hits off him, but he settled in and started throwing well in the fifth."

Ruopp was replaced by Hunter Eftink, who pitched a scoreless sixth, gave up no hits, struck out two batters and walked two.

A single by Eftink, a double by Pope and a walk allowed the Bulldogs to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth. A hit batter and a walk plated a pair of runs before Crippen drove a two-run double into left-center field to give Notre Dame the mercy-rule victory.

The Bulldogs had eight batters get a hit, including four who recorded multiple hits.

"We're really starting to swing it well," Graviett said. "I thought we have been for the last couple of weeks. We just didn't have a whole lot to show for it and had some tough luck, but these guys have really been locked in lately."

The three Perryville pitchers -- Marcus Steffens, Dobbelare and Wyatt Johnson -- combined for eight walks and no strikeouts and allowed 13 hits. Steffens was tagged with the loss in 1 1/3 innings of work. He gave up four hits and seven runs -- five earned.

"We knew we had to come out and play a game that was flawless and not put base runners on, and we just couldn't find the strike zone," Steffens said. "We walked a few too many, and we also didn't play flawless defense like we did the day before against Doniphan."

Notre Dame will take on Potosi in a Class 4 sectional on Tuesday. Potosi edged Festus 5-4 in the Class 4 District 2 title game.

The Trojans are led by senior starting pitcher Dylan Coleman, who Graviett said will present a challenge for his surging offense.

"This week really scared me," Graviett said. "Losing in the quarterfinals the last two years, you don't want to look too far ahead. You've got quality teams with teams like Kennett and Perryville. They're scary opponents to me.

"To get through this and survive this week swinging the bats as well as we have the last couple of games is a big lift for us."

Perryville 104 000 -- 5 6 2

Notre Dame 253 104 -- 15 13 3

WP -- Graham Ruopp. LP -- Marcus Steffens. 2B -- Dean Crippen (ND), Adam Pope (ND). HR -- Crippen 2 (ND). Multiple hits -- Perryville: Trent Steffens 2-3, Trevor Green 2-3; Notre Dame: Crippen 3-5, Chase Urhahn 2-2, Pope 2-3, Hunter Eftink 2-3.