Notre Dame handles Central

~ The Bulldogs used strong pitching and defense to stop the Tigers 7-2

Tanner Hiett relied on his defense to subdue Central during Tuesday's game.

But when he committed an error, he took matters into his own hands.

Hiett scattered eight hits over six innings to pitch the Bulldogs past the host Tigers 7-2.

"The curveball was definitely working," Hiett said. "That's about all I threw. I was mixing up the speeds definitely on the fastball, but I knew I had my defense, so it makes it easier to throw strikes."

Notre Dame's Colton Young flies out during the third inning of Tuesday's game.

The Bulldogs defense covered Hiett's back in the first inning after Josh Hiett doubled to lead off and went to third on a fly ball. Central's Jamie Pickel hit a ball to left field that died before it reached left fielder Trenton St. Cin. But Josh Hiett already had started back to third base to tag, and St. Cin's laser to the plate nailed Hiett for the second out of the inning.

"That's a really tough baserunning play for our guy because that ball when it was hit, that's a fly ball to normal left field," Central coach Steve Williams said. "Then all of a sudden the ball hit a wall and fell straight down. Josh was coming to tag up and he got to the bag and I was saying, 'Go, go, go,' and by the time he got going, it was too late."

Tanner Hiett escaped the first inning without allowing a run despite giving up three hits.

"The athleticism of our defense, we're capable of making plays, just like the double play to end the game," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "We've got so many athletes at so many positions, you can make special plays like that. That's a huge momentum shift."

In the fourth inning, Central's Josh Compas led off with a double over the center fielder's head, then Josh Meyer hit a weak tapper between the pitcher and third baseman. Tanner Hiett fielded the ball and launched an errant throw over the first baseman's head, which allowed a run to score and Meyer to trot into second. That cut Notre Dame's lead to 2-1.

"That was definitely my fault," Tanner Hiett said. "I made the error and I was really determined to get these three outs because I felt like I let my team down. I was definitely rearing and ready to go."

He responded by striking out the next three batters to end the inning.

"Strikeouts can be your friend, especially when you need them," Graviett said. "He reached back there and battled. He got a little bit of fire out there."

The Bulldogs responded by providing a little cushion for Hiett in the top of the fifth. They scored three runs after the first two batters struck out. St. Cin provided the big hit, a two-run single to right field.

"I was 0 for 2 and had to get a hit," he said. "Just see the ball."

Hiett appreciated the support. He finished with five strikeouts and no walks.

"I think they saw I was going to pitch for them and I think they decided it was time to hit for me," he said. "I was really happy they did that for me. That was huge for us."

Notre Dame's offense got off to a hot start when Colton Young led off by getting plunked and came around to score on Ethan Essner's two-run homer to right field. Essner launched the ball high in the air and it rode the fierce wind over the fence.

"I just got up there and tried to get on the top half of the ball and drive it somewhere," the left-handed Essner said. "Luckily the wind got a hold of it a little bit and helped it out a little bit. I just tried to get my pitch and drive it somewhere.

"It felt pretty good. I don't want to say that I knew it was gone, but it did feel good. Whenever I saw it take off up in that wind, I pretty much knew."

Pickel, Central's starter, held the Bulldogs in check from there until their three-run spurt in the fifth. Notre Dame (5-0) added two more runs in the seventh.

"Jamie made a couple mistakes and he paid for them," Williams said. "Other than that, he pitched well. Notre Dame is a good offensive club and for him to keep us in the game into the seventh inning on a day like today, I can't say enough about his efforts."

Pickel only allowed three hits through the first four innings. He finished with five strikeouts.

"He had a little changeup," Essner said of Pickel. "He threw a lot of curveball/sliders, something like that. He spotted the ball really well. He threw it on the corners where he wanted it and had a two-seam fastball that was giving our righties a little bit of trouble."

Central (5-3) outhit Notre Dame 8-7, leaving Williams to lament his team's missed opportunities.

"We've got to be able to get those hits with men on base," he said. "That's the key. When you get men in scoring position, you've got to cash in. That's what we haven't done consistently this year."

Notre Dame 200 030 2 -- 7 7 1

Central 000 101 0 -- 2 8 2

WP -- Tanner Hiett. LP -- Jamie Pickel. HR -- Ethan Essner (ND). 3B -- Essner (ND), Jake Pewitt (ND). 2B -- Josh Hiett (C), Josh Compas (C), Mark Hagedorn (ND). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame: Essner 2-4, Pewitt 2-3, Hagedorn 2-4; Central: Compas 2-3, Josh Meyer 2-3, Pickel 2-3. Records -- Notre Dame 5-0, Central 5-3.