Notre Dame hits rough patch but recovers for 13-4 sectional softball victory

~ The Bulldogs struck early and late to reach the Class 3 quarterfinals

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The DeSoto batters didn't come close to touching Lauren Reinagel in the early going.

Reinagel was so dominant that the Dragons fans and bench cheered when Chelsey King popped out to second base to end the third. Other than a bunt back to Reinagel to end the second, every other DeSoto at-bat ended in a Reinagel strikeout during Thursday's Class 3 sectional softball game.

But the Dragons scored one in the fourth and three in the fifth to put the Bulldogs on the ropes.

Notre Dame regrouped to pad its lead and ended up posting a 13-4 victory to advance to Saturday's 4 p.m. state quarterfinal at the Ballwin Athletic Association.

Notre Dame players congratulate senior Jane Morrill (11) after her two-run homer during the first inning of Thursday's Class 3 sectional game against DeSoto in Poplar Bluff, Mo. (Kit Doyle)

But Thursday's victory at Three Rivers Community College wasn't as easy as the final score indicated.

Reinagel struck out seven of the first nine batter she faced as the DeSoto batters swung wildly as she changed speeds and overpowered them with her fastball. It got to the point where the DeSoto batters were squaring to bunt before Reinagel delivered a pitch, which the senior pitcher enjoys seeing.

"I kind of laugh because they think if they time it and bring it back, but I think it wastes time," Reinagel said. "I just throw it faster."

DeSoto's first hit came in the fourth, when Dee Dee Peters blasted a homer to left field. Notre Dame catcher Alecia Glaus went out to visit Reinagel after the homer, but Reinagel rolled her eyes and kind of smiled.

"It was a really good hit," Reinagel said. "I kind of just waved at it as it went. I knew immediately when she hit it. I threw it inside, she turned on it and it was gone."

Notre Dame pitcher Lauren Reinagel throws out a DeSoto runner on a bunt attempt during Thursday's game.

Reinagel struck out the next batter to end the fourth and keep her team ahead 5-1. Notre Dame added a run in the fourth to make it 6-1 heading to the fifth, which is where the Dragons made things interesting.

Reinagel kept kicking at the dirt at the front of the circle where she landed to finish her delivery. A couple of her warmup pitches soared to the backstop and she tried a few times to fill in the hole that was forming but with little success.

"I sunk a little bit and then I got stuck," Reinagel said. "It kind of messed me up. But I found my groove and we got out of the jam."

With Reinagel struggling to get comfortable, the Dragons struck. De Soto sandwiched a pair of hits around a sacrifice bunt before an error allowed the Dragons to score a run. King followed with a double to score another run before Abby Roland grounded out to pull the Dragons within two at 6-4.

"If I jumped too far, I fell," Reinagel said. "So I couldn't jump as far and I couldn't throw as hard. I lost a little bit of spin on it. It messes up my flow and my rhythm."

Notre Dame baserunner Hali Rendleman dives back to third base before De Soto on shortstop Kelsey Landholt can tag her on a pickoff play Thursday.

Reinagel got out of the inning with her 10th strikeout of the game, but the Dragons had hope. They'd touched up Notre Dame's ace, gained momentum and scratched back within two runs.

"Not really concerned with Lauren," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "She gave up a couple hits, had a little trouble with the condition out there.

"You've just got to re-go and refocus. That's been our downfall all year, when we have one of those innings, we end up giving up three or four runs, and over the next week that's not going to cut it."

Hali Rendleman walked to lead off the fifth, but looked like she'd be stranded at third when Savanna Ayers lifted a fly ball to right field with two outs. But Notre Dame caught a break when the fielder dropped the ball, and the Bulldogs didn't waste the opportunity.

Notre Dame scored three runs in the inning on two hits, two walks, three stolen bases and two errors.

Notre Dame sophomore Katie Bond delivers an RBI against De Soto Thursday.

"I think we did a pretty good job of pulling it out and then coming back and getting some runs," Notre Dame shortstop Jane Morrill said. "Everybody just looked back up. It helped a lot."

Reinagel overcame her problems with her footing to retire De Soto in order in the sixth and seventh innings. The Bulldogs tacked on four runs in the sixth to erase any hopes for a De Soto rally.

Reinagel said her attitude has changed on the mound this season. She struck out 12 batters Thursday, but she allowed four runs, three earned. That came after Notre Dame barely survived against Perryville in the district title game.

"I don't care if they score runs just as long as we score more," she said. "My ERA, I'm not worried about that. I have all the records. I'm not worried about that anymore. Now I'm just worried about winning. They can get on, they can score just as long as we keep on winning."

The Notre Dame offense went to work early and often Thursday. Morrill got it started when she blasted a pitch over the left-field wall for a two-run homer in the first inning.

Notre Dame's Summer Burger slides into home for a run Thursday.

"It felt really good, especially to get the first two runs in," Morrill said. "It was just adrenaline, basically. It was intense. It was very awesome. [The pitch] was definitely where I wanted it. But at the time, I was just thinking try to get that run in, hit something. Basically it's luck."

Reinagel appreciated the early support, saying it helped her relax in the circle.

"We had a goal -- a two-run minimum," she said about the first inning. "We were really happy with our start."

Notre Dame added three runs in the second. After the first two batters struck out, the Bulldogs strung together four singles. Notre Dame finished with 13 hits and 11 stolen bases in the game.

"You have to do it," Notre Dame leadoff batter Brianne Sanders said of the aggressive baserunning. "If you don't do it, you're not going to get your runs. You've got to make them nervous, make them overthrow."

Sanders led the Bulldogs at the plate by going 4 for 4 with two runs scored and one RBI.

"Speed is still the name of our game," Graviett said. "Even with Jane hitting a home run, we still need to rely on the top and the bottom girls getting on and then using our legs. We saw an opportunity today to run a lot on them and we tried to take advantage and keep putting the pressure on them."

Notre Dame now turns its attention to Saturday's quarterfinal. Reinagel said Thursday's win provides the blueprint for continued success.

"We were focused this game except for one inning," she said. "But if we play like we did every inning but that inning, we'll do good."

De Soto 000 130 0 -- 4 4 5

Notre Dame 230 134 x -- 13 13 1

WP -- Lauren Reinagel. LP -- Abby Roland. HR -- Jane Morrill (ND), Dee Dee Peters (D). 2B -- Alecia Glaus (ND), Brianne Sanders (ND), Chelsey King (D), Reinagel (ND), Savanna Ayers (ND). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame: Sanders 4-4, Morrill 2-4. Records -- De Soto 13-14, Notre Dame 27-2.

Editor's note: Brianne Sanders' batting stats have been changed from the print edition.