Notre Dame, Sikeston advance to Class 3 District 1 softball championship game

STE. GENEVIEVE, Mo. -- Madison Landeros finished 3 for 3 with a pair of triples and two RBIs, and Haylie Santos and Ellie Retz combined to pick up the shutout in the circle as the Notre Dame softball team cruised past Ste. Genevieve 9-0 in a Class 3 District 1 semifinal Thursday at Challenger Baseball Field.

The Bulldogs will face third-seeded Sikeston in the district championship game for the second straight season. Sikeston edged second-seeded Perryville 15-12 in Thursday's second semifinal. First pitch is slated for 4:30 p.m. today.

"When you play well in all three phases, it's tough to lose in this game," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "I thought we came out and did a good job on the mound. Both pitchers threw well. ... The defense was there all day long other than a couple nit-picky things that us coaches get on them about, but they were phenomenal all day.

"We scored a couple runs every inning. That's the name of the game. If you can do that, you're going to beat a lot of teams."

A two-run single by Maddie Urhahn and a sacrifice fly by Abby Rollet allowed Notre Dame (23-3) to build a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning before Landeros and Lily Dohogne each provided RBI singles in the second to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 5-0. In the fourth inning, Landeros plated Christina Scherer with an RBI triple to left field that sparked a four-run inning for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's Lily Dohogne scores on a sacrifice fly by Abby Rollet as the throw gets away from Ste. Genevieve catcher Melanie Huber during the first inning of the Class 3 District 1 tournament Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015 in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

"She just has tremendous plate discipline," Graviett said about Landeros, a sophomore shortstop. "... She doesn't go out of the zone to chase a lot of pitches. She really waits on her pitch. Early in the count if she gets it, she takes advantage of it. She's not scared to hit with two strikes."

Santos got the start in the circle for the Bulldogs. She gave up two hits and had two strikeouts and one walk before being relieved by Retz, who went two innings and allowed two hits with three strikeouts and one walk.

"I thought Haylie looked as good as she's looked all year for us," Graviett said. "She definitely got in the groove there in the middle innings. ... Both pitchers came out here and did their job and put up zeros."

Ste. Genevieve (6-19) was led at the plate by Adrea Mueller, who finished 2 for 3 with a pair of base hits. Megan Huck pitched four innings and took the loss for the Dragons. She scattered nine hits, allowed nine runs -- all earned -- and had five walks and no strikeouts.

"We talked about it being almost like a business trip," Graviett said. "If we can take care of business, we expect to win this district."

Ste. Genevieve 000 000 0 -- 0 4 1

Notre Dame 320 400 0 -- 9 10 0

WP -- Haylie Santos. LP -- Megan Huck. 3B -- Madison Landeros (ND) 2. Multiple hits -- Ste. Genevieve: Adrea Mueller 2-3; Notre Dame: Landeros 3-3.

Sikeston 15, Perryville 12

Perryville shortstop Emma Nelson, left, encourages relief pitcher Mackenzie Laurentius just before a new pitcher was called during the sixth inning of the Sikeston game in the Class 3 District 1 tournament Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015 in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Tyeshia Mitchell belted a two-run inside-the-park home run in the top of the fourth inning, and the third-seeded Bulldogs held on to defeat the second-seeded Pirates in the other semifinal.

"It's just been a rivalry kind of budding between us, and we were just fortunate to get out of here," said Sikeston coach Eric Voorhees, whose team combined for 15 hits but was plagued by six errors. "Our offense did exactly what I anticipated us doing. We have been struggling bad offensively, and we made a lot of errors tonight. We've definitely got to clean that up before we play Notre Dame."

Mitchell was one of six Bulldogs who recorded multiple hits. She finished 2 for 4 at the plate, including a two-run single in the top of the first inning, during which Sikeston (9-17) scored six runs on seven hits.

"She's a girl that has been nothing but a positive attitude, and we love having her," Voorhees said about Mitchell.

Perryville (9-14) answered back with three runs in the bottom of the first inning and trimmed its deficit to 6-5 in the bottom of the second when Emma Nelson and Courtney Wingerter each provided an RBI. A pair of errors led to two runs in the third inning when the Pirates took their only lead of the game at 7-6.

"I was thinking maybe whoever bats last is going to score last, and I felt comfortable with that," Perryville coach Darin Deckard said. "Up and down the lineup we can hit the ball, and they kept hitting. ... I couldn't be more proud of our girls and the way they battled. I tell them they can control two things, and that's attitude and effort. And I think the attitude was great, and the effort was there."

Perryville pitcher Brandi Huber throws to a Sikeston batter during the first inning of the Class 3 District 1 tournament Thursday, Oct. 8, 2015 in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. (Fred Lynch)

Perryville's offense was led by freshman Anna Besand, who had five RBIs and finished 2 for 3 with a pair of inside-the-park home runs in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively. Kailyn Fahnestock, Mackenzie Laurentius and Rachael Moore each had multiple hits for the Pirates.

"Athletically, she stands out," Deckard said about Besand. "... She's batting .340 as a freshman and hits the ball hard. I told her, 'Just keep hitting the ball hard. You're doing good things. Line drives will come.' All of a sudden today, she smoked two balls, and those are the first two home runs she's ever hit, she said."

Kylie Noe pitched a complete game to pick up the win in the circle. She scattered 10 hits and gave up 12 runs -- nine earned -- and finished with two strikeouts and four walks. She also finished 3 for 5 with three runs scored to help her cause at the plate.

"She walked a couple girls here and there. This is her first year as a varsity starter. She's just a sophomore, so this is a big moment for her," Voorhees said. "You'd be crazy to think the nerves weren't getting there, but at the same time, she made pitches when she had to, particularly in those last two innings."

Perryville went through three pitchers with Madison Wengert picking up the loss. She pitched 5 1/3 innings, had three strikeouts and four walks and allowed eight hits and six runs -- three earned. The Pirates walked 12 batters in the game.

Sikeston 600 232 2 -- 15 15 6

Perryville 322 023 0 -- 12 10 3

WP -- Kylie Noe. LP -- Madison Wengert. HR -- Tyeshia Mitchell (S), Anna Besand (P) 2. 3B -- Emma Nelson (P). Multiple hits -- Sikeston: Noe 3-5, Madeline Witt 2-3, Mitchell 2-4, Hanna Placek 2-4, Hana Mason 2-5, Katie Hampton 2-6; Notre Dame: Mackenzie Laurentius 2-2, Besand 2-3, Rachael Moore 2-4, Kailyn Fahnestock 2-4.