Notre Dame softball: Slap-happy Bulldogs ready for final four

The Notre Dame Bulldogs are heading back to the final four with new players, new roles and new jerseys.

But one thing remains the same -- they bunt, slap and run like crazy.

"Using speed and putting pressure on the other team is the key," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "They are high school girls, they are going to make mistakes. We want to keep pushing it."

The 2009 Bulldogs feature a little different lineup than previous years. Instead of two main slap hitters in the Nos. 1 and 2 holes, the Bulldogs also feature speedsters in the Nos. 8 and 9 spots, causing havoc throughout the lineup.

"Being able to have speed is special," Bulldogs senior Mallory Siebert said. "We can steal more than others and we're able to put ourselves in scoring position for our power hitters, who almost always come through."

Notre Dame's Hali Rendleman lays down a successful bunt for a hit during the Bulldogs' Class 3 sectional win against DeSoto.

Notre Dame's lineup starts with lightning quick Brianne Sanders. The sophomore saw limited time in the Bulldogs' lineup last year, and has made quite the impact in the leadoff spot this season.

"[She] probably possesses the most speed of any girl since I've been up here," Graviett said. "The stride she's made from last year to this year is phenomenal. We were looking to get her on one or two times a game, and now she's getting on three or four times. She's doing a tremendous job in the leadoff spot. As a sophomore, you couldn't ask for much more from her. Her work ethic is great. She puts in a lot of time. After practice she works on it."

Sanders, who's nicknamed V, boasts a .515 on-base percentage with a team-leading 29 steals.

"My job is to get on base," Sanders said. "The game we play is we [speedsters] get on base and they [power hitters] drive us in."

Does Sanders ever feel like going away from the original game plan and swinging away?

"Sometimes I want to," Sanders said. "But I don't really want to do that because I haven't swung at live pitching in a really long time."

After Sanders leads off, it's up to Siebert to advance her or reach base, depending on the outcome of Sanders' at-bat.

"With V, they are always playing in," Siebert said. "So with me being a lefty, they normally expect me to lay down a bunt as well. So I always look the field over first and try and find a gap and aim for that."

Siebert also is enjoying a successful year. She leads the Bulldogs with a .485 batting average and .519 on-base percentage.

Graviett appreciates Siebert's ability to spray the field and realizes his two leadoff hitters are crucial to the team's success.

"Mallory moves the ball very well," Graviett said. "She hits the ball a lot in the holes. She really started to shine in the middle of last year, driving in runs in the middle of that lineup. Now we ask her to get on, but she's still driving in runs. She has tremendous leadership. She's doing things that we ask her and she sets the table. Those two at the top of the order are just nails right now."

The Bulldogs don't just boast speed at the top of the lineup. In fact, the bottom two hitters have proved just as important to the success of the team. The Bulldogs' bottom two hitters combined for four runs in during Saturday's 6-0 quarterfinal victory over John F. Kennedy.

Sophomore Summer Burger restarts the speed in the No. 8 spot for Notre Dame. She isn't a slapper, but she uses her hitting skills or bunting abilities to strike the ball to the left side then relies on her speed to reach first.

"When they play back, I know that I need to bunt and get it down," Burger said. "But whenever they play up, I know I need to stay back and hit."

"Summer is more of a hitter," Graviett said. "She has a little bit more hitting skills, but the same principle. She tries to hit the ball on the left side and use her speed. She's done a good job at everything."

Wrapping up the Bulldogs' lineup is sophomore Hali Rendleman.

Rendleman is the lone right-handed hitter out of the four, but that doesn't stop her from using her speed to reach base. She either bunts down the first-base or third-base line then outruns the defense.

"I look at how first and third are playing to see who's playing further back, whether or not they have quick reactions on throwing to see where I bunt," Rendleman said.

"Hali has done such a good job bunting," Graviett said. "She does a good job keeping the ball on the lines, whether it be first or third, and she has a good eye. She only bunts strikes, she creates a lot of walks and is the cause of a lot of havoc down in that nine hole."

Siebert enjoys knowing that speed is at the bottom as well as the top of the lineup.

"There's almost always someone on," Siebert said.

Part of their ability to reach base frequently is communication. The four speedsters often share insights they gain from at-bats.

"We're always going, 'What'd you see, where's she's going,'" Siebert said. "I'm constantly asking coach what she's throwing me, where's she going. We're always giving each other advice so we can help each other out."

The art of slapping isn't as easy as it may seem. The hitters have to analyze the field and decide what they're going to do.

"We use our placement a lot to be able to beat the third baseman," Siebert said.

There are times a defense will move in so close to the plate that it almost seems there's no room to slap the ball. Siebert said the key is not to get frustrated when that happens.

"There are times you just want to hit it over their heads, but that's what the power hitters are for," Siebert said. "We know that if we keep getting it down, we'll eventually get on."

After the four slap and bunt their way on base, they continue to be a distraction to the defense.

"They create so much havoc with what they do at the plate, they open up so much on the basepaths," Graviett said. "When you have one of those hitters up, they create a lot of holes because the defense has to respect the bunt. Somebody else has to cover the base, so they open it up for themselves."

Sanders, Burger and Rendleman are sophomores, and they agreed there is some pressure to prove they can play well at the varsity level.

"It's a good kind of pressure," Sanders said. "You want to be in that position and you want to be on base for your team."

"I feel pressured a little bit," Rendleman said. "But at the same time, I know that if I fail, I have the others to pick me up and do well."

With the sophomores looking for guidance, Siebert knows she plays a key role in helping them mature as players.

"I take it very seriously," Siebert said. "I know that I've had people I looked up to. I just try to give them as much advice as possible so next year they use it, and when they're seniors, they can help the people below them."

The four speedsters will play a pivotal role if Notre Dame is to bring home an elusive softball championship.

"We're really focused," Burger said. "We just want to try and get on and score and bring home that first-place trophy that we haven't yet."