Notre Dame win sets up showdown with Sikeston

DEXTER, Mo. -- The matchup high school baseball fans have been waiting for is now officially on.

Top-seeded Sikeston and second-seeded Notre Dame eased to semifinal victories Wednesday in the Class 3, District 1 Tournament at Dexter City Park, setting up today's 5 p.m. championship game.

Notre Dame (18-6) handed Sikeston (23-1) its only loss this season, 5-3 on April 27. And Notre Dame stunned heavily favored Sikeston in last year's district title contest. Sikeston, the state's top-ranked Class 3 team, owns two other victories over Notre Dame this season.

"It should be exciting," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "They're very, very hot right now, but in a one-game situation, anything's possible."

Notre Dame bounced back from Tuesday's near-upset at the hands of No. 7 Doniphan -- the Bulldogs needed a two-run, seventh-inning rally to prevail -- to roll past No. 3 Dexter 6-1 in the semifinals.

Blake Urhahn (3-1) pitched a two-hitter, with six strikeouts and five walks.

The Bulldogs had 10 hits, led by Lee Essner's 3-for-3 performance. Tony Longman added two hits, and Matt Wulfers set a school record with his fifth triple of the season.

Notre Dame did not commit an error.

The Bulldogs grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Wulfers' RBI triple and Urhahn's RBI ground out. The Bulldogs never looked back.

Sikeston routed No. 4 Fredericktown 10-1.

Today's title contest will feature a pitcher's duel between Notre Dame's Essner and Sikeston's Blake DeWitt. Essner has a 19-2 career record -- 10-0 this year, including a win against Sikeston -- while DeWitt has never been beaten in high school in 25 decisions.Notre Dame 6, Dexter 1

Dexter 000 100 0 -- 1 2 1

Notre Dame 210 210 X -- 6 10 0

WP -- Blake Urhahn, 3-1. LP -- Nolan Pixley. 3B -- Matt Wulfers (ND). 2B -- Lee Essner (ND), Blake Essner (ND), Tony Longman (ND). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame, Essner 3-3, Longman 2-2. Records -- Dexter 14-7, Notre Dame 18-6.

Jackson 8, Seckman 3

Jackson was briefly on the ropes Wednesday in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 1 tournament in Poplar Bluff.

But the top-seeded Indians bounced back from an early three-run deficit to knock off fourth-seeded Seckman 8-3.

Jackson (17-6) will play second-seeded Farmington at 4 p.m. Friday for the district title. The Knights (12-8) eliminated sixth-seeded Fox 12-2 in five innings in Wednesday's other semifinal.

"It was a good day for us and we're excited to be playing for the district title," Jackson coach Rex Crosnoe said.

Jason Meystedt gave up three runs in the top of the first inning but blanked Seckman on three hits over the final six innings. Meystedt struck out nine.

Jackson answered with three runs in the bottom of the first, getting RBI singles from Brandon Gendron and Trey Busch, along with a sacrifice fly from Trevor Thompson.

The contest remained 3-3 until the sixth, when Jackson scored five runs. Busch hit a tie-breaking RBI single to score Gendron, who began with a single and was sacrificed to second by Rex Meyr. Meystedt added a three-run double.

"They jumped on us early, but we got right back in it with three in the first, then Jason Meystedt really settled down and we finally got some runs late," Crosnoe said.

Jackson 8, Seckman 3

Seckman 300 000 0 -- 3 6 2

Jackson 300 005 X -- 8 9 3

WP -- Jason Meystedt, 4-2. LP -- Jake Hackerson. HR -- Matt Mayer (S). 2B -- Meystedt (J). Multiple hits -- Seckman, David Atkins, 2-4; Jackson, Tyler Profilet 2-3, Brandon Gendron 2-3, Trey Busch 2-3. Records -- Seckman 8-16, Jackson 17-6.

-- From staff reports