Notre Dame wins 3-0 to claim first softball title

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Lauren Reinagel wants her dog.

Notre Dame's standout pitcher said her father, Notre Dame assistant coach Ray Reinagel, made a deal during the Jackson Invitational that if the Bulldogs won the state title, she could get a dog.

Notre Dame delivered on its end of the bargain.

Reinagel threw a perfect game to lead the Bulldogs to the Class 3 state softball championship with a 3-0 victory against Kirksville on Saturday.

"Coach [Jeff] Graviett's mom got a dog and brought it to one of our tournaments," Lauren Reinagel said. "I loved it. I fell in love with it. I kept begging and begging, and all he said was, 'No.' So the team kind of made a deal, 'What if we win a state championship?' He said, 'Fine, I'll give it to you if you win a state championship.'"

Mandatory Credit: Tyson Hofsommer / Southcreek Global (17 October 2009: Seattle Sounders FC defeated the Kansas City Wizards 3-2 at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, Kansas City, KS.)

Reinagel struck out 12 to win Notre Dame's first state title in softball. The Bulldogs finished 30-2.

"I think she had a lot of intensity today," Notre Dame catcher Alecia Glaus said of Reinagel. "She felt confident in her pitches."

The Bulldogs were split on how many of them knew Reinagel hadn't allowed a hit as the game progressed. Notre Dame shortstop Jane Morrill said she was fairly certain but didn't ask during the game.

"I didn't focus on it," Morrill said. "When I heard it, I was like, 'That's awesome.' You just have to make a play no matter what."

One of the most surprised to learn of the perfect game was Reinagel. Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett broke the news to her as they were lining up to receive their first-place medals.

Notre Dame Bulldogs pitcher Lauren Reinagel reacts after her pitch during the MSHSAA State Softball Championship game in St. Joseph. The Bulldogs defeated the Lady Tigers 3-0. Photo: Tyson Hofsommer

"I had no idea," Reinagel said. "I knew I was throwing well. I knew I had a couple strikeouts, but I did not know I had a perfect game."

One of the players who was aware of the perfect game was right fielder Hali Rendleman. Kirksville's No. 3 hitter, pitcher Jackie Bishop, lifted a fly ball to right with two outs in the seventh, and Rendleman admitted she got a little nervous.

"I was thinking if I was going to charge it too much and it would drop," Rendleman said. "It's pretty exciting."

After clutching the final out, she tossed the ball back to the mound and rushed to celebrate with her teammates behind the pitcher's circle. She said the ball wasn't hers to keep.

"It was Lauren's ball," Rendleman said.

Tyson Hofsommer ~ Special to the Southeast MissourianTOP: Notre Dame pitcher Lauren Reinagel reacts to a pitch during the Class 3 championship game Saturday in St. Joseph, Mo. ABOVE: Notre Dame left fielder Hali Rendleman charges toward the infield after catching the final out in the championship game.LEFT: Notre Dame's Alecia Glaus, left, and Jane Morrill help hoist the state championship trophy.

Reinagel said Saturday was not her final softball game. She plans to play in college but hasn't decided where. She said only one coach -- from Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo. -- talked to her after the game.

"I'm leaving my options open, but I'm going somewhere," she said. "I want to play."

While Reinagel dominated, Bishop equaled her until the fourth inning. Notre Dame's first eight outs of the game came on strikeouts and Bishop worked a 2-2 count on Reinagel with two outs in the fourth. Reinagel fouled off a few pitches before making solid contact.

"I was rounding first and I was crossing my fingers," Reinagel said. "I was praying for it to go out. I never thought it was. I thought it was going to be an easy fly ball."

She got enough of it to lift it over the fence in left field to hand Bishop her first earned run of the season. As Reinagel rounded third and headed home, her fists were clenched and her eyes wide with excitement. She was met at the plate by her teammates, who mobbed her.

"I was so excited," Reinagel said. "I thought if we can get one, we can get more. I didn't know it was going out. I swung, and it went out."

Graviett said he had to calm down his pitcher before sending her out for the bottom of the inning. But he couldn't overstate the importance of the run.

"Bishop hadn't given up any earned runs this year, so she wasn't used to being put in that spot," he said. "They were getting down. With the way Lauren was throwing the ball, it had to be a little tough in their dugout."

The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the fifth when Savanna Ayers singled before giving way to pinch-runner Ashton Elfrink, who stole second. With two outs, Rendleman laid down a bunt single to second. Elfrink never stopped at third and scored on the play.

"The second baseman is covering first, and that's a play that you do not work on in practice," Graviett said. "Any time you can put kids in situations and plays that they do not work every day in practice, it's an advantage to you. Ashton wasn't slowing down. She knew what the plan was. If we got a bunt down, we were going to send it."

With the way Reinagel was pitching, the Bulldogs felt comfortable with the two-run lead.

"It was good so we had something to build on," Rendleman said. "If we did make a mistake, we had backup."

Brianne Sanders delivered a two-out single to left field in the seventh to plate the Bulldogs' third run.

"I was just thinking I've got to put the bat on the ball," Sanders said. "It's the last inning of the game and I want to get an extra run in with the girl on second.

"I was really excited when I was up there. I was smiling. I love that kind of pressure."

The added insurance was especially important because it wasn't certain Reinagel would be able to finish the game. She took a line drive off the ring finger on her pitching hand on the final out of the sixth inning. Chloe Kerlin smacked a liner off Reinagel, who recovered in time to throw to first for the out. But Reinagel shook her hand and winced in pain as she ran to the dugout.

"I think Lauren was just a little shook up, scared her a little bit," Graviett said. "Just had to get her here and let the throbbing go down a little bit. It probably would have taken a lot to keep her from going out to the mound in the seventh."

Graviett admitted he got a knot in his stomach when it happened and even had Katie Bond and Summer Burger begin warming up as the Bulldogs batted during the top of the seventh. Reinagel and Glaus also threw behind the dugout, trying to figure out if Reinagel could continue.

"It's a little swollen," Reinagel said. "It's getting a little stiff. I could squeeze it barely so I went back in and pitched around it.

"At first, it scared me, then it hurt."

Reinagel returned to the mound and finished what she'd started, pitching the Bulldogs to the state championship.

"It feels amazing," Sanders said. "It's the best feeling I've ever felt in my life. It's so cool."