Notre Dame wins SEMO Conference tournament

Notre Dame decided to wait out the Kennett pitchers with the bases loaded Monday.

The strategy resulted in three free passes to plate runs.

Notre Dame padded its lead with three bases-loaded walks in the fourth inning then held on for a 7-4 victory in the SEMO Conference baseball tournament title game at Capaha Field.

"You've got to go up there and have good at-bats every at-bat and I think we did a good job of that tonight," Notre Dame senior Colton Young said. "We got pitches we could hit. When they had trouble throwing strikes, we made them work the count. We used that to our advantage."

Jacob Pewitt took the first bases-loaded walk after getting down in the count 0-2.

Notre Dame players Trenton St. Cin, back, and Jake Pewitt are met by their teammates after scoring Monday during the third inning of the SEMO Conference championship game at Capaha Field. Notre Dame scored three runs in the inning and went on to a 7-4 win against Kennett. (LAURA SIMON)

"I never like to get walked, but it helps the team out," said Jeremy Essner, who coaxed the second walk to score a run.

Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett appreciated his team's ability to drive in runs with patience, but said he prefers to see aggressive swings.

"I think sometimes we're too patient," Graviett said. "But these guys are seniors so they should know the strike zone. They drew some big walks with the bases loaded to give us some momentum."

Essner provided the big blow in the third inning when he smooched the right-field wall with a double that scored two. That came after cleanup hitter Trenton St. Cin laid down a bunt single with two outs and runners at second and third. Mark Glastetter scored on the bunt by sliding low and to the outside of the plate to avoid the tag for the game's first run.

"Our team really gets going after a lot of people get some hits," said Essner, who drove in three runs. "We really start feeding off that."

Notre Dame's Tanner Hiett pitches to a Kennett player in the sixth inning Monday, May 3, 2010 during the SEMO Conference championship game against Kennett at Capaha Field. (LAURA SIMON)

Notre Dame added a run in the fifth on a wild pitch to make it 7-2. That was after the Bulldogs (18-1) had a runner thrown out at the plate trying to score on a wild pitch earlier in the inning.

Notre Dame starter Tanner Hiett looked in control for most of the game. Kennett struck for two unearned runs in the fourth on a two-out double by Thomas Stillman. The Indians made things interesting in the seventh when they sandwiched a hit between two errors to load the bases with no outs.

"It wasn't really getting painful," Hiett said of the seventh inning. "I think I was aiming the ball a lot today, so I struggled with that every once in a while. I knew the defense was going to be there in the seventh, even though it wasn't all game."

Kennett used a one-out sacrifice fly to score one, then a single by Trey Bazzell pushed across another run.

Hiett said that despite the two errors in the inning, he never lost confidence in his defense.

Notre Dame first baseman Wesley Glaus fields a throw during the second inning.

"You've got to keep trusting your defense because they're going to make plays for you," he said. "I've grown up with these guys and I know they're going to come around and make the plays because they always do."

Hiett struck out Logan Dollins to end the game.

"He was hungry and you wanted to see him finish," Graviett said. "That was one thing I was glad to see. He bowed his neck and hung in there and battled."

Hiett finished with five strikeouts and all four runs he allowed were unearned.

"He's got to get his breaking pitch over for a strike," Graviett said. "I actually thought he was throwing harder than he normally does. Other than a few innings, he really stayed ahead of hitters. When he can throw that curveball in any count, it makes him hard to hit."

Notre Dame improved to 18-1 with the victory, but the team said it still savored the conference tournament championship. It's a title that eluded the Bulldogs during their run to the Class 3 state title last season.

"It was a big step for us," Essner said. "This was one of our big goals at the beginning of the season. We haven't done it in a while, so it was a big game for us."

Kennett 000 200 2 -- 4 5 0

Notre Dame 003 310 x -- 7 7 3

WP -- Tanner Hiett. LP -- Cameron Wallace. 2B -- Thomas Stillman (K), Jeremy Essner (ND). Multiple hits -- Kennett: Wallace 2-3; Notre Dame: Trenton St. Cin 2-4, Colton Young 2-3. Records -- Notre Dame 18-1.