Notre Dame's Reinagel is the Southeast Missourian softball player of the year

Lauren Reinagel got her dog.

And she gave it a fitting name -- Ace.

Ace was a gift from Reinagel's parents after she helped lead the Notre Dame softball team to the Class 3 state championship in October.

"We got back to the assembly after state and they got done talking and congratulating us and everything and coach [Jeff] Graviett said my parents had one more surprise for me," Reinagel said. "That's when Mrs. Graviett brought out the dog.

"It's awesome. I love it."

Notre Dame standout pitcher Lauren Reinagel was rewarded with a dog, fittingly named Ace, after pitching a perfect game in the Class 3 championship game. (Kit Doyle)

Reinagel's father, Ray, an assistant coach at Notre Dame, made a deal with Lauren that if the Bulldogs won the state title, he'd allow Lauren to get a dog. Lauren fired a perfect game against Kirksville in the state championship game to hold up her end of the deal. Her father followed through on his end.

"I think it was more my mom said yes," Lauren said.

Reinagel not only pitched a perfect game but also accounted for her team's first run in the state title game when she lifted a solo home run to left field. Her final game with Notre Dame was a fitting end for the school's winningest pitcher and this year's Southeast Missourian softball player of the year. It's the third consecutive year she's earned the honor.

"Pitching is what I do, so to be perfect in my last game was pretty awesome," Reinagel said. "And that I stepped up in my last game -- I've never been known as a really good hitter -- that I got the big hit was special."

Reinagel said she thinks about the state title game every day and still gets goose bumps. But she admitted that it played out much better than her wildest dreams.

Lauren Reinagel went 28-2 with a 0.70 ERA and 285 strikeouts her senior season. She finished her high school career with an 84-4 record, which included 21 no-hitters.

"My dreams were winning it," she said. "Everything else was a plus. I dreamed I pitched good, but never a perfect game. I never thought it was possible to pitch a perfect game in the state finals."

An interesting note about her perfect game is that she didn't realize she had been perfect. Her coach, Jeff Graviett, has a background in baseball, where it's considered back luck to talk about a perfect game, so he refused to mention it. Her teammates also didn't want to jinx it.

"I never realized that no one had got on base until after the game," she said. "My knees got weak and Mallory [Siebert] was holding me up. I have a picture of me about to fall."

Reinagel finished with 12 strikeouts in the title game. She struck out the first seven batters she faced and only two balls left the infield.

"It's one of the best I've seen and been a part of," Graviett said of Reinagel's final performance. "You could just see from when we just got to the park the determination she had, whereas I think nerves got her a little bit the year before.

"I'd say she probably had some more dominant performances. They had some good swings on her, but she kept on battling. I don't think she was thinking about that. Her mind was to win the game."

Reinagel's surprise contribution this season was her offense. She became the Bulldogs' No. 4 hitter, where she recorded a .406 average with 30 RBIs and six home runs.

"She's really developed," Graviett said. "She's worked on something every year, added something to that. A lot of times you see kids kind of accept what they've got. She saw what it was going to take to win a state championship, and that was our goal.

"She always was a decent hitter, but she elevated herself. We couldn't find nobody consistently to hit behind Jane [Morrill] last year, and she really stepped up and did a good job in that role for us this year."

Reinagel credited her father for helping her develop into a better hitter over the summer.

"I remember in the beginning of the season, me and my dad went to Kelso every night for an hour until softball started," she said. "For three weeks straight, we'd hit, just little drills like soft toss, for an hour.

"I didn't want to look back and have any regrets this year or think I could have practiced more or I could have been better. I wanted to go out with a bang."

Kelly pitcher Danielle Dock, who helped lead the Hawks deep into the playoffs the last two years, noticed a difference in Reinagel's approach at the plate this season.

"I've faced Lauren since I was 11," she said. "I've played with her my whole life. Over the years, you learn what to throw and what not to throw. ... She did a lot better hitting this year than last year, and I had to work a lot more with different pitches with her. I couldn't just throw a fastball outside because she'd take it to right field."

But Reinagel's pitching remained her trademark. She went 28-2 with a 0.70 ERA and 285 strikeouts as a senior. She finished her career at Notre Dame with an 84-4 record, 21 career no-hitters and 797 strikeouts. Her 84 wins ties the state record, while the no-hitters rank second in state history.

"Her riseball is very, very, very effective," Dock said. "She has an amazing riseball. ... She does throw hard and she does throw fast. It's her movement that is so much more effective than her speed."

Reinagel said she's still exploring her options for next year and she recently heard from Southeast Missouri State, which she said really interests her. She hasn't made a decision yet, but one thing is certain:

"I don't plan to go too far so I can come home and visit [Ace] every day," she said.