Rain ends chase for third

SPRINGFIELD -- The Notre Dame baseball team won third place in Class 3 without even having to score a run Saturday.

The Bulldogs and Boonville were awarded a share of the bronze medal after more than a two-hour rain delay ended in the cancellation of the consolation game at Meador Park.

Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett was pleased with a third-place finish after posting a 13-11 record while also failing to advance out of district play last season.

The Bulldogs were scheduled to play in Saturday's third-place game after losing their semifinal game against St. Dominic 25-8 on Friday. Notre Dame entered the sixth inning leading 8-6 against the Crusaders, who ended up setting a state tournament record for runs in one inning by scoring 19 in the top of the sixth to rout the Bulldogs.

"We made huge strides," Graviett said of his team this spring. "We got back on top of the district, and I felt we could compete for a final four berth. I didn't know if we were quite there yet, and we made it up here and really had a good showing for 5 1/3 innings [Friday] and really competed with [St. Dominic]. And that was good for our young guys. We've got a good nucleus coming back and hopefully Notre Dame baseball is back on the rise."

Although Notre Dame and Boonville were rained out, the Class 3 title game between St. Dominic and Webb City was played Saturday with St. Dominic prevailing 8-0.

"We wanted to play today and I think Boonville did after both games yesterday," Graviett said. "It would have been nice to get it in today, but it just didn't happen."

TOBY CARRIG ~ tcarrig@semissourian.com Notre Dame manager Lauren Reinagel fielded the ball during a game of pepper with Notre Dame players during the rain delay Saturday at the Class 3 state tournament in Springfield.

Graviett said one of the aspects of this season's team that excited him the most was his sophomore class. The Bulldogs advanced to the final four starting three sophomores -- shortstop/pitcher Colton Young, left fielder Jake Pewitt and first baseman Wesley Glaus. Sophomore pitcher Tanner Hiett also received about 23 innings on the mound this spring.

"As sophomores they got a lot of maturity done this year in different situations and we'll expect bigger things out of them," Graviett said. "Their class as a whole -- it's not just those few guys -- is tremendously deep in baseball talent. And we're going to have a good nucleus of seniors next year, and we'll have high expectations coming in."

Young and Pewitt each had a hit and scored a run against St. Dominic. Pewitt added an RBI.

Young and Hiett were both called upon to pitch against the Crusaders, although both struggled in the 19-run sixth, combining to give up 15 runs.

TOBY CARRIG ~ tcarrig@semissourian.com Notre Dame outfielder Aaron Tomaszewski played flips with some teammates Saturday in Springfield.

Graviett also said the emergence of junior outfielder Austin Greer as one of the team's top hitters was a nice surprise this spring.

Greer, who suffered from back injuries that prevented him from playing baseball the last two springs, hit .328 through districts with a team-leading five home runs, 23 RBIs and 14 stolen bases.

"He's just a phenomenal athlete," Graviett said. "Really didn't expect what he did this year. I thought by the end of the year he'd be giving us what he's doing, but he came out on fire right away. That's a lot of his competitive nature. He doesn't settle for second best. And he's a kid, he's going to succeed no matter what he does."

Greer said he always has been a decent hitter. The junior had an impressive showing at the state tournament, going 2-for-2 with one run scored and three RBIs.

"I've always made contact with the ball," Greer said. "I'm a fairly decent athlete and I think I just went out there and started swinging it really.

"The goal will definitely be to come back. We know we have enough talent. We used it this year. Next year, hopefully, we can use it a little bit better."

Senior Logan Glueck said having a mix of seniors and younger talented players made for a fun season.

"We all just mixed together and we had every different kind of personality on the team," Glueck said. "It just made for a good vibe."