TOP 'DOG IN DISTRICT: NOTRE DAME HOLDS OFF KELLY IN 2A SHOWDOWN

CHAFFEE -- Bo knows clutch pitching. And, finally, Bo knows district championships.

After throwing five innings on Wednesday in a 10-0 win over Chaffee in the Class 2A, District 2 tournament semifinals, Brian Obermann -- a.k.a. Bo -- stranded the tying run at second and the go-ahead run at first as the No. 2 Bulldogs (23-3) staved off the top-seeded and two-time defending district champion Kelly Hawks 5-4.

Obermann, Notre Dame's third pitcher of the game, relieved Josh Eftink with runners at first and second and nobody out with a 5-3 lead.

Kelly (19-5) had already scored a run in the inning on an RBI double by Jim Hulshof.

Against Obermann, Kelly's Justin Simpher drove a long single to left to plate Hulshof. Jon Heuring followed with another single, representing the go-ahead run at first.

Then Obermann beared down.

The junior left-hander struck out Adam Daughhetee swinging, got No. 9 hitter Vince Elkins to pop up, then blew away Jamie Essner on strikes to end the game.

"I was a bit tight at the beginning," Obermann said. "(Adrenaline) was the thing that kept me going. They beat me in that extra-inning game earlier this year, so I'm tickled to death to come back and beat these guys."

"He's got some intestinal fortitude," said Notre Dame coach Chris Neff. "We had to go with him.

"But (catcher) Scott Reinagel deserves a lot of credit for this win. We didn't call any pitches today. We let him call the shots. He knows Mark real well. He kept the groove going with Josh and Brian. And the only ball that hit the backstop today was a bad throw from the outfield."

Although Obermann got the big outs in the seventh, all four of the game's pitchers -- Notre Dame's Obermann, Eftink and starter Mark Ostendorf, as well as Kelly's Jim Hulshof -- had their moments.

Ostendorf got Notre Dame into the sixth and earned the win, allowing three runs on five hits and five walks.

His most impressive pitching stat, though, was the eight runners he stranded. He was able to come up with some key strikeouts.

* After Jamie Essner doubled on the first pitch of the game, Ostendorf stranded him at third, striking out slugger Jason Glastetter for the third out.

* In the third, Ostendorf struck out Glastetter with two runners on base to end the inning.

* Ostendorf ended the fourth by fanning Elkins with the bases loaded.

Eftink entered the game after Ostendorf gave up two one-out singles in the sixth. After giving up an RBI single to Jon Welter, Eftink got Kelly's Brad Kolwyck -- who is third in the area home run race -- to ground out to first, stranding two more runners.

"We can't say we didn't have our chances," said Kelly coach Mike Scott. "But that's all you can ask for -- that you play hard and you give a good effort. Just about everybody thought it would be a good game that went down to the wire and that's what it was."

Kolwyck entered the game tied with Eftink for second place in the local home run derby. But Eftink lined a Hulshof curveball over the right-center field fence in the fifth that gave him his 10th homer of the year and gave the Bulldogs a 4-2 lead.

Notre Dame got what proved to be the game-winning run in the top of the sixth when Adam Seyer -- who was pinch hitting for Obermann while he warmed up in the bullpen -- singled to score Wes Steele, giving the Bulldogs a 5-2 lead.

Notre Dame scored two runs in the third on an RBI double by Tommy Wencewicz and an error. Wencewicz went 3-for-4 and was the only Notre Dame player in the game with more than one hit.

Notre Dame held a 4-0 lead until Kelly finally scored a run in the fifth after a pair of walks, a flyout and a fielder's choice by Hulshof. Hulshof went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run. Heuring also had two hits for Kelly.

The Hawks added another in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

Hulshof pitched admirably, but suffered the first loss in his high school career. He went the distance, giving up seven hits and three walks. He struck out one.

As for Notre Dame, this was sweet redemption after losses to Kelly in the championship game two years in a row. Kelly was also the only local team to beat Notre Dame this season.

"We made it to the district championship game the last two years and lost it to Kelly those two years," said Eftink, a junior. "It feels good to get them this year."

Notre Dame will play on the road against the winner of District 1 at 4 p.m. on Thursday.