ND seniors finally get their title

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Notre Dame senior Brooke Glastetter said the Bulldogs almost were destined to win the state championship this year.

Glastetter finished third in the state as a sophomore and second as a junior. She and her fellow seniors refused to be denied the final step at this year's Class 3 softball final four.

"Mallory Siebert and I were always like, 'It was meant to be. That's how it's going to happen,'" Glastetter said. "I think we really pushed for it, like any team would."

Saturday's 3-0 victory against Kirksville in the state title game marked the first softball championship for Notre Dame, and pitcher Lauren Reinagel felt honored to be part of the first team to deliver the first-place hardware.

"It was like a dream come true for all us girls out there," Reinagel said. "We've wanted it three years in a row and we finally did it.

"It's senior year. It's our last shot. We gave it all we've got."

As the Bulldogs celebrated outside their dugout after receiving their first-place medals, Glastetter clutched the championship trophy when fellow senior Jane Morrill walked over.

"It's heavy," Glastetter said, handing it to Morrill.

But it was a weight she'd longed to hold since falling short the last two years.

"I'm still in shock," Glastetter said. "We've played a billion innings our whole lives and it came down to these seven innings. We knew we could do it. It was just getting those runs across when we needed them."

Many of the players agreed Saturday's title validated the years they'd spent on the softball fields. Notre Dame assistant coach Ray Reinagel, who worked with many of the Notre Dame players while they were growing up, enjoyed watching the players get the payoff for their work.

"To see these girls, they give up a lot," he said. "They work during the summer. They give up their vacations. They give up a lot of personal things to work hard at this. That's why we're at where we're at. It doesn't just happen. It's just a tremendous feeling to see this for them."

Some of the players joked about their championship rings. Since the seniors have been at Notre Dame, the boys soccer team won state titles in 2006 and 2007, the boys basketball team captured a state championship in 2008 and the baseball team brought home a state title in June. Now the softball team can add itself to the list of champions.

"We did everything our entire lives to lead up to this moment and we're going to make it pay off, and it did," Morrill said. "It feels great."