Notre Dame baseball team run-rules Smithville to reach Class 4 title game

O'FALLON, Mo. -- There was a single phrase repeating in the mind of Notre Dame senior Chase Urhahn as he ran down the first base line in the sixth inning of his team's Class 4 semifinal on Friday.

Notre Dame players congratulate Chase Urhahn on hitting a two-run RBI in the the top of the fourth inning of the Bulldogs Class 4 semifinal against Smithville, Friday, June 5, 2015, in O'Fallon, Missouri. Urhahn scored on an error. Notre Dame won 13-3 in six innings. (Laura Simon)

"I was so hyped up when I hit it," Urhahn said of his drive to right field. "I was like, 'Get out of here ball, get out of here."

Just as Urhahn reached the first base bag, the ball sailed over the 40-foot high wall that stands 299 feet from home plate for a grand slam at TR Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, Missouri.

"It felt great off the bat," Urhahn said. "It was one of the greatest experiences I've ever had, hitting that ball. I'll remember that for the rest of my life."

The homer was the highlight of a seven-run top of the sixth for the Bulldogs, which propelled them to a 13-3 run-rule victory over Smithville in six innings.

Notre Dame will face Sullivan, which it defeated 15-0 on April 11, for the state championship at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

The Bulldogs fell behind in the first inning of the game, which was postponed a day due to rain. Notre Dame starter Graham Ruopp retired the first two Smithville batters before three consecutive hits gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

Notre Dame went down in order in the first and stranded two in the second before the top of the lineup saw Smithville starter Quintan Reed for a second time in the third.

Notre Dame catcher Christian Job heads to the dugout after warming up before the start of the Class 4 semifinal against Smithville, Friday, June 5, 2015, in O'Fallon, Missouri. Notre Dame won 13-3 in six innings. (Laura Simon)

The result was three runs, one on an RBI single by senior catcher Christian Job and two more on a double by Thomas Siebert.

"That's what we do," Job said. "That's how we work. After the first time through we really start getting on people."

Eight of the nine batters in Notre Dame's lineup are seniors, which Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said has an impact on the team's in-game improvements.

"I think it's the maturity of hitters," he said. "I think when you're senior-heavy as we are they've been around. They're not going to do too much. They kind of take their looks and see what they got, make their adjustments, and it's a young bunch of men swinging the bats -- everything was hard off the bat, even early on I thought we hit the ball really hard. It was just a matter of time."

Smithville loaded the bases in the bottom of the third against Notre Dame starter Graham Ruopp on a walk, hit batsman and bunt single. The Warriors scored their second run on a sacrifice fly and tied the game on a wild pitch.

"I talked to him and said 'You've got to keep us in this. We're going to score some runs, but we can't keep giving them back up,'" said Graviett, who visited Ruopp in the inning. "That's definitely uncharacteristic of him to walk people [and] to come out there after getting the lead and not pound the zone, but they're a very good offensive team for a reason. Some of it was patience. Some of the scouting stuff I had said they take a lot of pitches and make you work, so I thought they did a good job of that. They put him in a spot and once we got up big then relaxed and really started throwing well."

Ruopp allowed just two hits over the final three innings, both of which were immediately erased by a double play.

Notre Dame's Logan Heisserer slides safely into home around Smithville catcher Anthony Del Pico in the third inning of a Class 4 semifinal, Friday, June 5, 2015, in O'Fallon, Missouri. Notre Dame won 13-3 in six innings. (Laura Simon)

"It was one of those days that took a little bit to get into, but I finally got it towards the third inning," said Ruopp, who said he started throwing his fastball more over the plate but lower as the game progressed after realizing the umpire wasn't giving him the outside part of the plate.

Notre Dame took the lead for good in the fourth on Urhahn's two-RBI double high off the wall he later cleared.

A couple errors on the relay allowed Urhahn to score on the play as well, giving the Bulldogs a 6-3 advantage.

"That one was actually a fastball that I hit off the wall," Urhahn said. "I was down 0-2. I was like, 'Whatever I do, don't spin off' because I was thinking an off-speed pitch. He came out with a fastball, and I just threw my hands and hit it a pretty good ways."

Senior first baseman Dean Crippen led off the sixth win a double to start a procession of 12 Notre Dame batters coming to the plate in the inning. Job, who was 5 for 5 with five singles in the game, drove him home. Runs scored on an error and an RBI single by Adam Pope before Urhahn's grand slam sealed the scoring.

"It's going to get us all hyped up," Urhan said of playing for the state title. "It's going to be a game I'll remember for the rest of my life. Hopefully we'll come out with a victory. I know everybody's going to be pumped. We'll get a good night's rest because we've got another early morning game tomorrow."

Notre Dame 003 307 -- 13 19 2

Smithville 102 000 -- 3 6 3

WP -- Graham Ruopp. LP -- Quintan Reed. HR -- Chase Urhahn (ND). 2B -- Urhahn (ND), Dean Crippen (ND), Thomas Siebert (ND), Ross Essner (ND). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame: Urhahn 2-5, Logan Heisserer 2-5, Crippen 2-3, Christian Job 5-5, Thomas Siebert 2-5, Adam Pope 2-3; Smithville: James Grandgenett 2-3, Alexander Schram 2-3.