Final four notebook: Hulshof seals high school career with RBI single

O'FALLON, Mo. -- Derek Hulshof got a chance to write a new ending to the story of his senior year on Saturday.

Hulshof, a starter on the Notre Dame basketball team, tore his ACL early in the basketball season and thought his baseball career was over as well.

"Before today my last high school memory would be tearing my ACL," Hulshof said after his team's 17-0 state championship victory over Sullivan. "It just makes me think of high school a lot better. When it happened, I didn't know if I'd even be able to play baseball at all, so I was hoping at the end I would. And it happened."

Hulshof was cleared to hit -- but not run or play the field -- on May 28 and began taking swings with his teammates as they made their run to the final four.

With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning and his team leading 10-0 against Sullivan, Hulshof was called on to pinch hit.

"I knew he was just going to come with the fastball," Hulshof said. "There was no reason to mess around when there's a big lead like that. He was throwing pretty straight. I just looked for a strike to hit, and I just jumped on the first one I could hit. I didn't know if I'd get another one, so I went for it."

Hulshof hit a ball sharply to left field for a base hit and an RBI in his first look at live pitching since last summer.

"I thought he was going to hit one in the stands after talking to him up there," Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett said. "He was just jacked up. When he got the release a couple weeks ago that he could start practicing with us, maybe pinch hit, you just saw him light up. ... The opportunity for him to do one more thing in a Notre Dame uniform after the year he's had is just a special moment for him."

As the lead mounted on Saturday, Notre Dame players hoped they'd built a big enough cushion to get Hulshof an at-bat. He appeared in the third-place game at the basketball final four and scored a basket late in the game thanks to a generous opponent. Nothing was given on Saturday.

"That's what we talked about. That's who we really wanted in," senior Christian Job said. "We wanted to get up enough to get Derek in the game because we knew what it would mean to him. I know it's not easy to watch, especially when you make it this far. You know he wants to be in the game, he wants to be a part of it. He had to be a part of two state runs to have to sit back and watch, and I know it had to have been rough for him. I can't even imagine. So that was the goal. We really wanted to get him an at-bat. I'm sure it meant a lot to him, and we're all happy that he got to."

Hulshof fought to maintain his composure as he talked about the moment after the game. It's unlikely there have been many singles that meant less to an outcome and more to a player than his.

"Thank God," Hulshof said he thought as he jogged down the first-base line. "I mean, it's been so hard. Like basketball, I just had to sit and watch this whole year. All the work has almost paid off. I'd much rather be able to play the whole season, but it almost makes it OK."

Job's fantastic final four

Notre Dame's Christian Job smiles after the Bulldogs Class 4 championship win over Sullivan, 17-0 in five innings, Saturday, June 6, 2015, in O Fallon, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

Job, the Bulldogs' senior catcher, finished the state title game 3 for 4 at the plate with two doubles and six RBIs.

He was 8 of 9 at the final four with eight RBIs.

"He just doesn't try to do too much at the plate," Graviett said. "He goes up there and stays in. He competes every single pitch. For a young man to do what he's done and catch almost every inning, if not every inning, for us all spring has just been phenomenal. You don't have a good pitching staff without a catcher."

Job played behind senior Blake Hagedorn last year before establishing himself as Notre Dame's cleanup hitter this season.

"He had to sit and wait his turn all year last year, so for him to step up and have the year he had is just phenomenal," Graviett said.

Eight of the nine players in the Bulldogs' lineup have graduated.

"It's been so much fun, just everybody being together all the time," Job said." We had an extra day with all the rain and everything, and none of us were really that bummed about it. We were just like, 'We get another day to hang out. Our baseball season just got extended another day.' We've all been playing together for so long it was just a fun time, good atmosphere, everybody's playing good."

Urhahn's record quest

Notre Dame's Chase Urhahn smiles after the Bulldogs Class 4 championship win over Sullivan, 17-0 in five innings, Saturday, June 6, 2015, in O Fallon, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

Senior left fielder and leadoff batter Chase Urhahn entered the game needing to score four runs to tie the Notre Dame school record for a single season.

He reached base in all four of his at-bats -- twice on a walk and twice with a single -- and was driven home each time to tie the mark of 42.

"Nobody's been hotter than Chase Urhahn," Graviett said. "He's a funny kid because he knew he was four runs away from breaking the school record for runs scored. He almost knew when he got here he was going to find a way to get on and score four times today."