Notre Dame keeps its perfect record intact with 1-0 victory

~ Schott singled to center field to drive in the winning run.

PARK HILLS, Mo. -- De Soto softball coach Dave Guemmer has a theory that every game features a point where the pitcher and her defense are going to be challenged.

Notre Dame passed a couple of those tests Wednesday afternoon in the Class 3 sectional contest at the Park Hills Sports Complex.

All it took was one failure on De Soto's part in the bottom of the sixth inning, as unbeaten Notre Dame posted a 1-0 victory.

After the Dragons had made two errors on the first two batters in the decisive frame, junior Britney Schott singled into center field to drive in Allison Peters from third base with the winning run.

Whitney Eftink hugged Lauren Reinagel after the Bulldogs' 1-0 win over the De Soto Dragons in their Class 3 sectional softball game Wednesday. (Andrew Jansen ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian)

Notre Dame left runners on second and third with no outs, but sophomore hurler Lauren Reinagel had all the run support she needed to complete the four-hit shutout, marking the first time De Soto (24-4) had been blanked all year.

Reinagel was helped by some fine defensive work by catcher Lauren Bond and second baseman Alex Fowler as well as a game-changing play by her distant cousin, center fielder Erika Reinagel.

"This is the way two good softball teams should play," said Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett, whose team improved to 27-0 after the 1-hour, 5-minute contest. "Last year was sloppy."

Last year, Notre Dame allowed seven unearned runs over the first two innings in a 7-6 loss to the Dragons during which Graviett was ejected. That ended a string of two straight final four appearances for the Notre Dame program.

"You develop some postseason rivalries," said Graviett, whose team did not meet the Dragons in the regular season.

Heather Menz threw the ball to first Wednesday during the Class 3 sectional softball tournament against De Soto in Park Hills. (Andrew Jansen ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian)

Notre Dame had to earn its revenge against senior left-hander Kaitlyn Hasty, who entered with a 22-3 record and 236 strikeouts in 151 1/3 innings.

Hasty and Reinagel, who has all but one of Notre Dame's decisions, breezed through the first four innings. De Soto leadoff hitter Beth Winckel had two singles in that span while Notre Dame had only a two-out double by Whitney Eftink in the second inning.

De Soto put Notre Dame and Reinagel to its first test in the fifth inning.

Kim Shannon reached base by slapping the ball over Fowler's glove after Shannon received a beneficial call on a two-strike foul ball that was ruled a slap rather than a bunt attempt. When Sam Williams attempted to bunt, she popped it foul and Bond came out from behind the plate to make the sliding catch. Bond then caught Shannon stealing for the second out.

But Reinagel walked Abby Roland and Chelsey King to bring up Winckel.

Heather Menz took a swing Wednesday during the Bulldogs' game against De Soto in Park Hills.

"I was frustrated because I thought the strike zone was a little high and they weren't calling the low strike," Reinagel said. "I was getting so nervous. I was hoping they wouldn't get a hit, and I was hoping my defense was there to back me up. They always are."

With a drawn-in infield, Winckel slapped a well-place hit to the vacated second base area. Erika Reinagel charged in, grabbed the ball and fired home to cut down Roland for the third out.

"When Erika threw the runner out on that play at the plate, it saved my life," Lauren Reinagel said. "It was scary."

"She always seems to find a way to make the big play," Graviett said of Erika Reinagel. "She knew the situation, she knew she could play in with the hitter, and she attacked the ball right away."

Notre Dame wasn't out of the woods yet. De Soto put a runner on third in the sixth inning with a single by Hasty, a sacrifice and a passed ball, but Kayla Boyer grounded out to Fowler to end the inning.

"You know that in every game, there is one inning when somebody is going to do something," Guemmer said. "Sometimes it doesn't come, but a team like Cape Notre Dame, with the athletes they have that can run, is going to put something together."

It came in the sixth inning, when pinch-hitter Nikki Chambers grounded a ball under shortstop Shannon's glove. Peters returned to the game to run, and Erika Reinagel put down a bunt. The throw from third baseman Roland was debatedly late but definitely off the mark and into right field, allowing Peters to reach third base.

Schott then followed with her blooper into shallow center.

"I thought he might put on the squeeze play but he gave me the go-ahead to hit," Schott said. "She threw a lot of up and away to me. I just stayed confident, and I hoped I could hit something that would fall in."

When the throw came late to the plate, Erika Reinagel took third and Schott moved up to second. The Bulldogs failed to cash in as Hasty struck out Alexis Ralls, Heather Menz popped up a bunt attempt, and Lauren Reinagel struck out.

"It was a little frustrating," Graviett said. "If we're two or three up, with the way Lauren was pitching, that seals the game. It's definitely a concern for down the line."

But Reinagel closed the door in the seventh.

After Fowler perfectly played a bunt attempt by Shannon, Lauren Reinagel struck out Williams, and Roland grounded out to Fowler to end the game.

"We talked a lot that it was going to be a game where you just have to make plays," Guemmer said. "Make the plays and you'll be fine. We made the plays through five innings."

Notre Dame advances to a quarterfinal contest 11 a.m. Saturday at Ballwin Athletic Association against Affton (26-3), which beat Westminster 11-0 in five innings.

"It's icing on the cake from here on out," Graviett said.

De Soto 000 000 0 -- 0 4 3

Notre Dame 000 001 x -- 1 2 1

WP -- Lauren Reinagel, 26-0. LP -- Kaitlyn Hasty, 22-4. 2B -- Whitney Eftink (ND). Multiple hits -- De Soto, Beth Winckel, 3-3. Records -- Notre Dame 27-0, De Soto 24-4.