CAPE GIRARDEAU -- New Madrid County Central, after battling back from an early deficit, saw its hope for victory crushed on a two-out RBI single in Notre Dame's final at-bat.
Visiting NMCC was edged 4-3 by conference and district rival Notre Dame on Monday.
"It's just baseball," said NMCC coach John Jones. "You're going to win some and you're going to lose some. We played a solid ballgame. It was a good, quality high school baseball game."
Trailing 3-0 after the first inning, the Eagles (6-5, 3-2 in the SEMO Conference) scored a single run in the fourth and two in the sixth to tie.
In the bottom of the seventh, Notre Dame shortstop Jacob Essner, who had allowed the tying run to score on his throwing error in the sixth, went from goat to hero.
Essner's slicing liner to right field sent Lucas Dirnberger, aboard on a fielder's choice, home with the gamewinner.
"That's what you expect out of your seniors," said Notre Dame coach Jeff Graviett. "If they make a mistake, they need to atone for it. I had confidence Jacob was going to step up and do that for us. We were fortunate to get away with a win today."
Eagle starter Thomas Higgerson struggled with his control in the first inning, walking three Bulldog batters.
Chad Friend's RBI single and Trey Glaus' two-run single plated the Notre Dame runs.
"We got some timely hitting and we took advantage of the three walks in the first inning," said Graviett, whose Bulldogs improve to 13-4, 7-3 in the conference.
Higgerson then settled in to shut down Notre Dame the remainder of his four-inning stint.
He was pulled after four innings when he reached the high school inning limit, having hurled six innings on Saturday.
Higgerson (3-1), who retired the last nine hitters he faced in order, allowed three runs on three hits with two strikeouts and the three walks.
Mike Morlan, making his first mound appearance of the season, came on in relief and was equally effective.
Said Jones, of Morlan, "He doesn't have an overpowering fastball, but he can hit the corners and he's got the hitters out in front of a little curveball that looks like it's never going to get up there. When he sees that, he comes back with his fastball."
While holding the Bulldogs at bay with no runs on one hit in his first two innings of work, Morlan looked sharp and capable of extending the game to extra innings.
He induced a groundout from the first batter in the seventh, then surrendered a opposite field bloop single to left by Nathan Kolda. Kolda was forced at second on Dirnberger's grounder to short.
The Eagles just missed turning the double play, leaving a runner at first with two outs before Essner's big hit, also an opposite-field cue shot.
NMCC's offense outhit Notre Dame, 8 to 5.
"They (NMCC) did a tremendous job of swinging the bats today," Graviett said. "I thought Kirk (winning pitcher Boeller) threw the ball well and they hit a couple of balls that could have carried out of here on a different day."
The Eagles' Dylan Harris led off the fourth with a basehit, advanced on a groundout, then scored on Landon Lingle's liner up the middle to cut the Bulldog lead to 3-1.
Andy Gantner's two-out triple off the wall in center field at the 370-foot sign was wasted in the fifth inning.
In the sixth, Harris led off with a single to center field and went to third on Trey Sullenger's ground single past the Notre Dame first baseman. Sullenger stole second prior to Harris scoring on Lingle's groundout to second.
With two outs, Sullenger crossed the plate with the tying run when Essner overthrew first on Colt Pruitt's grounder.
Harris, Sullenger and Gantner, who doubled and tripled, had two hits apiece for the Eagles. Lingle was the RBI leader with two.
Essner led Notre Dame with two hits.
The close score magnified a second-inning play when Lingle was gunned down on a bang-bang play at the plate. A perfect one-hop throw from Dirnberger, who had fielded Pruitt's single to center, barely beat Lingle, attempting to score from second.
Boeller went seven innings, allowing three runs -- two earned -- on eight hits with eight strikeouts and no walks.
"Notre Dame played a heck of a ballgame," said Jones. "They did what they had to do."
NMCC hosts conference opponent Poplar Bluff today at 4 p.m.