DES MOINES - Don Bosco's baseball team leads a double life.

The Dons are still young kids. They're also diamond graybeards who can tap inning after inning of varsity experience.

So, when Don Bosco trailed Lenox very early in Monday's Class 1A state tournament quarterfinal, it went back to work and produced a 7-2 victory at Principal Park.

Pitcher Clay Welter, a sophomore who's finishing his third year on the varsity roster, survived some control issues and threw a complete-game four-hitter. Welter also knocked in the first score in what became a four-run, third-inning rally.

Collin Frampton, a four-year starter for Don Bosco, triggered that charge with a leadoff base hit. From there, the Dons added two runs in the fifth and one more in the sixth.

Thus, Don Bosco advanced to Thursday's semifinals to play Mason City Newman. While the Dons are appearing at the state baseball tournament for the first time since 1995, they felt right at home at Principal Park.

"These kids have been working hard for years," head coach Corey Carlson said. "So these guys expected to get here."

Said Clay Welter, "There weren't too many butterflies. I think we came out pretty well for our first state tournament game in a long time."

Don Bosco's players have learned one lesson during the 2008 run to Des Moines - falling behind is no reason to press the panic button.

Thus, when Lenox took a 1-0 lead in the top of third inning, a rally aided when the Dons misplayed a bunt into a single, Carlson's men understood what had to be done.

"We're used to that - it's no big deal," Frampton said. "We're down - so what? We've gotta believe in each other and battle."

Don Bosco's junior third baseman added, "I knew I had to get something going - get on and help the team."

Frampton singled to begin Don Bosco's half of the third inning and stole second. He then held his ground when Lenox ace Seth Robinson fielded Cole Welter's grounder and threw to third, mistakenly thinking Frampton would try to advance.

With two on and nobody out, the rally was on. Clay Welter's sharp single to left scored Frampton, and both Welters advanced on an outfield error. From there, a wild pitch brought home Cole Welter and broke the 1-1 tie. A passed ball and Klayton Breitbach's sacrifice fly capped off a big inning.

Don Bosco had built a 4-1 lead against Robinson, a left-hander who owned a 0.34 ERA entering the 1A tournament.

"He's a great pitcher," Frampton said. "He knows how to keep you off-balance and when to throw what. We were just being patient - make sure you get your pitch. If you have to take a pitch, take a pitch."

On the mound, Clay Welter gave up an unearned run in the fourth as the lead dwindled to 4-2. After that, the sophomore right-hander shut down a bases-loaded, one-out threat in the sixth with a strikeout and a deep fly to right.

Welter walked three and fanned seven. He also collected his seventh victory of 2008 against one loss.

"I didn't feel like I had my best stuff," the starting pitcher said. "It might have been pre-game jitters. I don't know. But I did what I could to give my team a chance."

Said Carlson, "(Clay) has been big for us all year. He's been our horse on the mound. He's got a lot of strikeouts and he's been our No. 3 hitter all year. He's our team MVP. He's done a lot for us this year, but we're pretty solid up and down the order. It's a team game and they all did well."

Carlson, taking note of three defensive errors and a botched squeeze play, said his Dons must tighten up their overall game against top-seeded Newman.

"We did enough to win," the Don Bosco coach said. "Hopefully, we'll be better for Newman."

If Don Bosco wins the 1A title - a feat that's still two wins away - the Dons will have a baseball crown to accompany a state wrestling championship. For Clay Welter, a standout on the mat, the summer game is top priority at the moment.

"We just focus in on whatever time it is," he said. "Baseball is in the summer; wrestling's in the winter. We're just focusing on that and getting better one day at a time, one game at a time."

Contact Jim Sullivan at (319) 291-1434 or jim.sullivan@wcfcourier.com

Lenox ab r h bi Don Bosco ab r h bi

Calvin,ss 2 1 0 0 Frampton,3b 1 1 1 0

Westpahl,3b 4 0 2 0 Co.Welter,cf 3 2 0 0

Peterson,c 4 0 0 1 Cl.Welter,p 4 1 2 2

Robinson,p 3 0 0 0 Schares,c 3 1 0 0

Christensen,2b 3 1 1 0 Schmit,pr-ph 1 0 0 0

Hensley,cf 2 0 0 0 Springer,ss 1 2 0 0

Borland,rf 2 0 1 1 Breitbach,rf 2 0 1 1

Stuber,lf 3 0 0 0 Becker,1b 2 0 1 1

Lange,1b 3 0 0 0 Hames,pr 0 0 0 0

Lutgen,2b 2 0 0 1

Delagardelle,lf 2 0 0 0

Totals 26 2 4 2 Totals 21 7 5 5

Lenox 001 100 0 - 2 4 4

Don Bosco 004 021 x - 7 5 3

E - Calvin, Robinson, Christensen, Stuber, Frampton, Lutgen. DP - Lenox 1, Don Bosco 1. LOB - Lenox 7, Don Bosco 6. 3B - Cl. Welter. SB - Calvin, Christensen, Frampton 2. CS - Frampton. SH - Hensley. SF - Breitbach.

Pitching summary IP H R ER BB SO

Lenox

Robinson (L, 11-2) 4.1 4 6 4 6 6

Westpahl 1.2 1 1 1 3 0

Don Bosco

Cl. Welter (W,7-1) 7.0 4 2 1 3 7

WP - Robinson. PB Peterson.

U - Mican Shull (plate); Steve Weisenborn (first); Marshall Cotton (second); Larry Jacobus (third).

T - 2:06.