Notre Dame and Leveque Rise to Top : High school baseball: New ace pitches Knights to championship of St. Paul tournament, 4-0.

Notre Dame High ace Chris Leveque.

Get used to it.

Leveque, the Knights’ No. 2 pitcher at the start of the season, further cemented himself in the No. 1 role with a 4-0 victory over St. Bernard on Wednesday night in the large school championship game of the St. Paul tournament at Cal State Los Angeles.

A senior left-hander, Leveque pitched a complete game, allowing three hits, striking out eight and walking two.

Leveque’s performance in the final, combined with a two-hit, 11-strikeout victory against St. Paul in his previous start, earned him the tournament’s most valuable player award.

“He deserves this,” said Notre Dame catcher Dave Supple, who threw out two runners and was named defensive player of the tournament. “He works real hard.”

Supple said Leveque has been throwing harder lately and his curve has been breaking more.

“When it breaks in the dirt, like it did tonight, that’s when we know he’s on,” Supple said.

Leveque’s emergence has come at the right time for Notre Dame (12-3) because of an injury to Chris Garza, who started the season as the No. 1 pitcher but has been bothered by a sore shoulder.

Leveque (5-1) has risen to the occasion as the new ace. Wednesday night’s game was his third shutout and fourth complete game of the season.

“I’m trying to be (the ace),” he said. “I’m a senior. I’ve been waiting four years for this opportunity. I just want to go out a winner.”

The Knights needed Leveque Wednesday because the offense was silent for most of the game.

Notre Dame scored a run in the first on a single by Cesar Martinez, who had two hits and stole two bases, and a double by Glen Carson.

The Knights threatened to blow the game open in the sixth, loading the bases with none out, but Supple lined into a double play. Notre Dame managed one run in the inning, on an infield single by Jabbar Craigwell.

Notre Dame added two runs in the top of the seventh on a bases-loaded single by Ryan Stromsborg, who was three for four.

The Knights made a great defensive play to help Leveque’s three-hitter. With two out in the sixth, Robert Cox lined an apparent single to right, but right fielder Francisco Dongo got to the ball quickly and threw out Cox at first.