OZARK, Mo. - Jefferson City coach Lisa Dey has no doubt the Lady Jays are playing their best softball of the year.
They proved that again Saturday.
Alyssa Schulte threw a 2-hit shutout and drove in three runs as Jefferson City claimed a 5-0 win against Ozark in a Class 4 quarterfinal game.
"If you would have asked me two weeks ago, I'd probably say we'd be lucky to get through districts unless we really changed our gear and played differently," Dey said.
That's just what the Lady Jays did after dropping three out of four games in the Carthage Tournament.
Jefferson City claimed a 1-0 win Thursday against Blue Springs, which had one loss entering the sectional game, before blanking Ozark (27-3) on Saturday to advance to the Final Four.
"In the last two games that we've played, it's like a new team," Dey said.
The Lady Jays (19-7) will take on Lee's Summit at 11 a.m. Saturday in a Class 4 semifinal game at Killian Softball Complex in Springfield.
"Lee's Summit is right up there with these two teams that we just faced," Dey said. "It's going to be tough, but I've kept telling these girls from the beginning of the year, "You just have to believe.'"
Schulte struck out six and walked two in seven innings to record her second-straight shutout this postseason.
"I never expected to throw another shutout," Schulte said. "I did not think that was going to happen again, but I just tried to stay relaxed and trust the defense behind me - knowing that if I made a mistake, they'd be there to back me up."
Schulte also hit a three-run double to give Jefferson City a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Darby Brundage and Alex Gilliand hit back-to-back singles with one out in the frame and Krista Brickey drew a two-out walk to load the bases, before Schulte could take care of the rest.
"Alyssa threw a great game again today," Dey said. "Not only that, she comes up with a huge hit that scores three runs and puts us up 3-0. She has really stepped it up."
Taylor Dey hit a one-out single to score Ashton Glass and Brooke Rozier hit into a fielder's choice to score Dey from third to give the Lady Jays a 5-0 lead in the top of the seventh.
Brundage, Schulte and Taylor Dey all had two hits for Jefferson City.
The Lady Jays know they still have work to do.
"We can always improve on some aspect of our game," Schulte said. "But I do feel like we've been playing at the top of our game right now. We've done extremely well."