SPRINGFIELD - Leah Kesel brought her "A" Game.
And the Fatima Lady Comets backed her up - on offense and defense.
Kesel allowed three hits in seven innings and Fatima tallied 10 hits as the Lady Comets claimed a 6-0 win Friday against North Platte in a Class 2 semifinal game at the Killian Softball Complex.
"These girls are in it to win it," Fatima coach Dana Scheppers said.
The Lady Comets (21-7) are off to a good start after knocking off North Platte - a team that entered Friday's contest with one loss on the season.
Now, Fatima will look to capture its first state title since 1996 when the Lady Comets take on Pleasant Hope (23-6) at 4 p.m. today.
"We came here for a reason," Scheppers said. "We came here for one goal, and that goal was to win it. We're going to go in and give it our all. If Leah's on once again, we'll be just fine."
The Lady Comets' ace has been on lately, and she was again against North Platte (27-2). Kesel struck out 11 and didn't issue a walk to earn the complete-game victory.
"Oh my goodness," Scheppers said. "She pitched one heck of a game. She just kept them off-balance. She dominated."
Kesel threw 91 pitches - 69 for strikes - and didn't let a batter past second base while improving to 15-4 on the year.
North Platte never quite figured out the senior right-hander, who made a habit of hitting the corners of the plate and mixing up her pitches on a regular basis.
"That's always our goal, just keep them off-balance and make them miss," Kesel said. "Before the game, I was hitting all my spots. I felt really confident coming into the game."
Kesel allowed a single to North Platte leadoff batter Regan Nash, but retired the next 17 she faced. Nash also had a two-out double in the top of the sixth with the Lady Comets clinging to a 1-0 lead.
It didn't matter. Kesel got the next batter to pop out to first, and Fatima's bats took care of the rest.
"I just had confidence in myself and my defense to get another out," Kesel said. "We knew before the game that (Nash) was a good hitter. It didn't really shake me up too much that she got a hit."
Makayla Buscher led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and senior second baseman Christine Brunnert connected with a two-run home run to center field to give Fatima a 3-0 lead with one out.
It was the first career home run for Brunnert, who came into the game with a .217 batting average.
"Very first home run and it feels awesome," she said. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how fast I should pace myself around the bases."
Fatima didn't stop there.
Kesel reached on a two-out error, Michelle Barnhart followed with a single and Sammey Bunch connected with a two-run double to give the Lady Comets a 5-0 lead.
Morgan Brandt, who was 3-for-3, added to the offensive attack in the sixth with an RBI double to put the game away.
"That's kind of what we've been doing all season," Scheppers said. "We put the pressure on them, and we just keep going."
The Lady Comets gave Kesel some run support early when Brunnert, who had eight RBI coming into the contest, singled through the right side of the infield to bring in Buscher from second.
"Seeing as the rest of the season hasn't gone my way - it was about time," Brunnert said. "My batting average isn't too good this year. It's dropped since last year, so it's good for it to come around at the end of the season."
Fatima also used its defense to swing the momentum away from North Platte. With one out in the top of the second, Barnhart reached over the fence in center field to rob a home run off the bat of Mikaylah Mullendore.
"I think that could have been the game-changer right there," Scheppers said. "They get that run and they have the momentum. We get that catch, now we have the momentum. That was an excellent catch. She read that ball well. She's one heck of an outfielder."
Added Kesel: "Michelle had actually been talking before the game - she wanted to rob a home run. It was awesome to see her do it, and I think that kind of got us in gear and ready to go."
Fatima has now won 14 of its last 15 games, and the Lady Comets don't plan on slowing down against Pleasant Hope - a 1-0 winner against Portageville in its semifinal.