Great pitching, solid defense and timely hitting - the Fatima Lady Comets had those things covered.
"(Macy Berhorst) pitched one heck of a ballgame," Fatima coach Dana Scheppers said Friday after the Lady Comets blanked the Helias Lady Crusaders 3-0 at Duesning Field. "We played great defense behind her and we did good things with runners in scoring position to get some runs."
In the other dugout, the Lady Crusaders were left searching for that one thing that would have given them a spark.
"I don't know what that one thing was, but we never got it," Helias coach Dan Campbell said.
The key play in the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Fatima led 2-0, but a pair of walks and a sacrifice bunt had Helias runners at second and third with one out.
Haley Kempker of the Lady Crusaders hit a fly ball to Raegan Huhn in right field, who then gunned a throw to the plate to get the Helias baserunner for a double play to end the threat.
"I thought we had a run there, but they made a great play," Campbell said. "The first run always seems to be the hardest one to get and we thought we'd get one there."
From there, Berhorst retired the next nine Helias batters to close out the victory.
"We got the momentum going our way and we kept it going," Scheppers said.
Fatima got on the board in the first. Sammey Bunch hit the first pitch for a ground-rule double under the fence in right-center. She stole third before coming home on an Erin Eichholz sacrifice bunt.
Bunch had two hits, two stolen bases and two runs scored in the game.
"That's why we have her in the leadoff position," Scheppers said, "When she gets on, we can usually bring her home."
A pair of walks had Helias runners at first and second with two outs in the bottom of the first, but Berhorst responded with a strikeout to end the threat.
The Lady Comets staged a two-out rally in the top of the fourth to take a 2-0 lead when Erica Fick doubled and scored when Makayla Buscher followed with a single.
After getting the double play to end the fourth, the Lady Comets picked up an insurance run in the fifth. Bunch reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and scored on a single by Eichholz.
Berhorst tossed a two-hitter, walking four and recording four strikeouts as Fatima gained a measure of revenge after falling 4-3 to Helias last month in Westphalia.
"She's been pitching well, but she's gotten more confident and comfortable recently and is doing a wonderful job," Scheppers said.
Lindsey Steinbeck was the losing pitcher for Helias. She went the distance, allowing seven hits and no walks while striking out three.
Helias wraps up the regular season with a mark of 16-10. The Lady Crusaders open Class 3 District 10 Tournament play Thursday at Eldon. Helias is the No. 2 seed behind Bolivar and will face the Southern Boone-Buffalo winner at 7 p.m.
Fatima (16-9) will close the regular season Monday at home against Owensville.
"I hope this win gives us some momentum and carries over into next week and into the postseason," Scheppers said.
The Lady Comets are the No. 1 seed in the Class 2 District 10 Tournament at Linn. After a first-round bye, Fatima will face either New Bloomfield or Belle at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.