In Saturday's third-place game of the Capital City Softball Invitational, the Centralia Lady Panthers rapped out six hits, put runners on base in five of the seven innings and had nine total baserunners.
Sounds like a recipe for success, right?
Hardly.
The Blair Oaks Lady Falcons got three of their four hits in a three-run third inning and used tough pitching and defense to keep Centralia from ever crossing home plate, resulting in a 3-0 win at 63 Diamonds.
The Lady Falcons ended up with the best finish of any of the five area teams in the event, which Fox won by beating Lee's Summit in the championship game.
"That's what we've been doing so far this season to get our wins - combining good pitching, good hitting, good defense, good baserunning," Blair Oaks head coach Sharon Buschjost said. "It's not always there in every game, but that's what we try to do, get all of those aspects going at the same time."
The good hitting came in a span of seven batters in the third inning. Megan Mitchem led off with an infield single and one out later, Nicole Otto rapped a single down the left-field line. Courtesy runner Brooke Boessen replaced Otto and she and Mitchem moved up a base when Emilee Jones walked.
Carli Buschjost drove in Mitchem for the game's first run with a single, Boessen scored on a wild pitch and Jones came home on a sacrifice fly by Payton Staggs.
That was more than enough support for Staggs, who scattered six hits in a complete-game effort and struck out four.
Things got tight in the fifth when the Lady Panthers put runners at first and second with no outs, and in the sixth when they loaded the bases with two outs, but couldn't score either time.
"While it is enjoyable being in the winner's bracket, the path through the bracket makes for tough games," Sharon Buschjost said. "That's exactly what we want, what we're expecting, and what we're glad we got."
It was the latest in a line of close games between Blair Oaks and Centralia, who have been annually meeting during the regular season and often a second time in the state playoffs.
"We're very respectful of each other, but I think if you would ask, honestly we would probably rather not see each other in the tournament," Buschjost said. "But you can't control those things."
The win was a good bounceback effort for the Lady Falcons (8-1), who fell 3-2 to Lee's Summit earlier Saturday.
All of Blair Oaks' offense came from solo home runs from Staggs and Lydia Pointer. Pointer also had a double, as did Macyn Wilbers. Mitchem started in the circle, while Makenna Kliethermes took the loss in relief.
"Our goal is first place, but when that doesn't happen, 3-1 is the next best finish," Buschjost said.
III
The next-best finish among the area schools in the event came from Fatima, which went 2-2 and placed fifth.
The Lady Comets opened with a 4-3 win Friday against Lutheran South as Macy Berhorst pitched an eight-hitter and struck out two.
Sammey Bunch knocked out three hits and drove in one run, Raegan Huhn had two hits and Berhorst had one hit and one RBI.
Fatima then dropped a 13-2 decision to Lee's Summit.
Bunch had a pair of hits and Makayla Buscher took the loss.
The Lady Comets started Saturday's action with a 9-7 win against Oakville.
Berhorst threw a six-hitter to get the win, striking out four. Huhn had two hits and three RBI and Erica Fick had a pair of hits.
Fatima then wrapped things up with a 4-3 loss to Lee's Summit North in eight innings.
Huhn had three hits and one RBI for Fatima (6-5), while Fick and Bunch had two hits each. Berhorst threw a complete game while taking the loss, giving up eight hits and striking out three.
III
The Jefferson City Lady Jays finished the event in eighth place.
After a first-round bye, the Lady Jays fell 3-0 to Centralia on Friday.
Taylor Dey had the only hit for Jefferson City, while Alyssa Schulte took the loss. She threw a complete-game five-hitter and struck out three while allowing just one earned run.
On Saturday, the Lady Jays started out with a 7-5 loss to Lee's Summit North.
Dey had two hits and one RBI and Schulte had one hit and one RBI. Schulte was the losing pitcher, allowing nine hits and striking out three.
Then in the seventh-place game, Jefferson City fell 8-6 in nine innings.
Lauren Neubauer had two hits and two RBI for the Lady Jays (5-5), while Schulte had a pair of hits. Mychael Jett pitched all nine innings, giving up eight hits and striking out five.
III
After going 1-1 on Friday to open the event, the Helias Lady Crusaders had the same result Saturday.
In the first game Saturday, Helias posted a 6-2 win against Rock Bridge.
Lindsey Steinbeck was the winning pitcher, as she threw a four-hitter and struck out four.
Lauren Morrow had a two-run home run, Julie Harris had one hit and one RBI and Abbi Pringer had a double.
The Lady Crusaders then fell 6-4 to Camdenton to finish the event in 10th place.
Grace Dittmer and Pringer had one hit and one RBI each, while Harris had three hits and Morrow had two hits.
Steinbeck took the loss, giving up 10 hits.