SPRINGFIELD - Brooke Boessen took a high outside pitch and pulled it to deep left field.
There was no doubt whether it would clear the fence. The only question was whether or not it would be fair or foul.
After the ball landed, the third-base umpire stared for a few seconds, then extended his right arm to the side signaling a fair ball.
Boessen's solo home run was all the offense Blair Oaks pitcher Makenna Kliethermes would need. The sophomore right-hander struck out a career-high 19 batters and tossed a no-hitter to lead the Lady Falcons to a 1-0 win Friday against the Jefferson: Festus Blue Jays in the Class 2 state semifinals at Killian Sports Complex.
"I honestly thought it was going foul," Boessen said, admitting she didn't realize she had hit a home run until she rounded second base. "I thought if it was going to go fair, it would be just by a little bit, but I thought it was going foul.
"I just ran. I didn't care if it was fair or foul. I just ran."
Boessen's blast came with two outs in the top of the fourth inning off Jefferson: Festus pitcher Sarah Handrahan. It was the first hit of the game and was the first run the Blue Jays had allowed since Sept. 28.
"I don't even know if that was a mistake by Handrahan, because I'm not sure how Brooke went up and got that one," Blair Oaks coach Sharon Buschjost said. "That ball might have been the hardest hit ball I've seen in a long time."
The fair call by the umpire may have taken an extra few seconds to make, but Buschjost said the Lady Falcons made up for the delay with their celebration at home plate.
"I got nervous when I saw the height of the (short) foul pole," Buschjost said. "That's not an everyday home run an umpire has to call in softball fair or foul.
"He put a lot of us in a little bit of suspense, but I thought it was the right call."
The game lived up to the hype with the matchup of two power pitchers. Handrahan - who had struck out 270 batters before the state tournament began - struck out six of the first 11 batters she faced.
Kliethermes was nearly flawless in the pitcher's circle for the Lady Falcons, striking out 12 in a row after getting a lineout for her first out of the game. Camryn O'Neal was the only Jefferson: Festus batter to reach base, advancing to first on a dropped third strike to start the bottom of the second.
"All I cared about was hitting my spots," Kliethermes said.
Kliethermes said she felt more confident when she took the field to pitch the fourth inning with a 1-0 lead.
"I was so excited, because when it's 0-0, you feel the pressure and everything on you," Kliethermes said. "But once that hit happened, you can relax a little bit, because we strengthened together and we played a good game."
It was the second no-hitter of the season for Kliethermes, who pitched a perfect game Sept. 23 against Jefferson City.
Jefferson: Festus bunted in the fifth inning to snap Kliethermes' strikeout streak, but after getting that out, she struck out the next four batters she faced. Abigail Chipps, the Blue Jays' speedy shortstop, grounded back to Kliethermes to end the sixth inning.
Kleithermes struck out the side in the seventh to end the game, striking out Handrahan - a .545 hitter this season - on a curveball for her third strikeout of the game.
After missing two weeks with an arm injury to end the regular season and start the postseason, Kleithermes returned to the circle for last Saturday's quarterfinal game against Pleasant Hope. She has pitched 14 scoreless innings since her return and has tallied 32 strikeouts the past two games.
"I think it became fairly obvious early on that there were two very good pitchers out there throwing," Buschjost said. "Makenna did everything to give her teammates the confidence we needed. She pitched a dominating performance today."
Blair Oaks had four batters reach base in the game. Mackinnley Hamacher and Megan Mitchem reached on back-to-back errors in the third inning but were left stranded on base. Hamacher also singled in the fifth inning for the Lady Falcons' other hit.
With the win, Blair Oaks (22-8) advances to the state championship game for the first time since 2013, and the Lady Falcons will see a familiar opponent.
In the other Class 2 semifinal game Friday, Centralia (28-1) rallied late to knock off Lathrop - the defending Class 2 champion - 4-2 in eight innings. Centralia defeated Blair Oaks 9-2 in the 2013 Class 3 title game.
It will also be a rematch of this year's season opener for Blair Oaks. The Lady Falcons lost 15-1 in six innings against the Lady Panthers back on Aug. 25.
"At this stage, we're up for any opportunity that presents itself to us," Buschjost said. " We know to win a state championship, it's going to be one of the toughest games of our season."
The first pitch is scheduled for noon today.
Notes: In Friday's Class 2 third-place game, Jefferson: Festus (20-9) won 1-0 against Lathrop (26-4). Handrahan pitched a three-hit shutout and struck out 13 batters. This will be Blair Oaks' fifth appearance in a championship game. The Lady Falcons are 1-3 in title games, winning a state title in 2009. Centralia is 3-0 in championship game appearances, winning consecutive state titles from 2011-13.