WESTPHALIA, Mo. - Skyler Dickneite went from trying to close out a no-hitter Tuesday to just hoping for the game to end.
The Fatima senior had enough pitches left for one batter, and on a 3-2 pitch, he knocked down a hard grounder to the mound and threw to first to strand the tying run at second in a 3-1 win against second-ranked South Callaway (20-3).
"I was pretty stressed out there towards the end," Dickneite said. "I didn't want anybody else to come in. I wanted to finish that game."
Dickneite entered the final at-bat with 100 pitches, five from the limit. He finished with 107 pitches.
The Bulldogs were hitless heading into the seventh, and didn't record a hit until Austin Loucks singled up the middle on a 2-1 count with two outs and a runner on first.
"I was surprised they got it," Dickneite said. "Honestly, I was pretty mad. I fell behind in the count and just gave him a bad pitch I guess."
Landon Horstman then blooped a single to shallow right-center field to allow courtesy runner Devin Borghardt to score. Horstman stole second to put the tying run in scoring position.
Other than the seventh, South Callaway's chances to score came in the second and fifth innings.
Graysan Peneston led off the second with a walk and got to second on a sacrifice bunt, but Dickneite recorded two of his six strikeouts in the inning.
"My knuckleball was working today," Dickneite said. "Sometimes it doesn't work. Today it was on."
Horstman reached on a high throw to first with one out in the fifth and advanced to third on two wild pitches. Fatima got out of it as right fielder Tyler Wolfe relayed a flyout back to the infield to get Horstman out at third before he could get back to the bag.
"That was a huge momentum killer to kill that inning," Fatima coach Scott Kilgore said.
Other than that, Fatima (12-7) just needed routine defense behind Dickneite, who forced eight groundouts and six flyouts.
"Defensively we played better than we have the last couple of games," Kilgore said.
Fatima got three of its four hits in the two-run third inning.
Wolfe and Gage Bax, the No. 8 and 9 batters, respectively, set up the inning with a single and hit by pitch.
Josef Keilholz took advantage as he doubled to deep left field and Dickneite followed with a line-drive single to left, making it 2-0 Comets.
Drew Bax scored Fatima's other run on a wild pitch in the fourth. He led off the inning with a hit by pitch.
South Callaway pitcher Kaden Helsel retired Fatima in order in the first, fifth and sixth.
"He threw pretty good the whole game," Dickneite said. "His curveball was working, he was hitting spots with his fastball."
Fatima, ranked No. 7 in Class 3 by the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association, leads the Show-Me Conference with a 5-0 record with two league games remaining. The Bulldogs are now 5-1 in conference play.
Tuesday's game will also factor in District 9 seeding for both teams.
"We're not going to go in with the best record, but it's not going to hurt us," Kilgore said. "One or two is what I'm looking at. A strong contention for that one with the strength of our schedule."
Fatima is 5-7 against teams in Class 4 or 5.
Fatima will finish conference play as it hosts Tuscumbia today and Linn Thursday.
South Callaway's next game is Saturday against Blair Oaks at home.