WARDSVILLE, Mo. - The first week of the season didn't go according to plan for the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons. It has since been disregarded as an aberration.
Blair Oaks reeled off 19 consecutive wins following its 0-2 start, won the Tri-County Conference championship and took first in both the Capital City Invitational and the Warrensburg Tournament.
The back-to-back losses are a distant memory for a Blair Oaks softball team that has advanced to its second straight Class 2 Final Four.
"I've been very happy with the hitting all throughout the season," Blair Oaks coach Sharon Buschjost said. "When you stop and take a look at the regular season, and even the postseason numbers, we have some batting averages that indicate a pretty strong-hitting team. That's what I hope is the difference as we head to the Final Four."
Blair Oaks (27-5) will face the Lathrop Lady Mules (27-1) today in the Class 2 state semifinals at the Killian Sports Complex in Springfield. First pitched is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Both Blair Oaks and Lathrop played in the Final Four last season, but did not face each other. Blair Oaks finished runner-up to Centralia, while Lathrop lost to the Lady Panthers in the semifinals and took fourth place.
Lathrop won its first district championship in 2015, then added four more wins for its first state title in Class 2, beating Fatima 10-3 in the title game.
"There's no bragging rights when it comes to our opponent in Lathrop," Buschjost said. "They've been there just as we have been there.
"As coaches, we're probably both saying some of those same things to our players. Hopefully that's what is going to give us confidence, to know we have been there."
To get to the state semifinals, Blair Oaks topped California and Eugene to win a district title. The Lady Falcons then topped Fatima in the sectionals, followed by a 10-0 win in six innings last Saturday against previously unbeaten Dixon in the quarterfinals.
Blair Oaks has outscored opponents 37-0 in its four postseason games, but it hasn't been a smooth ride to the Final Four.
"We seem to have been a little bit shaky in the first couple innings," Buschjost said. "That's what I'm hoping to change this weekend."
The Lady Falcons put on a power display this season, blasting 21 home runs. Right fielder Hannah Schroeder leads Blair Oaks with eight homers, including a solo shot in a 7-0 win against Fatima in the sectional round.
Center fielder Brooke Boessen has six home runs and pitcher Makenna Kliethermes has gone deep four times.
"Those home-run numbers alone confirm what I've been saying all season," Buschjost said. "Our 3-4-5-6 hitters, those four spots and what they produced in the way of home runs and power numbers, have been impressive. That's something that not all teams can boast or brag about."
Blair Oaks is batting .361 as a team, with five starters hitting better than .400. Kliethermes leads the Lady Falcons with a .458 batting average (44-for-96), while Torie Thurston (.449), Schroeder (.432), Kayla Jones (.430) and Sydney Wilde (.414) each have at least 25 hits.
Kliethermes has also dominated in the pitcher's circle this season, posting a 21-1 record with a 0.56 ERA and 264 strikeouts in 137 innings pitched. She threw a perfect game against California in the district semifinals and pitched a no-hitter against Dixon.
After Kliethermes suffered an arm injury last season, Buschjost decided to rest her No. 1 pitcher more often this season. Rarely did Kliethermes pitch more than one game per day during weekend tournaments - and in a stretch in which Blair Oaks played 20 games in 16 days - and Buschjost turned to Meredith Eisterhold and Alexis Findley to share the pitching workload.
"I'm not sure what was different about it, but more than ever, I felt a little bit of pressure as the coach to be smart about how much we're using Makenna and relying on her," Buschjost said. "We always knew Meredith would be part of the mix this year in the regular season, and she did a great job with it. The team did a great job behind both her and Alexis when we were giving Makenna some breaks."
Lathrop avenged its only loss of the season by beating Plattsburg 5-2 for the District 14 championship. The Lady Mules then defeated Knob Noster 2-1 in the sectionals, followed by a 2-0 victory against Hamilton-Penney in the quarterfinals.
Kliethermes' counterpart in today's semifinal, Lathrop junior Brooke Huitt, has been dominant this season as well. Huitt is 25-0 with 299 strikeouts in 165 innings pitched with a 0.51 ERA.
Huitt has pitched Lathrop to the Final Four in each of the past three seasons and is a two-time all-state pitcher. Like Kliethermes, Huitt has a fastball, a rise ball and a changeup.
"I think it has all the makings of a pitchers' duel," Buschjost said. "You're going to see two very good pitchers (this) morning. I'm hoping that our schedule allowed us to see that type of caliber pitcher on a more consistent basis, and I'm hoping what they see in Makenna is going to be the best pitching they've seen all year."
Huitt is also the Lady Mules' leading hitter with a .427 batting average entering the state tournament. Center fielder Jacque Gentzell, also a returning all-stater, has a team-high six home runs, hitting a solo shot for the go-ahead score against Knob Noster, and totaled 25 stolen bases through districts.
"They graduated some hitters," Buschjost said, "but they still have a core group of players that can do damage offensively. We'll have to be smart about how we're pitching to certain batters in terms of scouting reports."
Blair Oaks was three outs from winning the state title last October. While players haven't forgotten what it's like to get that close to a state title, it won't be the first thing on their minds as they return to Springfield.
"It's not been so much talk about last year as much as it has been we want to be playing Saturday," Buschjost said. "If that happens, then we can see what our next thought process is.
"But right now, it's all about Lathrop."
III
Notes: Blair Oaks won its 12th straight district championship this season and will be making its ninth appearance in the Final Four. The Lady Falcons won their only state championship in 2009. Friday's other Class 2 semifinal matchup is between the Bowling Green Lady Bobcats (24-4) and the Kelly Lady Hawks (23-6). Kelly is making its 29th appearance in the state tournament, the most in Missouri State High School Activities Association softball history. The winners of today's semifinal games will play for the state title at 10 a.m. Saturday, while the semifinal losers will play in the third-place game at 1 p.m. today.
Related media:
Blair Oaks vs. Lathrop softball live video stream
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