SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - There were plenty of chances for big opportunities during the Class 2 softball state championship game.
Bowling Green caught the breaks. Blair Oaks did not.
The Lady Bobcats captured their first state championship Saturday, holding off the Lady Falcons for a 6-1 victory at Killian Stadium Field.
"I'm not one to make excuses, but I talked a little bit about (the breaks after the game)," Blair Oaks coach Sharon Buschjost said. "There is luck that helps along the way.
"You have to be really good to win, and Bowling Green was a really good team today."
Blair Oaks (28-6) finishes runner-up in Class 2 for a second straight season and five times overall in nine appearances in the Final Four.
"It's pretty difficult for me as a coach, our coaching staff and all of our players to find the silver lining in it right now," Buschjost said. "A little bit later they're going to be able to do that, but right now it's pretty tough."
One of the breaks that didn't go Blair Oaks' way came in the bottom of the second inning. Hannah Schroeder hit a leadoff triple to right field, but Bowling Green pitcher Sarah Harness induced a pair of groundouts to third base and finished the frame with a strikeout.
Blair Oaks only stranded five runners Saturday, but three were left at third base.
"That's the luck I'm talking about," Buschjost said. "When that doesn't go your way, you feel like everything's against you. That's just how it ended up."
Bowling Green (26-4) scored twice in the top of the fourth inning. Gabrielle Deters doubled, advanced to third on a passed ball and then scored on a throwing error. Later in the frame, with the wind blowing in from left field, Kathryn Horner blooped a towering single just beyond third base to score another run, giving the Lady Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
Blair Oaks answered in the bottom half of the inning with its only run. Schroeder drew a two-out walk and scored on a triple to right field by Brooke Boessen
Buschjost said there were a few opportunities when her team had a chance to take the momentum back, but just couldn't get the timely hits.
"We had those opportunities in front of us, and we didn't run with it," Buschjost said.
The intentional walk bailed Blair Oaks out of a tough situation in Friday's semifinal against Lathrop. The play would backfire twice in Saturday's championship game.
Blair Oaks pitcher Makenna Kliethermes gave Deters a free pass with two outs in the fifth. The Bowling Green catcher then stole second base and came around to score on an error.
The Lady Falcons walked Deters again on four pitches in the seventh to load the bases. Bowling Green's Katelynn Charlton and Kaylyn McKee drew back-to-back walks to force in two more runs.
"It didn't take long for me to watch one or two swings from Deters to know that we had to be cautious with her," Buschjost said. "She's a great hitter. Any time the opportunity presented itself, I was going to put her on.
"I can't say I'm really second-guessing those two decisions at this point. I second-guess myself a lot, but I haven't on that. Not yet. Maybe when I think about it on the bus ride home, I might."
Bowling Green added another unearned run on a throwing error later in the seventh to extend its lead to 7-1.
Kliethermes finished with 15 strikeouts - and 290 for the season - but Bowling Green made her throw 160 pitches in seven innings.
She allowed six hits and seven walks, four of which came in the final inning.
The Lady Bobcats worked the count often against the Blair Oaks junior, fouling off a total of 16 pitches on a two-strike count.
"They put the pressure on her and made her work for everything," Buschjost said. "The only thing I can say is they came in and made her work as hard, if not harder, than she's had to work all season."
Blair Oaks stranded runners on first and second in the sixth. The Lady Falcons had runners on first and third in the seventh, but Harness got a strikeout and a flyout to end the game.
The Lady Falcons were held to three hits, but all went for extra bases. Kliethermes added a two-out double in the sixth.
Buschjost said it was difficult to turn the page after the game and recap on a banner season, but she turned to a phrase she uses often with her players.
"We've been preaching all season about how you win as a team and lose as a team," Buschjost said. "This is the time where everyone needs you to rally behind them, it's the time to put those words into action.
"We told them how proud all of us are of everything they've done, and thanked them for making this season what it was."