It wasn't the result Blair Oaks softball wanted, but the Falcons captured fifth in the Capital City Invitational with a 10-4 win against Centralia at 63 Diamonds Saturday.
The Lady Falcons (6-3) also beat Lee's Summit 12-0 earlier in the day and ended the tournament with a 3-1 record, falling to Jefferson City in the semifinals.
"When you come into the tournament and expect to win it, and don't, you're a little disappointed," head coach Sharon Buschjost said. "But overall I thought we played pretty well."
Defense was the team's strong suit throughout the tournament, but senior pitcher Makenna Kliethermes delivered a seven-inning perfect game to help Blair Oaks advance to the fifth place game, striking out 15 batters in the process.
The Lady Falcons jumped on the Lady Panthers in the top of the first inning, plating two runs on five hits and swinging early and often at Centralia starter Olivia Hombs. Ellie Kliethermes, Kaitlyn Kolb, Brooke Boessen, Kayla Jones and Erin Fennewald each singled in the first. Blair Oaks could have done more damage, but Centralia turned a double play when Boessen didn't tag scoring from third on a flyout.
The Lady Panthers responded in the bottom of the inning, scoring twice after Lady Falcons sophomore starter Alexis Finley walked four of the first five batters she faced, lasting a third of an inning. Another run scored on a wild pitch by freshman Andi Siebeneck, who struck out two to finish the inning and threw 6 innings to earn the win. She gave up five hits, a walk and struck out three.
"She (Siebeneck) has had to pitch a couple tough games for us so far this year, Helias and Jeff City, so she just, to me, came in relaxed and ready to go," Buschjost said. "With maybe the exception of a few pitches, she was on. I was very impressed, and being a freshman, just composed. She doesn't get too rattled."
Siebeneck's speed took Centralia's hitters an inning to adjust to, and Buschjost said her ability to throw a good changeup and good heat, with a third pitch that splits the difference, is rare.
Blair Oaks struck again in the third with a two-out rally from Natalie Otto and Siebeneck, who hit back-to-back doubles, and added four more in the fifth. Otto hit a one-out single, Siebeneck walked, reached on a fielder's choice, Ellie Kliethermes drove in a run with a single and Peyton Kusgen hit a 2-RBI double.
The Lady Falcons ran aggressively all afternoon, especially Otto, but had zero attempted steals, instead running hard when the ball was in play and challenging the arms of Centralia's fielders with success.
"I didn't mind (Otto) running through, it wasn't a big stop sign, it was a small stop sign at third," Buschjost said with a laugh. "But I loved her answer, 'I just reacted on my instinct, coach, I didn't mean to not do what you said.' I said, 'I'm good with that.'
"I don't know if I've always done a good job of taking advantage of aggressive base-running and some of the speed we have on the team. I'm sometimes more cautious. But I'm trying to let the girls know that I truly am OK if they're being aggressive and run into an out."
Kusgen hit 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and a sacrifice, two RBI and a run scored and Kolb was 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run to lead Blair Oaks. Otto finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, Kliethermes hit 2-for-5 and scored twice, and Fennewald and Siebeneck each drove in a run. Pinch-hitter Kadence Kliegel walked and scored in the seventh and Kathleen Groner drove in a run with a pinch-hit single to make the score 10-3.
Centralia scored in the fifth and seventh innings. The Lady Falcons are now 2-0 against the Lady Panthers after beating them 7-0 in Wardsville to open the season.
Makenna Kliethermes' perfect game against Lee's Summit saw her fan 15 batters, but it wouldn't have happened without the kind of defensive performance Blair Oaks has made a habit of this season.
"With a game like that where she was dominating, it didn't mean they weren't putting balls in play," Buschjost said. "They did put some balls in play, and it took some really good defensive plays to allow her to get that perfect game as well."
But Kliethermes did her part, too, and the hard-throwing right-hander overpowered the Lady Tigers' bats.
"One of the most efficient games I've ever seen her pitch," Buschjost said. "That, right there, if I could bottle that, and somehow duplicate that for a lot of other games, we'd be sitting pretty for the rest of the season. But that's been the thing I've wanted her to work on is get ahead in the count and don't throw so many pitches. And I don't know for sure, I haven't looked, but I don't know if she ever went to a full count."
Blair Oaks plays Monday at Versailles, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.