WARDSVILLE, Mo. - To get back to the softball state semifinals for a second straight season, the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons had to knock off the last remaining undefeated team in Missouri.
They did it with an exclamation point.
Blair Oaks turned a potential nailbiter into a blowout, routing the Dixon Lady Bulldogs 10-0 in six innings in Saturday's Class 2 quarterfinal at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
Makenna Kliethermes, who pitched a no-hitter and finished with 13 strikeouts, ended the game with a walk-off RBI double into the right-center field gap in the bottom of the sixth inning.
"I feel like I'm living last year all over again," Blair Oaks catcher Sydney Wilde said. "It's exhilarating to go to the Final Four. We've been there before, so we know what to expect."
Saturday's matchup featured two power pitchers, with Kliethermes facing Dixon's Tressa Hughes. Kliethermes entered the game with 251 strikeouts this season. Hughes had fanned 268 batters.
Hughes retired the first six batters she faced. Kliethermes struck out six the first time through Dixon's lineup before running into some trouble in the top of the third.
With two outs, Kliethermes walked three consecutive batters to load the bases, prompting a visit to the pitcher's circle from Blair Oaks coach Sharon Buschjost.
"Right away before I said anything (during the visit), she felt like she was showing too much emotion and frustration," Buschjost said. "I said, 'Would you say you're throwing your A game?' And she acknowledged that she wasn't, but I said she can get back there. In the meantime, she had to be tough through it."
Kliethermes answered with five consecutive strikes, leading to a groundout to third baseman Kayla Jones to end the inning. Dixon would have only one baserunner the rest of the game.
Blair Oaks began the bottom half of the inning with a slap double by Torie Thurston, followed by a bloop single from Nicole Bryan.
Macey Stockman stepped to the plate with one out and both runners in scoring position. With a 1-1 count, the senior shortstop put down a perfectly placed squeeze bunt to the right side of the infield. Thurston raced home to beat the throw to give the Lady Falcons a 1-0 lead.
Stockman said she was a little surprised to get the bunt sign from Buschjost.
"Coach gave me the sign and I had to do a double-take," Stockman said. "But as soon as she did, I knew I had a job, and I had to get it done."
Buschjost has placed an emphasis on Blair Oaks to score first when Kliethermes is pitching, saying the team feels more relaxed playing ahead with her pitching, even if it's just a 1-0 lead. This postseason, Blair Oaks has outscored opponents 37-0.
"I was wanting that first run to cross the plate," Buschjost said.
Jones added an RBI groundout later in the inning to give Blair Oaks a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Falcons scored twice in the fourth. Cameron Dulle reached on an infield single with the bases loaded to drive in a run, while another run scored on a throwing error during the play to double Blair Oaks' lead to 4-0.
Blair Oaks put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth, scoring five more runs. Hannah Schroeder, Brooke Boessen and Wilde each had an RBI in the frame.
Dixon committed seven errors in the game, four of which came during the fifth inning.
"Not right now, but in a few days, their record will mean more to them than what it does right now," Buschjost said of Dixon, which finished the season with a 23-1 record. "I know they're not feeling good right now, but they are a good team."
Jones reached on an error to start the bottom of the sixth and scored the game-ending run on Kliethermes' double.
Blair Oaks tallied eight hits in the game. Thurston had the only multi-hit performance, finishing 2-for-2 with one single, one double and two runs scored.
Kliethermes improved to 21-1 with Saturday's win. She has won every decision since taking the loss in the Lady Falcons' season opener against Centralia.
Hughes, who has committed to pitch next season at Jefferson College, walked two and struck out nine in her first loss of the season.
"I can't take anything away from her, she's a good pitcher," Stockman said of Hughes, her summer ball teammate on the Capital City Crush. "I knew how fast she pitched and she has a really good rise ball. We knew what to expect coming in."
Blair Oaks (27-5) advances to its ninth Final Four, and fourth in the past six seasons. The Lady Falcons will face the Lathrop Lady Mules in the Class 2 state semifinals at 10 a.m. Friday at the Killian Softball Complex in Springfield.
Lathrop (27-1) is the only remaining one-loss team in any class in the state playoffs.
"When you keep teams to zero runs, your chances are pretty good," Buschjost said. "We're hoping that continues, but that puts a lot of pressure on the pitcher.
"Then you look offensively and we've been putting runs on the board, whether we're taking advantage of errors or we have a timely hit. Up and down the lineup, we have players getting it done."
Friday's other Class 2 semifinal game is between Kelly (23-6) and Bowling Green (24-4).