Here are capsule looks at Fatima, Oak Grove, St. Francis Borgia and Winfield, who are competing in the Class 3 softball Final Four in Springfield:
FATIMA
Record: 33-4.
Head coach: Ashlee Schnieders (87-14 overall, all at Fatima).
Final regular season ranking: No. 1
Notes: Fatima, the reigning Class 3 state champion, dropped its final game of the regular season in a 2-1 decision against Class 5 No. 4 Rock Bridge. … The Lady Comets entered the Class 3 District 5 Tournament as the No. 1 seed and defeated eighth-seeded Eldon 15-0 in the first round, fourth-seeded California 10-0 in the semifinals, No. 3 seed and eighth-ranked Blair Oaks 4-1 in the district championship and advanced to its second straight Final Four with a 14-0 victory against Cassville in the quarterfinals. … Senior Taylor Baumhoer, who is committed to play softball at William Woods next season, has been the top pitcher for Fatima this season, entering the Final Four with a 20-1 record and 0.79 ERA. Baumhoer has struck out 194 batters and walked just 21 in 132⅔ innings. … Junior shortstop Kinzey Woody leads the Lady Comets’ offense with a .490 batting average (50-for-102) with team-highs in home runs (15), including two in the quarterfinal victory, extra-base hits (32) and RBI (56). Senior catcher Faith Jaegers is next with a .433 batting average (52-for-120) while adding 30 extra-base hits, including nine home runs, and has driven in 40 runs. Fatima will make its 11th trip to the Final Four in school history and will be looking for its sixth state championship (1991, 1995, 1996, 2014 and 2022). … The Lady Comets finished 7-0 in Show-Me Conference play to win the conference title.
OAK GROVE
Record: 25-6.
Head coach: Micky Wheeler (48-12 overall, all at Oak Grove).
Final regular season ranking: No. 5.
Notes: Oak Grove enters the Final Four on a 10-game winning streak with its last loss coming Oct. 2 in an 11-2 decision against Holden, which was tied for third in Class 3 in the final state rankings. … The Panthers entered the Class 3 District 7 Tournament as the No. 2 seed and defeated No. 7 seed St. Michael the Archangel 16-1, No. 3 seed Pleasant Hill 7-0, avenged its last loss with a 9-5 victory against top-seeded Holden in the district title and advanced to the Final Four with a 3-2 victory in 10 innings against 10th-ranked Savannah in the quarterfinals. … Freshman Molly Munson has been the No. 1 pitcher for Oak Grove and enters with a 10-2 record and a 1.02 ERA. Munson has struck out 89 batters and walked just five in her 81⅔ innings. … Junior shortstop Brianna Craig leads the Panthers’ offense with a .472 batting average (51-for-108) with 20 extra-base hits, including eight triples, and 36 RBI. Senior second baseman Tomi Hill, who is committed to play softball at Rockford University next season, is next with a .463 batting average (38-for-82) with two extra-base hits and 16 RBI. … Oak Grove will make its second Final Four appearance in school history, the other coming in a third-place finish in 2018. … The Panthers went 5-0 in Missouri River Valley Conference West play to win the conference title.
ST. FRANCIS BORGIA
Record: 20-11
Head coach: Nathan Burns (35-24 overall, all at St. Francis Borgia).
Final regular season ranking: Unranked.
Notes: Borgia won three of its final four games to end the regular season and enters the Final Four on a five-game winning streak. … The Lady Knights entered the Class 3 District 2 Tournament as the No. 2 seed. Borgia defeated No. 7 seed Cuba 21-2 in the first round, No. 3 seed St. James 12-3 in the semifinals, won the district title with a 2-0 against top-seeded and ninth-ranked Sullivan, which handed the Lady Knights their most recent loss in a 14-0 decision Oct. 3, and then defeated Lutheran South 11-9 in the quarterfinals to advance to the Final Four. … Borgia’s top pitcher this season has been senior Amanda Dorpinghaus, who has a 13-4 record this season with a 1.65 ERA. Dorpinghaus has struck out 59 batters and walked just 11 in her 102 innings in the circle. … Sophomore Clara Nowak has led the Lady Knights’ offense with a .488 batting average (42-for-86) with six home runs, 23 extra-base hits and 29 RBI. Dorpinghaus joins Nowak with a batting average north of .400, hitting .429 (36-for-84) with three home runs, 16 extra-base hits and a team-high 31 RBI. … This will be Borgia’s first Final Four in school history. … The Lady Knights finished second in the AAA Conference with a 4-1 record with the lone loss coming to Class 5 St. Dominic in a 7-5 decision Sept. 21.
Winfield
Record: 20-7-1
Head coach: Debbie Frank (20-7-1 overall, all at Winfield).
Final regular season ranking: Unranked.
Notes: Winfield won the second leg of its doubleheader against Francis Howell Central to close out the regular season and has won five straight games. … The Warriors entered the Class 3 District 3 Tournament as the top seed. Winfield defeated No. 8 seed St. Charles West 16-0 in the first round, No. 4 seed Lutheran: St. Charles-O’Fallon Christian 5-0 in the district semifinals, won its first district title since 2012 with an 8-4 victory against third-seeded Palmyra and punched its ticket to the Final Four with a 7-5 victory against second-ranked Hallsville in the quarterfinals. … The Warriors’ top pitcher this season has been sophomore Maci Knowles, who has a 12-3 record with a 2.08 ERA. Knowles has struck out 145 batters and walked 23 in her 94⅓ innings pitched. … Senior catcher Jaycee Gillette leads the Winfield offense with a .402 batting average (35-for-87) and has seven extra-base hits with a team-high 27 RBI. Junior shortstop Riley Havican leads the team in extra-base hits (15) and home runs (two) and has a .310 batting average (32-for-103). … This will be the second Final Four appearance in school history for the Warriors, with the other coming in a third-place finish in 1995. … The Warriors finished 5-0 in the Gateway Athletic North Conference to win their second consecutive conference title.