The Blair Oaks Lady Falcons will be playing to advance to their fifth Final Four in the past six seasons today when they host the Fulton Lady Hornets in the Class 3 softball state quarterfinals.
First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
Blair Oaks (29-4), which is ranked No. 1 in Class 3, advanced to the state tournament by defeating Fatima 11-3 in Saturday afternoon's District 5 championship game in Versailles.
The Lady Falcons have a .351 team batting average with 21 home runs, averaging 7.9 runs per game. They are holding opponents to 1.1 runs per contest.
Senior Andi Siebeneck leads the team with a .453 batting average (39-for-111) with team-highs of 40 RBI and six home runs.
Senior Kadence Kliegel is batting .430 (40-for-116) with team-highs of 44 runs scored and 27 stolen bases, while leadoff batter, junior Kenzie Libbert, is hitting .375 (39-for-124) with 31 singles and 24 stolen bases.
Other starters batting .350 or better for the Lady Falcons are junior Taylor Groner (.375), senior Jazmin Reinkemeyer (.372), senior Anna Hankins (.358) and senior Grace Boessen (.350).
Today's expected starter in the pitcher's circle for Blair Oaks is Siebeneck, who has a 20-2 record with a 1.02 ERA and 236 strikeouts to just 18 walks in 137 innings pitched.
Siebeneck has pitched two perfect games and three no-hitters this season, winning in each of her last 14 appearances.
Fulton (22-8), ranked No. 6 in Class 3, won the District 6 Tournament on Saturday by defeating top-seeded Hallsville 12-5 in Fulton.
In three district tournament games, the Lady Hornets outscored their opponents 33-6. They are averaging 8.1 runs and allowing 3.7 runs per game.
This is Fulton's first appearance in the state tournament since 2006.
The two teams met Sept. 13 in Wardsville, as Fulton went on the road and pulled out a 5-3 victory against Blair Oaks.
The Lady Hornets scored all their runs in the first two innings, getting a bases-clearing double from Jayna Hedgpath in the first and an RBI double from Rylee Caswell in the second. Another run scored on a wild pitch.
Freshman Miley Hawkins was the winning pitcher for the Lady Hornets, who were held scoreless in five innings of relief pitching by Siebeneck.
The winner of today's game will play the quarterfinal winner between No. 3 Logan-Rogersville (20-8) and No. 4 Sullivan (25-9) in the state semifinals at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29, at Cooper Softball Complex in Springfield.
III
The New Bloomfield Lady Wildcats are vying for their first Final Four appearance in 25 years when they host the Elsberry Lady Indians in the Class 2 state quarterfinals. First pitch is at 5 p.m.
New Bloomfield (15-9), which is receiving votes in the Class 2 state rankings, won the District 3 Tournament on Thursday with a 4-2 win against Salisbury at South Callaway.
The second-seeded Lady Wildcats defeated North Callaway 10-0 in the first round and Montgomery County 5-1 in the semifinals.
Offensively, New Bloomfield is led by Avery Nichols, who is batting .479 (34-for-71) with a team-high 28 runs scored and 11 stolen bases. Brooke Talbot is hitting .437 (31-for-71) with 34 RBI, while Macie Abbott leads the team with five home runs.
Asya Nichols and Peityn Thomas both pitched in the district title game against Salisbury. Nichols has an 8-3 record with a 3.14 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 642/3 innings, while Thomas is 5-5 with a 3.95 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 671/3 innings for the Lady Wildcats.
Elsberry (19-7), which is also receiving votes in the Class 2 state rankings, won the District 4 championship Saturday by knocking off top-seeded Valley Park 11-0 in Valley Park.
The Lady Indians are scoring 6.5 runs and allowing 2.4 runs per game this season, compared to 8.5 and 4.3 for the Lady Wildcats.
Elsberry, which has won its past 10 games, is seeking its first state semifinal appearance in program history.
New Bloomfield took third place in Class 1A in its only Final Four appearance in 1996.
The winner of today's game advances to take on the quarterfinal winner between third-ranked Marceline (25-3-1) and Clark County (12-14) in the Class 2 state semifinals at noon Friday, Oct. 29, at Cooper Softball Complex in Springfield.
III
The St. Elizabeth Lady Hornets will be trying to reach the state quarterfinals for the second time in three seasons when they host the New Franklin Lady Bulldogs in tonight's Class 1 sectional round matchup. First pitch is at 5 p.m. at St. Elizabeth Ballpark.
St. Elizabeth (16-7), ranked No. 10 in Class 1, claimed the District 5 championship last Friday with a 5-3 victory against fifth-ranked Vienna at Southern Boone.
Vienna was the only Class 1 school to defeat St. Elizabeth during the regular season.
Tasia Green, who signed earlier this month to play softball at Columbia College, leads St. Elizabeth with a .375 batting average (24-for-64) with four home runs, 19 RBI and 19 runs scored.
Lauren Otto is batting .353 (18-for-51), while Emily Wilde is next at .324 (22-for-68). Wilde has a team-high 20 RBI to go with 21 runs scored and three home runs.
Riley Hammond pitched a complete game in the win against Vienna. This season, Hammond has an 11-2 record with a 2.20 ERA in 86 innings.
Wilde has also spent time in the pitcher's circle this season for the Lady Hornets. She has a 4-2 record with two saves and a 2.35 ERA in 622/3 innings pitched.
New Franklin (13-11) won the District 6 championship last Friday, as the top-seeded Lady Bulldogs defeated Pilot Grove 4-3. That game marked career win No. 300 for New Franklin coach Ross Dowell.
Both teams enter today's game averaging 6.7 runs per game. St. Elizabeth is holding opponents to 3.6 runs and New Franklin is allowing 4.8.
The Lady Bulldogs and the Lady Hornets last met in the postseason in the 2013 Class 1 state quarterfinals. New Franklin won that matchup 9-7 at St. Elizabeth.
The winner of today's game advances to play the sectional winner between No. 8 Silex (19-2) and Northeast: Cairo (11-11).
If New Franklin wins, it will host Saturday's quarterfinal.
If St. Elizabeth wins, it will either host Northeast: Cairo or play at Silex.