WARDSVILLE - One night after Andi Siebeneck was nearly perfect for Blair Oaks, Olivia Moyer just about matched her.
Moyer allowed only two baserunners, one hit and one walk, on the way to a complete game shutout in the circle for the Class 3 No. 2-ranked Lady Falcons, striking out 17 of the 23 batters she faced along the way.
Moyer's performance led the Lady Falcons to a 5-0 win Thursday against the Boonville Lady Pirates at the Falcon Athletic Complex.
"Her last game didn't go as well as she would have liked, so she's been very eager and anxious to get back out there and get a good game in," Blair Oaks coach Sharon Buschjost said of Moyer's performance. "She definitely got that tonight. Definitely a game she needed and a game our team needed going into a tournament this weekend."
Moyer worked a clean first inning, striking out two, then walked the leadoff batter in the second before striking out two more and forcing a flyout to keep the game scoreless.
Blair Oaks got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second when Kally Bruce reached base on a fielder's choice, courtesy runner Baley Rackers stole second and Moyer helped her own cause, bringing Rackers home with a single through the middle on a 1-2 pitch.
Moyer then struck out the first two batters of the next inning before allowing her only hit to opposing starter Abby Pulliam, who roped a single through the left side of the infield.
Moyer finished off the inning with a strikeout to end the frame. In the bottom of the third, the Lady Falcons' Kadence Kliegel's speed was on full display.
Kliegel reached base on a slow roller to third, beating the throw even though the Lady Pirates had their corner infielders pulled in.
Kliegel then stole second before scoring on a Taylor Groner sacrifice fly to right-center. Groner sent a fly ball into the gap, which Boonville centerfielder Faith Mesik made an excellent diving catch on. Kliegel took off for third, while Mesik tried to hustle the ball to the infield, throwing from her back. The throw reached the infield as Kliegel rounded third and took off for the plate, beating the throw in from second base.
Moyer returned to the circle and struck out five of the next six batters she faced with the 2-0 lead.
The Lady Falcons added another run in the fifth when Anna Hankins singled through the right side of the infield, her second hit of the day after doubling in the third inning, then was replaced on the basepath by freshman Madison Vaughan.
"Anna Hankins, she's just been part of so much of our offense this season," Buschjost said. "Just performing at a really high level and probably leading our team in RBIs. She's had a fantastic start."
Vaughan took second on a passed ball, then moved to third when the Lady Pirates catcher threw to the Boonville third baseman, who was not looking, and the error gave Vaughan time to advance. Vaughan eventually scored on a Grace Boessen single to short center field.
"Being able to add onto our score was important," Buschjost said. "Being up 2-0, thats just a walk or a bloop and a pop over the fence to tie it. You just didn't feel comfortable."
Moyer continued her torrid pace in the circle, striking out two more batters in the sixth.
Her offense responded with consecutive hits from Kenzie Libbert, Kliegel and Groner to start the inning, including an RBI for Groner, then consecutive errors allowed Kliegel to score.
Moyer finished off her performance by striking out the side in the top of the seventh.
Libbert, Kliegel and Hankins all ended with two hits for the Lady Falcons, while Jazmin Reinkemeyer reached base three times on two walks and an error. Boessen singled, walked and collected an RBI, while Macee Ernst doubled.
Blair Oaks (8-1) is set for tournament action this weekend, starting today in the Lady Jays Softball Classic when it faces Ozark in the first round at 1:45 p.m. at Binder Park.
"For some of the players, I'm hoping the opportunites they maybe haven't gotten to this point of the season that they have fun with it and take advantage of it," Buschjost said of what she's looking for in the tournament. "For those who have been playing a lot, just making sure they find and keep the energy that is needed to stay up throughout all seven innings."
Blair Oaks beat Boonville 8-1 during junior varsity action Thursday.
Ava Willson pitched a no-hitter to earn the win, allowing only one walk, while striking out seven Lady Pirates.
Vaughan led the Lady Falcon offense with three hits and four RBI, while Alyssa Reinkemeyer had one hit and one RBI for Blair Oaks.
Bria Boessen contributed one hit to the Blair Oaks offense, while Kenya Austin had one hit and two runs scored.
With the win, the Lady Falcons JV record sits at 8-2-1.