Settling their nerves early

Blair Oaks tops Fatima 11-3 to win district softball title

VERSAILLES — For the sixth time in the past seven postseasons, the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons and the Fatima Lady Comets faced each other with their seasons on the line.

The two non-conference rivals are quite familiar with the other, so anything was possible entering Saturday afternoon’s Class 3 District 5 Tournament championship game.

Blair Oaks settled its early nerves, scoring five runs in the first inning to pull away to an 11-3 victory to claim the district title at Audrey J. Walton Stadium.

“That opened it up for us and allowed us to relax,” Blair Oaks coach Sharon Buschjost said, “and it puts tremendous pressure on them.”

The two offenses took different approaches. Fatima took advantage of a strong wind blowing out toward center field, hitting three home runs.

“Our team has executed very well throughout the season,” Fatima coach Ashlee Schnieders said. “We were a big-hitting team, we saw that a lot this season.”

Blair Oaks scattered 13 hits in six innings, putting together a mix of hard-hit line drives and perfectly placed bloop hits.

“That starts with having a good at-bat, fighting pitches off and putting it in play,” Buschjost said. “The wind was a factor today, so as outfielders, you’ve got to play a little deeper, and it allowed for some of those balls to drop in as base hits.

“I give credit to our hitters. Sometimes, all you need is contact.”

In the bottom of the first inning, Andi Siebeneck’s RBI single scored Kenzie Libbert. Anna Hankins followed with an RBI double to right-center field to make the score 2-0.

After an error and a groundout, Jazmin Reinkemeyer lined an RBI sin

gle to left field and Kally Bruce hit a two-run double to increase the lead to 5-0, as the Lady Falcons batted around the order in the opening inning.

Siebeneck felt a little more at ease as she walked back out to the pitcher’s circle with a fiverun cushion.

“It really takes the pressure off,” she said. “Everyone was a little nervous, and when you go out with a lead, everyone plays more relaxed.”

But in the top of the second, Hannah Heisler hit Fatima’s first homer of the day, a solo blast to right-center field.

“It’s easy to give up after those five runs in the first inning,” Schnieders said. “It’s even harder to keep pushing, but that’s what we were doing.”

Blair Oaks answered with two runs in the bottom half of the inning on a sacrifice fly and an error, then Fatima’s Faith Jaegers hit the first of her two homers in the third to make the score 7-2.

“You’re still not comfortable, because you know what they’re capable of doing,” Buschjost said. “They’re a great ballteam.”

The home runs energized Fatima’s dugout, but Siebeneck limited the damage, making sure all three were solo shots.

“Home runs happen, you just have to pitch through it,” she said.

Libbert kept the scoring going for the Lady Falcons with a tworun bloop double to left field in the bottom of the third.

In the fifth, Bruce hit a sacrifice fly to left and Kadence Kliegel added an RBI double to right-center. Blair Oaks nearly ended the game by run-rule on Kliegel’s hit, but Libbert was caught in a rundown between third base and home plate, keeping the score at 11-2.

Bria Boessen, pinch-running for Reinkemeyer in the fifth, scored on Bruce’s sacrifice fly. The Lady Falcons used a total of four courtesy and pinch runners, and Boessen, Baley Rackers and Chesney Luebbering each scored when inserted into the game.

“It’s about knowing when it’s the right time to trade for the speed,” Buschjost said. “That’s something I’m still trying to get right as a coach, especially how soon in a game you do it. … We were looking to sub early if we had the chance.”

Reinkemeyer went 4-for-4 to lead the Blair Oaks offense, finishing with three singles and a double at the No. 7 spot in the order. She batted 8-for-10 in three games during the district tournament.

“She turned it on a number of games ago and she hasn’t let up,” Buschjost said.

Jaegers’ second home run led off the top of the sixth for the Lady Comets.

“We were still scoring in the sixth inning, you could tell that our team was still pushing,” Schnieders said. “I’m very proud of them for that.”

Fatima only had one hit aside from the homers: a leadoff single by Chesney Luebbering in the first inning.

Siebeneck struck out seven batters in seven innings, increasing her season strikeout total to 236 as she improved to 20-2. All seven strikeouts came in the first four innings, so Siebeneck’s defense helped record the final nine outs. First baseman Taylor Groner snagged a line drive off the bat of Anna Eichholz to end the game.

“I said, ‘We cannot expect Andi Siebeneck to strike out 10 batters a game, and don’t expect it this game,’” Buschjost said. “Fatima will put the ball in play, we had to be ready behind her.

“We had a lot of players who stepped up, but Emma Wolken’s defense at shortstop, they hit some hard shots at her and she played very confidently.”

Taylor Baumhoer pitched the first inning for Fatima, walking one and striking out one. Chayce Gier threw five innings in relief, walking two and striking out one.

For Blair Oaks, Libbert, Kliegel and Bruce each had one single and one double, while Bruce had a team-high three RBI. Libbert and Siebeneck each added two RBI.

Fatima, ranked No. 7 in Class 3, finishes the season with a 21-7 record. The Lady Comets played 14 games against teams that are currently state-ranked or receiving votes, winning nine of those matchups.

“They proved a lot this year, playing a very tough schedule,” Schnieders said.

Blair Oaks, ranked No. 1 in Class 3, set a school single-season record Saturday with its 29th win.

“That’s cool, to be able to say I was a part of that, but we’re going to keep trying for more,” Siebeneck said.

Blair Oaks (29-4) will host sixth-ranked Fulton (22-8) in the Class 3 state quarterfinals Wednesday at the Falcon Athletic Complex. A game time has not been announced.

Fulton, which defeated Hallsville 12-5 in Saturday’s District 6 title game, beat Blair Oaks 5-3 on Sept. 13 in Wardsville.

“They’re the ones who beat us in the regular season, so they’ve got the target on their back,” Buschjost said. “We’ll come out ready for them, just like they will be ready for us.”