Loeffler's Link

Kliethermes sparks Blair Oaks
past Fatima, into quarterfinals

Oct. 11, 2017

WESTPHALIA, Mo. --- It's odd how often it happens, that such a little thing can lead to such a big problem.

Conversely, it can lead to a big opportunity ... and in this case, a big inning ... and for Blair Oaks, another big step toward the biggest goal of all.

After Fatima's Macy Berhorst had retired the first eight Lady Falcons on Wednesday, Cameron Dulle fouled off some tough pitches on her way to coaxing a walk on a 3-2 offering with two out and nobody on in the top of the third inning of a scoreless game.

A little thing?

When we made it to the bottom of the third inning, Blair Oaks had a 3-0 lead.

Not a little thing.

And with Makenna Kliethermes on the mound, that 3-0 lead may as well have been 33-0.

Kliethermes was a dynamic force once again, as she tossed a two-hitter and collected a double, a home run and four RBI as Blair Oaks brushed past rival Fatima 7-0 in a Class 2 sectional clash.

"This was a good win, because Fatima was ready for us --- and we knew they would be," Blair Oaks coach Sharon Buschjost said. "I think we had some nerves early on and it kind of tested us in different ways tonight.

"But I thought we stayed composed, and it started with that pitcher in the circle."

It certainly did, because Kliethermes is just too much for mortal high school softball players to contend with.

"She's a dominating pitcher," Fatima coach Dana Scheppers said, "and we had trouble even putting the ball in play. When you don't score a run, it's hard to win ball games."

Was Kliethermes great? Yes. Are you surprised? If you've been paying attention, no.

With the win, the junior righthander --- who's verbally committed to the University of Oregon --- improved to 20-1 and lowered her ERA to 0.59. She struck out 16 and walked only two, moving her staggering season totals to 251 and 37, respectively.

"When you're the pitcher, you have a lot to think about," Buschjost said. "She didn't have all her pitches working tonight, but she stuck with was working."

In the early going, however Berhorst was even better --- eight up, eight down, while Fatima had one of its two hits in the first inning on a leadoff bunt-single by Ally Bonnot.

But then came that little walk to Dulle, the No. 9 hitter, in the third.

"It starts with one girl having a good at-bat and that's what Cameron did for us," Buschjost said. "She fouled off some pitches and battled."

Oh, those two-out walks.

"They always seem to come up and bite you, one way or the other," Scheppers said.

After Dulle advanced to second on a wild pitch, Macey Stockman singled up the middle to give Blair Oaks (26-5) a 1-0 lead.

"That was huge," Buschjost said, "because the team knows Makenna's abilities in the circle. We know, as a team, if we can just get one run on the board early, it just makes things a little easier.

"Then Makenna's hit just allowed us to relax and play a little more like we're used to playing."

Indeed, because after Kayla Jones beat out an infield single, Kliethermes drilled a two-run double to left-center to make it 3-0.

"Makenna was able to get us on the board in a big way with some huge hits," Buschjost said.

Huge at the plate, huge on the mound. But where was she better?

"Probably on the mound, I'd have to say," Kliethermes said. "Because at the plate, I thought we all did really well and on the mound, I knew what I was doing and I knew how to dominate.

"I knew I just had to throw my game and I'd be fine."

Nobody enjoyed that three-run lead more than Kliethermes.

"I felt like a lot of pressure went off me and I could actually breathe, for once," she said. "I was more relaxed, it helped a lot."

The lead grew to 5-0 in the fifth when Kliethermes drove a 2-0 pitch deep over the fence in right-center, her third homer of the season. 

It was a no-doubter.

"I hit it and I was like, 'Oh wow, that's gone!'" she said with a smile that stretched from Westphalia to Wardsville. "I was even surprised how hard I hit it."

The blast also scored Stockman after she'd collected her second single of the game. The senior shortstop scored two runs and also had a defensive gem when she dove up the middle to snag a line drive off the bat of Morgan Laux in the sixth.

"That," Buschjost said, "was one of the better plays I've seen this season."

Hannah Schroeder belted a solo home run to make it 6-0 in the sixth, before a sacrifice fly Sydney Wilde in the seventh ended the scoring.

Fatima (20-6), meanwhile, could advance only two runners past first base. The Lady Comets had runners at first and second with one out in both the first and fourth innings, but Kliethermes fanned the next two batters in both frames to end the threats.

The loss ends another noteworthy season for Scheppers and the Lady Comets, while the Lady Falcons advance to host Dixon (23-0) --- which was a 5-1 sectional winner over Warsaw --- in the quarterfinals Saturday.

This was a big one down for Blair Oaks. Now, there are even three bigger ones to go.

"They're just a good ball club, all around," Scheppers said. "We lost to a great team --- I'd say they're going to do very well from here on out."

Dana Scheppers would know.

Stay tuned.

Fatima's Payton Stuckenschneider lays down a bunt against pitcher Makenna Kliethermes and the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons during the third inning of Wednesday's Class 2 sectional game in Westphalia. Stuckenschneider was thrown out on the play by Blair Oaks third baseman Kayla Jones (not pictured).