Lady Falcons seem poised for
another run at softball Final Four
Oct. 3, 2018
WARDSVILLE, Mo. --- The Blair Oaks Lady Falcons could be considered the Buffalo Bills of Missouri high school softball.
"Selfishly, from my standpoint, getting there quite a few times and not winning it, it does feel that way," Lady Falcons coach Sharon Buschjost said.
But really, getting compared to the Bills is hardly a bad thing. Sure, they're the punch line of some NFL jokes, but there are 30 other NFL teams that would have traded places with them those four years.
It's better to finish second than be sitting at home.
"It's hard for me to keep that in perspective, because dating back to 2000, we've made that trip several times (nine) with the ultimate goal in mind," Buschjost continued, "and we've come up a little short."
Including second-place finishes the last two seasons, but the Lady Falcons did win it all in 2009.
Take that, Buffalo.
"I try to focus on the four years of each girl's high school experience," Buschjost said, "and we try our best to allow them to experience state title."
In their quest for that next state championship, so far, so good.
"With a 17-4 record," Buschjost said, "things are going pretty good.".
You could say that. Tuesday night's win over Southern Boone was Blair Oaks' eighth straight, as the Lady Falcons clinched their eighth straight conference championship and their flat-out silly 22nd conference title in Buschjost's 23 seasons.
"I feel like all aspects of our game have been consistent throughout the season," Buschjost said. "From our pitching to our battery and our defense, in general, they've all been pretty solid. And as a team, we're batting .364, so that tells you we're getting some things done offensively."
This another great season for Buschjost, and that's nothing new. But this is --- Buschjost, 53, has retired from teaching to concentrate on softball ... and life.
"Everybody that's retired told me that I'd enjoy it, and they haven't lied to me," she said with a smile. "I do find myself spending quite a bit of time on softball at home, and that makes me realize just how difficult it was to mix teaching and coaching at the same time.
"How long I stay at it, I don't know."
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SOFTBALL IS A TEAM SPORT, BUT THERE'S no other team sport quite like it because one player --- specifically, one pitcher --- can dominate and make the difference.
Blair Oaks has one of those players, one of those pitchers, senior Makenna Kliethermes.
"From a freshman to a senior, Makenna has excelled and improved in so many areas," Buschjost said. "As a player, as a teammate, as a pitcher, growing as a person. She's gotten better every year and I'm really liking what I'm seeing this year, just in terms of her maturity and how she's approaching the games.
"She's allowing her teammates to take some of the pressure and to feel like not everything's on her. That's taken a while, but she's understanding it more and more. She's trusting her teammates in terms of the team's success."
Kliethermes, who's verbally committed to Oregon, is 10-1 this season with an ERA of 0.80 and 163 strikeouts in 77 innings, after going a remarkable 22-2 with an ERA of just over 0.50 last season. In her high school career, she's 47-12 with a school-record 672 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.97.
If you give up less than one run a game, you're going to win a lot of games.
And just her size, 5-11, as she unleashes a pitch ... that's enough to make teams quiver.
"I know for us through the years that anytime we've faced a pitcher who's 5-11, and just put together and can bring it, that in itself is an advantage," Buschjost said. "Makenna's worked very hard to get where she's at and she has the same goal as everyone else on the team --- to bring Blair Oaks another state title."
If you're already worried about next year, don't, because this is a program on solid ground.
"Monday night just stood out to me in terms of where our program's at," Buschjost said. "Makenna, a senior, pitching the varsity game and pitching a no-hitter (at Class 4 Columbia Hickman) and Andi Siebeneck, a freshman, throwing a no-hitter for the JV.
"That was impressive to me."
Kliethermes is quite familiar with her battery mate --- her kid sister, sophomore catcher Ellie.
"They're not afraid to butt heads, which I think brings out good in both of them," Buschjost said. "Makenna keeps a little more to herself, Ellie is a little more talkative. They are each their own person, that's for sure, and it's in a positive way.
"Ellie doesn't agree with everything Makenna says just because she's the pitcher and her older sister. She's not afraid to challenge her and question her
"It's a solid battery. It's vital for a pitcher and catcher to communicate, you'd be surprised how many don't."
As Buschjost mentioned, the team batting average is .364, so Makenna has support at the plate --- including her own bat, as she's batting third and hitting a team-high .522 with 17 RBI.
But the offensive leader of the pack is senior Brooke Boessen, who's hitting .463 and leads the team in RBI with 23 and home runs with five --- half of the team's total.
"Brooke is straight forward, it is what it is, there's no fluff with her," Buschjost said. "She's a no-excuses, just-get-it-done kind of person, and she's an in-your-face competitor.
"When the game's on the line, whether it's in the field or at the plate, she's definitely one of those players on the top of my list."
Other top threats include Ellie Kliethermes (.406), senior Erin Fennewald (.359, 18 RBI) and cleanup hitter Kaitlyn Kolb (.463, 14 RBI), who's an imposing 6-2 junior "who's just been doing a fantastic job. She's come up with some clutch hits,"
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BLAIR OAKS' LOSSES THIS SEASON have all been to first-class programs --- not to mention schools in bigger classes --- Class 4 Jefferson City, a loss Blair Oaks would avenge six days later; Class 4 Lee's Summit West; Class 4 Troy; and Class 3 Helias.
Nothing to be ashamed of, to be sure. So another trip to the Class 2 Final Four could be imminent.
But how about this, just for fun ...
If Buschjost could take another trip to the Final Four and another second-place finish --- right now --- would she?
"We know we have that one goal in mind," Buschjost said, "but we have to take it one step at a time. I think this team is mature enough to understand that it's not an automatic, because on any given day, anything can happen.
"You can't think getting to the Final Four is a normal thing, because it's not. It's been a great year so far, but it could be really special."
It could, indeed.
Blair Oaks pitcher and Oregon recruit Makenna Kliethermes (right), shown here in last year's district championship game against Fatima, has been fabulous once again this season with a 10-1 record and an ERA of less 0.80.
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