KELLY GIRLS DELIVER ONE MORE TITLE

KELSO -- Not even rain nor a change of venue could keep Kelly High's softball team from its appointed rounds of a district championship.

The top-seeded Lady Hawks overcame both of those obstacles Monday to defeat second-seeded Notre Dame 6-4 in the finals of the Class 2A, District 2 Tournament.

The victory marked Kelly's 13th consecutive district title. The Lady Hawks, the defending Class 2A state champions, will host East Carter County in a sectional playoff game Thursday at 4 p.m. East Carter beat Twin Rivers 8-1 Monday to improve to 18-1.

"I'm proud of the girls," said Kelly coach Rhonda Evans. "We lost more games during the regular season than we normally do, but we played a lot of really good teams and that always helps us get ready for districts."

Kelly will carry a 14-7 record into the sectional game. The Lady Hawks annually play a schedule filled with larger schools and, even if they suffer some regular-season losses, it matters little once the postseason rolls around.

Monday's district title contest began on Kelly's field amid a steady drizzle. When the drizzle turned into a decent rain that muddied the field, play was halted after three innings. The Lady Hawks led 1-0.

The game was moved to the Kelso City Park, which has a field that naturally dries relatively quickly. And as a bonus, not nearly as much rain had fallen in Kelso. The remainder of the contest was played under dry, albeit a bit chilly, conditions. The last couple of innings were played under the lights.

"I'm sure it was kind of a distraction for both teams, with the game starting in the rain and then being moved to another field," Evans said. "You always worry about the pitchers after a delay like that. But I thought both teams handled it well. It was a good game."

Notre Dame coach Jerry Grim concurred after seeing his team end its first season of fall softball with an 11-11 record. The Lady Bulldogs had previously played softball only in the spring, when no postseason competition is held.

"It was a real good game," Grim said. "Kelly has a very good team but our girls kept battling. They never quit."

Amanda Backfisch delivered a single to score Julie Milam in the second inning as the Lady Hawks took the early lead on their home field.

Once the game was moved to Kelso, Notre Dame quickly went ahead 2-1 in the fourth. Kelly helped out with two errors as only one of the runs was earned. Jill Huber, who had reached on an infield single, scored on an error and Jessica Seratti plated Mika Williamson with a single.

But Kelly took control with a five-run fifth that featured five hits and three Notre Dame errors, two of them coming on bad throws. Four of the runs were earned. Audrey Burford had an RBI single while Marissa Essner delivered a big two-run hit.

Notre Dame made things interesting with a two-out rally in the seventh as Huber had an RBI double and Williamson an RBI single. But the comeback fell short.

Burford and Jenny Riley both had two of Kelly's 10 hits.

Notre Dame also finished with 10 hits, Huber getting three and Williamson and Seratti adding two apiece.

Essner, a sophomore, was the winning pitcher in relief of starter Britney Lambert. Essner allowed four hits and two runs over the final 3 2/3 innings. She struck out five and walked one.

"Marissa did a very good job," said Evans. "She's a good finisher for us."

Huber suffered the loss. She pitched a complete game, fanning one and walking four.

"I thought Jill pitched well," Grim said. "They got to her the one inning, but overall she did a good job."