Kelly run-rules St. Vincent to claim district softball title

BENTON, Mo. -- Standing in the outfield after the Class 2 District 1 championship game, St. Vincent coach Dusty Wengert noted signs hanging in the outfield commemorating the state championships and Final Four appearances of the Kelly softball program.

"I mean it's a tradition that you want to knock out and you want to be the team to knock them down, but it wasn't today and they weren't going to be denied today," Wengert said.

Top-seeded Kelly topped second-seeded St. Vincent 11-1 in five innings Friday at Kelly High School to win its 10th district title in the last 11 years.

The Hawks jumped out to an early 7-0 lead by scoring in three runs in the first inning and four in the second before St. Vincent ever got on the board.

"We played them last year and it was a close game [a 3-2 Kelly win in the district final] and so we kind of figured it'd be close again, but we were hitting, we were on our game, for sure," Kelly sophomore pitcher Alexis Dock said.

Dock, who was 3 for 3 with three RBIs, drove in the first run of the game.

Samantha Ratledge and Jade Rampley led off the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back hits before Dock hit an RBI double to score Ratledge. Savannah Ashley drove in the second run with a single, but was thrown out in a rundown on her way to second. Kristi Brucker bunted for a hit and drove in Dock, but was left stranded after two strikeouts ended the inning.

With one out in the second inning Kelly's Morgan LeDure bunted for a hit, Ratledge followed with a single to left field and Rampley reached on an error to load the bases. LeDure scored on a wild pitch to Dock. Dock then singled to center field, scoring Ratledge. A wild pitch to Ashley scored Rampley before recording the second out. Brucker, who was 3 for 3 with three RBIs, drove in Dock on a hit to put the Hawks up 7-0.

"The girls were excited, and they were pumped," Kelly coach Rhonda Ratledge said. "It was nice to have it on home turf and have a great crowd. Last year when we played St. Vincent it was a 3-2 ballgame ... so both teams were wanting it really bad and to move forward, and this is what you work for all year."

St. Vincent scored its only run of the game in the third inning. Brooke Monier walked to lead off the inning. With two outs, Abby Ruessler hit a ball to shortstop that was thrown past first base, scoring Monier.

It wasn't enough, though, and three St. Vincent errors in the third allowed Kelly to score four more runs and put the game out of reach.

Dock pitched all five innings for the Hawks and earned the win, giving up just one run on four hits. Isabel Hotop recorded the loss in her four innings of work, allowing 11 runs on 14 hits.

"[Hotop] did what she's done all year. She throws to contact, and we've got to make defensive plays," Wengert said. "I don't think she threw the ball bad, it was just we knew they were going to try to squeeze when they had those opportunities and we didn't field it. ... It goes back to Kelly being good and execution, and they did and we didn't."

St. Vincent ended its season with a school-best 18-6 record.

"You just don't want one game to sour the memories of the year that we had," Wengert said. "We had a lot of fun, we learned a lot, we grew together. Like I said, starting out 1-4, you go through some pretty trying times early on. Being able to finish the way we did, yeah, it's a sour taste in your mouth, but you've got to look at the collective whole and not just one game."

Ratledge added three hits for Kelly while Hotop paced St. Vincent with two hits.

Kelly (17-7) advances to host Class 2 District 2 champion East Carter on Wednesday in the state sectional round.

The Hawks defeated East Carter 14-1 earlier this season.

"We beat both teams earlier in the year, but you know, when it comes to the postseason and a sectional game, everybody's wanting it, everybody's fighting," Rhonda Ratledge said about Kelly's potential opponent. "So you never know. Even though you may have beat a team by 10-run rule early in the season, that doesn't necessarily mean you're going to do it again. So we've just got to stay on our game and put the ball in play like we did this game. Hopefully pitching is good and defense is good and we'll come out on top."

Kelly 344 0- -- 11 14 1

St. Vincent 001 00 -- 1 4 4

WP -- Alexis Dock. LP -- Isabel Hotop. Leading hitters -- Kelly: Dock 3-3, 3 RBIs; Kristi Brucker 3-3, 3 RBIs; Samantha Ratledge 3-4, 2B. St. Vincent: Hotop 2-2, 2B. Records -- Kelly 17-7, St. Vincent 18-6.