Kelly trounces Willow Springs 20-0 in the Class 2 softball quarterfinals

BENTON, Mo. -- The Kelly softball team is headed back to the final four for the second straight year after a day of good pitching and an explosive offensive outing.

The Hawks punched their ticket to the program's seventh final four in the past 10 years in a 20-0 rout of Willow Springs (15-11) on Saturday at Kelly.

"It feels good to make sure that we're headed back to the final four," Kelly coach Rhonda Ratledge said. "The whole key is to come out of the gate swinging and that's what we did right there. We posted several runs right there in the first inning and just kept adding to it."

Kelly (19-7) got out to a quick four-run lead in the top of the first. Jade Rampley hit a one-out triple to right field to get the Hawks offense started. Alexis Dock bunted and Rampley scored when the Bears threw to first. The throw bounced off the first baseman's glove, allowing Dock to reach safely.

Kristi Brucker followed with a single to center. Savannah Ashley grounded to the short stop, but Willow Springs tried to throw Dock out at home unsuccessfully and Ashley reached second on the fielder's choice.

Kelly starter Alexis Dock fires a pitch to a Willow Springs batter during the first inning.

McKynlee Neumeyer hit into an out, but Brucker scored to make it a three-run lead.

Stephanie Worth drove in Ashley for the final run of the inning with a single to center.

The Hawks added two runs in the second inning, three in the third and one in the fourth to take a 10-0 lead before exploding for 10 more runs in the fifth inning.

Rampley hit a one-out single to left field and then Dock was hit by a pitch to get on base.

Brucker drove Rampley in with a single to right center and then Ashley was walked to load the bases. Brucker scored on a single to left field by Neumeyer to make it 12-0.

Kelly’s Jade Rampley rounds third base on her way to score against Willow Springs during the third inning.

Worth then came to the plate and sent a 2-2 pitch over the center field fence for a grand slam.

"When I stepped up to the plate I was thinking just to hit the ball and then I got the home run, which made it even better than just a hit," Worth said.

The Hawks added four more runs and then Brucker struck out the side in the bottom of the fifth to end the game.

Brucker pitched the final two innings for the Hawks. She allowed one hit, walked one batter and had six strikeouts.

Dock started and pitched the first three innings for Kelly, allowing no runs and no hits. She walked one and struckout four.

Kelly’s McKynlee Neumeyer reaches second base safely as the throw gets past Willow Springs second baseman Kirstien Loman during the fourth inning of their Class 2 quarterfinal game Saturday in Benton, Mo. Neumeyer went on to score. (Fred Lynch)

"Alexis came in and threw good the first three innings and Kristi came in right behind her and shut it down," Ratledge said. "They didn't adjust well to when Kristi came in at all. I think they were still used to trying to get on Dock. Two good performances out of both of them."

Kelly advances to play South Callaway in the state semifinals at 10 a.m. Friday at the Killian Softball Complex in Springfield.

"I'm really excited and just proud that we're going back," Rampley said. "Having a much older team is going to help us out a lot, and we have good pitching this year and so I think we're ready."

Kelly lost 7-0 to Brookfield in a semifinal matchup last year before finishing third with a 5-4 win over Palmyra.

Ratledge believes her players will be less nervous because they have experience in the final four.

Kelly's Stephanie Worth hits a grand slam home run against Willow Springs during the fifth inning of their Class 2 quarterfinal game Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013 in Benton, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

"You've got to have a little bit of nerves, you can't just go in cocky and thinking that you're going to win it because everybody else is vying for that top two on Saturday morning, to be in that final championship game," Ratledge said. "So right now that's our focus, to try and get into that championship game on Saturday. The girls have played good all the way around: defense, offense and pitching."

Kelly 423 1 10 -- 20 16 0

Willow Springs 000 0X -- 0 1 3

WP -- Alexis Dock. LP -- Emily Durnell. Leading hitters -- Kelly: Stephanie Worth 2-4, HR, 6 RBIs; Kristi Brucker 3-4, 2B, 3 RBIs; Dock 2-4, 2B, 3 RBIs; Jade Rampley 3-4, 3B, 2 RBIs. Records -- Kelly 19-7, Willow Springs 15-11.