Kelly uses 12-hit effort to reach quarterfinals

~ Jessica Riley struck out five in the Hawks' 9-2 victory.

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- Armed with their small ball style of offense, the Kelly Hawks overcame a sluggish start to overwhelm East Carter 9-2 in Wednesday's Class 2 sectional playoff.

"As long as I've been coaching, you can't take the small ball away," Kelly coach Rhonda Ratledge said.

Kelly (19-6) laid down bunt after bunt throughout the game, but really executed its offense well in the sixth inning at Three Rivers Community College's Rains Field.

The Hawks will play Principia, a 3-2 winner over Belle, on Saturday at Ballwin Athletic Association in suburban St. Louis.

Kelly players walked off the field after beating East Carter 9-2 in the their Class 2 sectional playoff game Wednesday at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo. (Alex Abate ~ Daily American Republic)

With Wednesday's game tied 2-2, Casey Kern started things off with an infield single and stole second. Following an RBI double by Brittany Brantley, bunts by Heather Beggs and Ashley Flahardy increased the Kelly lead to 5-2.

East Carter (10-12) got off to an impressive start in the game, putting a pair of runs on the scoreboard in the second inning as the result of a walk and a pair of singles. Courtney Newman, who went 2-for-3 on the day, drove in Mariah Randazzo and Tiffany Baker to give East Carter the 2-0 lead.

"We had beaten this team earlier in the season, but we knew coming into the game that they obviously deserved to be here," Ratledge said.

Kelly pitcher Jessica Riley struggled early in the game before gathering herself and shutting down the East Carter bats over the final five innings. She allowed only three baserunners, including just one hit, after the second inning.

"Other than that one inning, she did really well," Ratledge said. "I think that was attributed to nerves."

Kelly pitcher Jessica Riley threw during a 10-2 win against East Carter in the MSHSAA sectional playoff game at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007. (Alex Abate ~ Daily American Republic)

East Carter stranded three baserunners in the game, managing only four hits against Riley, who struck out five.

"Our offense wasn't as good as it has been," East Carter coach Angie Bowman said.

Kelly answered in the third inning.

Using their speed and bunting, the Hawks took advantage of a leadoff hit batter and a pair of bunt singles to score their runs.

"Once they got started on their bunting and running, we didn't know how to handle it," Bowman said. "We don't face teams that do that. That was the key to the game."

Hailey Glastetter took a pitch off her helmet leading off the third and came around to score on a bunt single by Sarah Ruff. Another run crossed the plate via a bunt single by the next hitter, Katee Moore.

Randazzo, East Carter's freshman pitcher, then settled down to retire the next two hitters on a fly ball to left field and a groundout to short. She allowed nine runs, eight earned, while surrendering 12 hits. Seven of those hits came in the final two innings.

"I don't think their hitting necessarily beat us," Bowman said. "Mariah pitched great, so we held them for awhile."

Kelly finally pulled away from the Redbirds by putting seven runs on the board in the final two innings.

After their three-run sixth, the Hawks added four more in the seventh to build a comfortable cushion. Kern, Flahardy and Lana Whitworth all singled in the inning. Kern scored on a passed ball, while Flahardy scored on a dropped fly ball and Whitworth scored on a wild pitch.