Kelly's offense delivers in 7-1 win

BALLWIN, Mo. -- After Kelly beat Oakville in the Seckman tournament earlier this season, coach Rhonda Ratledge joked with her players that if they won the Class 2 state title, she might treat them to a steak dinner.

Kelly beat Fatima 7-1 in a Class 2 quarterfinal softball game Saturday at the Ballwin Athletic Association to earn a trip to the state tournament and pull within two wins of a state title.

And a fine dining experience courtesy of the coaching staff.

While the players gathered around Ratledge after Saturday's victory, a few of them asked "How about that steak dinner?"

She reminded them that they haven't won a state title yet.

"We always try to do things with the girls, but a steak dinner [would] be a first," Ratledge said. "The girls are getting a little pricey."

As for Kelly assistant coach Melanie Heuring, she said, "If we win state, I will guarantee they will get a steak dinner."

CHUCK WU ~ cwu@semissourian.com Kelly catcher Brittany Brantley tries to tag Fatima's Rachel Kleffner during Saturday's game. Kleffner was safe on the play.

Kelly (22-4) continues to appear hungry for wins this postseason. The Hawks have outscored their opponents a combined 24-2 in their past three playoff games.

Danielle Dock earned the win on the mound. She tossed a complete game, striking out eight, walking six, hitting one and surrendering four hits.

Dock was shaky at times, allowing 10 baserunners in the first four innings. But she was able to battle out of jams with the help of some timely strikeouts and solid defense behind her.

Dock settled down and allowed just one baserunner in the final three innings.

Kelly starting pitcher Danielle Dock delivers a pitch during Saturday's game.

"Most of them were from walks by me," Dock said. "I just wasn't focused the whole game. When I started focusing, I started throwing the ball the way I should have. My defense was behind me. I just needed to buckle down."

Kelly took the lead in the second inning when Brittany Brantley hit a sacrifice fly to left against Fatima pitcher Angela Hagenhoff. It scored Casey Kern to make it 1-0.

The Hawks pulled ahead 4-0 in the third inning. Londyn Backfisch started the rally with a single. Katee Moore followed with a double into the gap in left-center field that scored Backfisch. The Hawks then played some small ball as Kern and Dock each had RBI bunts.

"Everybody up and down the lineup hits," Moore said. "It's not just the first three. It's not just the first four. It's everyone -- one through nine. It's a great feeling. And I'm so happy for everyone. I can't even explain it."

CHUCK WU ~ cwu@semissourian.com Kelly players celebrating the win againist Fatima during the state quarterfinal.

Fatima (15-9) cut the deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the third. Dock walked Rachel Kleffner and Kaitlyn Schwartze, and Hagenhoff smashed a single to center field with two outs. Kleffner scored, but Schwartze was thrown out attempting to move to third base.

Dock battled out of more pressure in the fourth inning. She hit one batter and walked two batters to load the bases. But with two outs, she got Claire Fick to ground out.

"After that fourth inning when she had bases loaded and worked her way out of that, she was over in the dugout hanging her head and she was so disappointed in the way she threw," Ratledge said. "I told her, 'It's done. It's over. We have a fresh start. We worked our way out of it. It's not going to come back to bite us in the butt. That inning is over.' ... And that fifth inning she came in and threw really well."

In the fifth, Dock got two strikeouts and an infield fly out for her first 1, 2, 3 inning of the evening.

"I was still a little nervous just because the first four innings I had been walking people," Dock said. "I was just hoping I could pitch strikes."

In the top of the sixth, Kelly tacked on three more runs for a 7-1 lead.

This is the third consecutive year Kelly has made the state tournament. The Hawks lost in the semifinal game the past two years.

"We're very honored to be there, of course," Ratledge said. "But we know that we need to get through that first game and come out with the win so we can be in that championship game. That's our focus right now. And that's definitely our goal right now -- to be in that championship game.

"I'm pretty sure we'll see Palmyra. They've got a little junior pitcher who they've won back-to-back states freshman and sophomore years with her."

Moore, like her teammates, is happy to be going to state again and hoping for that steak dinner.

"It's kind of been a joke the whole way through," Moore said. "It almost seemed like every time we won a close game at the beginning of the season, they [the coaches] would be like 'Hey, if you pull this one out, we'll get you ice cream.' Or 'Hey, if you pull this one out we'll get you pizza.' ... Someone just said 'How about that steak dinner?' [Coach] said, 'Hey, you haven't won yet.' So she's still holding out."

Kelly 013 003 0 -- 7 8 0

Fatima 001 000 0 -- 1 4 3

WP -- Danielle Dock, 14-3. LP -- Angela Hagenhoff. 2B -- Katee Moore (K). Multiple hits -- Kelly: Londyn Backfisch 3-4, Haley Glastetter 2-4, Heather Beggs 2-4; Fatima: Hagenhoff 2-3. Records -- Kelly 22-4, Fatima 15-9.