Pitching powers confident Bernie SB into historic place

For a team that had never advanced to the MSHSAA Softball State Finals, the Bernie High School softball squad felt at peace with its situation as it ventured 3 ½ hours to face “a really good” Plato team, according to veteran Mule coach Brad Botsch, in the MSHSAA Class 1 Quarterfinal 3 on Wednesday.

“We have worked our tails off,” Bernie senior Abby Powell said. “We have been adding up and adding up to this point.”

The Mules shocked a lot of people – if not themselves – by riding some opportunistic hitting, coupled with some outrageously great pitching by sophomore Blair Pleimling, and came away with a 3-2 victory.

The win advances the Mules to the MSHSAA Class 1 State Finals for the first time in program history.

“It’s quite bizarre, actually,” Powell said of the position her team is in now. “This feeling is beyond anything that I have ever felt before.”

Bernie was 9-9-1 on April 17 after falling to Woodland in the opening round of the Stoddard County Athletic Association. However, over the past month, the Mules have won 13 consecutive games and did so on Wednesday, in large part, due to Pleimling’s performance.

She threw a complete game and allowed just two earned runs and walked two batters.

Pleimling struck out four Eagle hitters, including the final one with an “off-speed pitch,” according to Powell, who is Bernie’s catcher.

“Her off-speed pitches were right on point,” Powell said. “With two outs, I believe it was full count, she threw an off-speed (pitch) and the girl swung and missed.

“Two of their best hitters, she struck out with off-speed.”

Bernie trailed 2-0 in the third inning but got three consecutive hits from junior Macie Botsch (single), sophomore Lexi Dillinger (double), and Powell (double), which tied the game.

Powell then scored the game-winning run on an obstruction call following a single from junior Rylie Powell.

“It was, without a doubt,” Botsch said of Pleimling’s day being her best this spring. “Plato was really good. They were athletic and they knew how to play the game. Even when Blair would get behind in the count, she found a way to battle back.”

The Eagles put two on the board in the third inning, but aside from that inning, Bernie controlled the hosts.

In the fourth inning, Pleimling hit an Eagle hitter and then gave up a single, but the Mule defense responded with a double play before Pleimling struck out a batter to end the threat.

“Blair is a strike thrower,” Botsch said, “and if we make plays behind her, we’re going to give ourselves a chance.”

Plato had two runners on again in the fifth inning, but Pleimling got a pair of fly outs and Powell threw a runner out at third base to end that threat.

Again, in the sixth, the Eagles got a pair of runners on base, but Pleimling managed to get a Plato hitter to ground out for that inning to end.

“It was amazing,” Powell said of Pleimling’s effort. “Her off-speed (pitches) have never been so good.”

Rylie Powell paced the Mules (22-9-1) with a pair of hits while Macie Botsch (one hit, one run), Dillinger (one hit, one run, one RBI, one walk), Abby Powell (one hit, one run, one RBI), and sophomore Mackenzie Meese (one hit, one walk) were also productive.

Macie Botsch added a stolen base.

The Mules will face Ash Grove (23-8) in the semifinal of the Class 1 state tournament on Monday at the Killian Softball Complex in Springfield at 1:15 p.m.

The championship game will be Tuesday at 1:15 p.m. while the third-place game will be Monday at 4:15 p.m.

At the same time and place as Bernie’s semifinal is being held, Holcomb (25-4) will play Concordia (28-2) in the other semifinal.

Kennett (24-8) will face Lone Jack (15-9) on Monday at 11 a.m. in the Class 2 semifinal.