After managing to put up seven runs in Thursday’s sectional-round victory over Cuba, the bats went silent at the wrong time for Pleasant Hope in quarterfinal play on Saturday afternoon.
Despite another tremendous pitching effort by senior pitcher Jenna Halbrook,the Lady Pirates (18-11) were unable to scratch a run across against Blair Oaks (21-8) starter Makenna Kliethermes – ending Pleasant Hope’s season in the form of a tough 1-0 defeat.
“It was a great game and it was a great season,” Pleasant Hope coach Kevin McVey said following the loss. “Everything was about team. There were eight Class 2 teams playing today and only 32 in the state, and they were one of them. You lose 1-0 for a chance to go to the Final Four, there’s no reason to be upset or hang their head.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
The Lady Pirates were given a taste of their own medicine on Saturday as Kliethermes dominated Pleasant Hope’s lineup for seven innings in similar fashion to Halbrook’s performance against Cuba.
Kliethermes, who caught the Lady Pirates off guard with a different approach than what McVey’s club was expecting, went the distance while allowing just three hits and striking out 13 batters.
“She threw a little bit different than what we heard,” said McVey. “We were looking for some different things and I think it kind of got us off balance a little bit.”
While Kliethermes perhaps made adjustments to how she would attack hitters, Halbrook stayed steady with her approach – and for the most part, it worked beautifully.
Halbrook yielded four hits and struck out five on the day in her complete-game effort.
“[Halbrook] was a trooper today,” McVey said. “She really did well. We got some key outs that kept us in the game.”
The only glaring negative for the senior hurler in the contest was her inability to keep leadoff hitters off base. Out of her seven innings of work, Halbrook allowed a leadoff baserunner on five occasions.
Although she worked her way out of trouble the first three instances, Halbrook’s luck ran out in the fifth when she gave up a leadoff double down the left-field line to senior Macyn Wilbers. After a wild pitch got Wilbers to third with one out, senior Megan Mitchem brought her home with a go-ahead RBI groundout to second base for the only run the Lady Falcons would need.
“If we could have kept them at first, I think we always have a good chance,” McVey said. “It’s hard to keep them from scoring. They’re a great hitting team, so I think keeping them to one run, as well as they hit the ball, was pretty good.”
Pleasant Hope threatened with a leadoff single in the seventh, but two strikeouts and a routine groundout to third spelled the end for the Lady Pirates and sent Blair Oaks to a Friday matchup in the Final Four.
“We know that they’re a good quality team. We knew that before we came down and watched them the other night,” Lady Falcons head coach Sharon Buschjost said of Pleasant Hope. “They have that reputation of being a good team, a Final Four team, and a 1-0 game means there were two good teams playing against each other.”
Blair Oaks will square off with Jefferson (Festus, Mo.) for a right to advance to the state championship game.
