Kelly to play for state title

Lady Hawks took on Palmyra in the championship game

ST. JOSEPH -- The Kelly Lady Hawks have returned to the state championship game on the softball diamond. A 3-1 victory over the Marion C. Early Lady Panthers on a chilly Friday morning at Heritage Park in St. Joseph has given the Lady Hawks a chance to add more hardware to the trophy case at Thomas W. Kelly High School.

Kelly wasted no time jumping on the scoreboard as they plated two runs in the top of the second inning as starting pitcher Danielle Dock supported her own cause by singling to start the inning. Brittany Brantley doubled into the gap to score Dock's courtesy runner Kristen Powell. Powell was tagged out originally on the play, but an overturned interference call put the Lady Hawks on the board first. Brantley scored later in the inning on a single by Jessica Riley.

Kelly pitcher Danielle Dock delivers a pitch in the Class 2 State Semifinal game Friday afternoon.

Kelly pitcher Danielle Dock delivers a pitch in the Class 2 State Semifinal game Friday afternoon.

The Lady Panthers added their first run in the bottom half of the second inning as Tiffany Taylor scored Bailey Williams on a fielder's choice. The run would be the last that would cross the plate for Marion C. Early as Dock gained control on the pitching rubber and allowed just two more hits until the final out was recorded.

The pitching line for Dock in the win was one earned run off of four hits and four walks. She needed just two strikeouts to finish off the Lady Panthers thanks in part to the steady defense behind her in the field, namely right fielder Carissa Klipfel, who recorded five put-outs in the victory.

Klipfel, a defensive staple in right field for head coach Rhonda Ratledge, said that she just felt good on defense and gave the credit to Dock for making the right pitches to get the easy outs.

"It felt great to be able to make the catches for my team," said Klipfel of her defensive performance in the semifinal game. "I was excited. I think everyone did great today and did their role on the team. We got the outs that we needed."

Klipfel went on to talk about how well she thought that her fellow junior classmate did in the pitching circle for the Lady Hawks. Londyn Backfisch, another Kelly junior, also thought that Dock held the squad in the game for seven innings.

"I think she did an awesome job," said Backfisch of Dock's performance. "We're all really, really proud of her. She got us to the championship game."

Backfisch went on to say that she thought the Lady Hawks, as an entire group, played great on defense for seven innings to earn the championship bid.

"I'm just so proud of my team right now," she said. "We were backing each other up, making good throws. I thought they did a really good job today."

As for the remaining five innings, Kelly plated one more run in the top of the third to push themselves out to a two-run lead, which is where the game would stand after the final out was in the book. Katee Moore singled to start the third and Casey Kern later singled her in for the third and final run. Moore finished the day 2-for-4 with two singles and an RBI.

Of the Lady Hawks' 10 hits, Dock herself had three, as she was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with three singles. Powell scored in Dock's place early in the win. Also picking up singles were Heather Beggs and Lana Whitworth.

Ratledge had nothing but praise for her pitcher as well as the rest of the defense in the 3-1 victory over the Lady Panthers.

"We played this team very well," said Ratledge following the win. "Danielle (Dock) was focused for the first six innings and threw so much better than she did in the quarterfinal game. In the seventh inning she got the nerves going again, but you could tell that she was being a leader on the mound and she was turning around and telling the girls where to go. She was smiling and you could tell that she was more relaxed."

"We had some good plays," she went on to say. "(Carissa) Klipfel out in right field, oh my gosh, she saved us several times. There was one big hit dropping in between her and the second baseman and she caught it on her knees. I just knew it was down but then all of the sudden there she was. She did outstanding."

Ratledge also attributed the victory to the timely hitting of her squad, as well as just being able to put the ball in play. She said that her team fought all seven innings to earn a spot to play against Palmyra, the defending state champion, on Saturday afternoon.

"I told the girls that they definitely earned this game because they (Marion C. Early) came out swinging right off the bat," Ratledge said. "They were putting the ball in play. Danielle (Dock) only had two strikeouts, they were definitely putting it in play on us. I've said this all year long, I'm very confident in my defense and they proved it today. They made the plays and they did well."