PERRYVILLE - The Kelly Lady Hawks softball team captured the No. 1 seed in the Class 2, District 2 tournament and will face host St. Vincent in Perryville on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Crystal City (16-4) received the two seed and like Kelly, had a bye in the first round, while Chaffee (9-12) garnered the third slot and defeated St. Pius. St. Vincent, the No. 4 seed, defeated five seed South County Tech on Thursday afternoon.
Both Crystal City and Chaffee won district titles last season, Chaffee in Class 1 and Crystal City in a different district, and will meet in the district semifinals.
The Lady Hawks had an excellent regular season going 21-6. The losses were to Notre Dame, on four separate occasions, and large schools Poplar Bluff and Jackson.
Kelly will be searching for district championship No. 22 and their fifth straight since 2002. The current group of seniors for the Lady Hawks won a state title in 2004, the second in the program's history.
"This group of seniors have never lost in district play," said Kelly head coach Rhonda Ratledge. "They put a lot of pressure on themselves because they do not want to let everyone down in our community."
Kelly has a nice combination of power and speed up and down the lineup. As a team, the Lady Hawks hit .382 on the season, drove in 180 runs and hit five home runs. Once on base, Kelly will put the pressure on the opposing team with aggressive base running. The Lady Hawks stole 87 bases without being caught in 27 games.
Seniors that lead the Lady Hawks are pitcher Kalie Hughes, catcher Summer Proctor, third baseman Brittany Ponder and outfielder Ashley Vetter.
Hughes has had an outstanding year for Kelly both in the field and on the mound. Hughes batted .415 on the season and led the team with 25 RBIs, 11 triples and tied the team lead with a home run. Hughes is also the main pitcher for Kelly.
Proctor hit .388 on the year and was second on the team with 22 RBIs, had six doubles and four triples. Ponder led Kelly with 40 hits, eight doubles and triples and also had 24 stolen bases for the team lead. Ponder batted .404, good for third on the team.
Vetter led the team with nine doubles and had 21 RBIs in a year in which she batted .321.
Kelly is led by a good group of seniors, however a freshman led the team in batting this season. Londyn Backfisch batted .488 and was second on the team with 36 hits and 14 stolen bases.
Junior Casey Kern is the second pitcher for Kelly and plays a solid first base. Kern hit .415 drove in 17 runs and tallied 34 hits. Sophomore Katee Moore is a slick fielding shortstop for the Lady Hawks and led the team in putouts with 45. Moore hit .352 and was third on the team in steals with 13.
The district has been realigned from last year and Chaffee is the only team Kelly has played this season.
"We have beaten Chaffee three times this year and I would hate to have to face them for a fourth time," said Ratledge. "It always seems like when you have beaten a team three times in one season, the fourth time usually the reverse happens. I don't have much information on the other teams in the district. I understand Crystal City has a nice record but beyond that I don't know."
Ratledge believes her team his ready to go and feels safe with her two hurlers Hughes and Kern.
"Both of those girls have really stepped up this year," said Ratledge. "If one falters, the other steps right in to lift the team.
"They have worked hard all year long and should perform great in district play. The entire team can't wait to get out on the field and play some ball."
The semifinals winners will play in the championship game on Saturday at 10 a.m.