Kelly reaches Class 2 quarterfinals

BENTON -- In a marquee matchup of two of the top pitchers in Southeast Missouri, Kelly's Danielle Dock did her part.

But Twin Rivers senior Carlee Vancil struggled, walking seven batters and throwing four wild pitches to help Kelly's aggressive offense produce a 7-0 victory in the Class 2 sectional game Tuesday afternoon.

The game was moved up one day with rain anticipated in today's forecast.

While Kelly (21-4) and Twin Rivers (15-7) had not met since a 2006 sectional contest won by the Hawks, Dock knew Vancil from playing together during the summer on the Loose Cannons softball team.

Who throws harder?

"Probably her," said Dock, a junior who came into the game with a 12-3 record.

Vancil headed into district play with a 45-9 record, an 0.54 ERA and 418 strikeouts in her junior and senior seasons. But after she pitched a no-hitter in the district semifinal, she walked eight batters in three innings and had to be relieved Saturday in the district final.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Kelly pitcher Danielle Dock delivers a pitch during the seventh inning against Twin Rivers on Tuesday in Benton. Dock allowed two hits in the Hawks' 7-0 sectional victory.

"I knew Carlee is a wonderful pitcher," Dock said, "and I knew she'd give us a hard time. We got our bunts down and we got on whenever we needed to, and it was easier knowing we could move the runners."

Dock settled in after allowing a single and a walk in the first inning, facing just one batter over the minimum in the final six frames. A baserunner who reached on a one-out walk in the second inning was picked off by catcher Brittney Brantley's throw to second baseman Katee Moore, ending that frame. And leadoff hitter Chelsea Crain was stranded after her one-out single in the sixth.

"I was just going to work my corners, and hopefully they would put it in play and my defense was behind me," Dock said.

"She always has that one inning, she gets a little nervous," Kelly coach Rhonda Ratledge said. "We told her, 'Either do it or we're done. We don't get to come back tomorrow and play anybody else. This is it.' She settled down and just threw it.

Kelly third baseman Haley Glastetter throws to first for an out after fielding a ground ball during the third inning.

"She had some good numbers today, especially going into the quarterfinals."

Dock struck out 10 in her two-hit shutout.

"Dock is filthy," Twin Rivers coach Rob Brown said. "She is tough to hit. She's on top of you quick."

Kelly batters said the same of Vancil, but the Hawks struck out just three times in the game.

AARON EISENHAUER ~ aeisenhauer@semissourian.com Kelly pitcher Danielle Dock delivers a pitch in the seventh inning of Kelly's 7-0 victory over Twin Rivers on Tuesday, October 14, 2008.

The Hawks had their first run in by the time they got their first hit in a wild fourth inning. Moore led off with a walk and moved to second on Haley Glastetter's sacrifice. Casey Kern and Dock walked to load the bases, and a wild pitch brought home Moore for the first tally.

Heather Beggs then switched to the left side of the plate and beat out a ball she put down in front of third baseman Darva Reed, allowing Kern to score. Beggs then headed for second, drawing a late throw, and Dock raced home, beating a throw that allowed Beggs to reach third base. Brantley then put down a slow infield roller, and Beggs beat the throw home.

"We kind of unraveled and it was a snowball effect," Brown said. "Walks, not covering bases. They're very athletic, very aggressive and they move up on the bases as good as anybody. "

Kelly added a run in the fifth as Moore singled, took two bases on a sacrifice bunt by Glastetter and scored on Kern's sacrifice fly to left.

Moore also scored in the seventh on a double by Kern, who came around on a pair of wild pitches for the final run.

"We try to be very aggressive," Moore said. "It's fun. When coach tells me to go, I'm going and I just try to be ready for that."

"Hopefully, it puts a lot of pressure on them," said Ratledge, who will be trying to take her program to the final four for the third straight season and eventually try to pin down her third state championship, but first since 2004. "We teach the girls to keep running and look for players that aren't covering the bags."

Principia and Fatima play today to determine which team will meet Kelly on Saturday in the quarterfinal round at Ballwin Athletic Association.

"My hat's off to Kelly," Brown said. "Great program, great tradition. You've got to play your very best to beat them, and we didn't come close."

KELLY 7, TWIN RIVERS 0

Kelly 000 410 2 -- 7 6 0

Twin Rivers 000 000 0 -- 0 2 0

WP -- Danielle Dock, 13-3. LP -- Carlee Vancil. 2B -- Lana Whitworth (K), Casey Kern (K). Records -- Kelly 21-4, Twin Rivers 15-7.