KING RULES FOR JACKSON IN SECTIONAL

JACKSON -- World-beaters one day, the King's court jesters the next.

On Wednesday in the Class 4A, District 2 softball championship game, Hillsboro High toppled Seckman, a would-be state title contender. The Lady Hawks then crossed paths Thursday night with Jackson's Gretchen King.

Brandishing a mix of off-speed pitches and admirable heat that left Hillsboro batters in the lurch, King, a junior right-hander, ushered the Lady Indians to a 5-0 victory in a Class 4A sectional game.

The triumph, at Jackson City Park, positions Jackson one game from its first final four appearance. The Lady Indians, who won their first district title on Tuesday, will meet either defending state champion Lafayette or Summit in what looks to be a daunting quarterfinal game Saturday at 2 p.m. in Ballwin.

Jackson (21-6) stands one victory from a trip to Columbia largely because of King, who struck out 11 and permitted just three hits. Hillsboro (20-6) never threatened -- Lady Hawks baserunners never reached third base.

"Gretchen has been throwing really great," said Jackson coach Becky Riney. "She had them off-balance with the drop-curve, and I just thought she threw a tremendous game."

An even-keeled King (11-2) conferred.

"I was not nervous at all this game," she said. "I didn't feel any pressure. I don't know why; I did when I pitched against Cape (Girardeau Central on Tuesday).

"I did better than I expected. I hit the low outside corner, and that's a hard pitch for anyone to hit. And if I can place my changeup, it's hard to hit also."

Beth Bailey (9-6), the Hillsboro right-hander, wasn't as formidable. Jackson stacked up 13 hits.

Cherish Tillman was one of the night's offensive heroes. She started the third inning with a clout to left field that would have cleared the fence of most softball fields, but yielded her a triple in the cavernous Jackson park. King then slapped a single to right that plated Tillman.

Later in the inning, with one on and two out Amanda Bollinger punched a ball to Hillsboro shortstop Stephanie Puzzo, who slipped and threw weakly from her knees. Heidi Jansen then appeared to have cleared the bases with a single, but umpire Thomas Drummond ruled that Bollinger missed third base while racing toward home.

Leading 2-0 in the sixth, Jackson padded its edge. After singles from Melissa Palmer and Jessica Shultz, Tillman pushed them home on a double, a shot to right.

"I was kind of in a slump," Tillman said, "and I just broke through today. I was just wishing and hoping to make contact. There were RBIs at stake and we were still not up by that much so I had to come through, I guess."

Said Riney: "We had some key players that got some big hits."

Emily Sander, Palmer, Schultz, Tillman and King each garnered two hits.