Kelly softball team is well-armed for the final four

The last time Kelly softball coach Rhonda Ratledge routinely sent two pitchers to the circle throughout a season was 2004.

That also happens to be the last time the Hawks won a state championship.

Back then Kelly Essner and Whitney Beggs pitched Kelly to the title. This season it could be freshman Alexis Dock and sophomore Kristi Brucker.

"Both girls throw different, and, boy, have I been blessed," Ratledge said.

Kelly will take on Brookfield in a state semifinal at 11 a.m. Friday at Killian Softball Complex in Springfield, Mo.

Kelly pitchers Kristi Brucker, left, and Alexis Dock have been a double threat for Kelly during the 2012 softball season. The Hawks will face Brookfield in the Class 2 semifinals Friday in Springfield, Mo. (Laura Simon)

There are not many similarities between Dock and Brucker other than the uniform they wear.

"Kristi is a more relaxed pitcher," Ratledge said. "She doesn't show any emotion if she does get rattled or whatever. She does not show it. She just gets right back in there. If I have to pull her or whatever, then she turns around and plays second base very well."

Brucker said her demeanor is by design.

"Right now it hasn't sunk in, but it'll just be excitement," Brucker said about her anticipation of her first trip to the final four. "I try not to show it out on the field, though. That's one thing I try not to do.

"I feel like if I get emotional on the field, then the players behind me will get emotional and won't be able to make the same plays."

Dock is far more likely to let her feeling show on the field.

"Lex, she'll show a little bit more emotion on the mound, but that's kind of the freshman," Ratledge said.

Controlling those emotions is something Dock focuses on.

"Sometimes whenever I pitch I lose my composure and get very frustrated," Dock said. "I've got to kind of keep myself composed and calm."

The way they go about getting batters out is also different.

"Kristi, she'll mix speeds and has the changeup," Ratledge said. "She really messes with your mind a little bit, where Lex can get in there and, for a freshman, throwing probably 50, 55 miles an hour is something that a lot of teams in the area are not seeing."

Dock is 10-1 this season with a 2.45 ERA in 85 2/3 innings and has struck out 64 batters.

Brucker is with a 1.45 ERA in 72 1/3 innings. She's struck out 58.

Ratledge has used both pitchers in several games this season, often by design.

"We help each other," Brucker said. "If we know what a girl's been hitting, we'll tell each other. We'll communicate."

Even though this is their first year playing together for Kelly, they've played together for years.

"I've been playing with Kristi for probably my whole life, so we're used to switching on and off," Dock said.

Brucker said she wasn't sure which pitcher would get the start in Friday's state semifinal, and Ratledge said she often waits until close to game time to decide.

"When it came district time I was still down to the wire," Ratledge said. "Even in the sectional game, down to the wire, couldn't make the decision at the last minute on who to throw.

"You know, you really focus on the team that you're playing and what their weaknesses are and which pitcher has those pitches that can produce the strikeouts or produce the ground balls and things like that."

Dock got the start in Kelly's quarterfinal win over Hartville, while Brucker started the team's sectional win over Twin Rivers.

"It's a good, bad thing because it's good that I have that choice, it's bad that I have to make that choice," Ratledge said. "You're hoping that you make the right one on the right team, putting the right girl with the right team."

Dock relieved Brucker in the first inning of what would prove to be a 12-1 win over Twin Rivers, while Brucker relieved Dock and struck out back-to-back batters to save a lead in the district title game.

"The girls complement each other," Ratledge said. "I think Kristi was pretty nervous that sectional game and Lex was more relaxed because she came down and just really shut them down.

"She didn't come in and strike them out, but all they did is produce grounders, and we have good defense behind the pitchers. That helps, too, with both pitchers. They know that they've got infielders and outfielders that are very quick that have really, really saved some ballgames and allowed the pitchers to have some no-hitters."

Ratledge said that if she asked them, she was sure Brucker would tell her, ‘I'm good coach. I'll throw any time,' while Dock would say she's nervous.

"We just focus on what they've been doing all season," Ratledge said. "They've made it to the final four for a reason. You've done things right, so there's no sense in trying to do anything different or do anything new. You've done it right."