It wouldn’t be a softball postseason without the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons and the Fatima Lady Comets facing each other. But first, Blair Oaks had to get past the Southern Boone Lady Eagles, a team that knocked them off in the final week of the regular season. The Lady Falcons got their revenge. Blair Oaks scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning Monday night, holding off Southern Boone for a 6-4 victory in a state-ranked matchup in the Class 3 District 5 Tournament semifinals at Southern Boone High School.
Winning every game at the Falcon Athletic Complex may not have been a goal this season for the Blair Oaks softball team, but the Lady Falcons were still able to achieve that feat Monday night. “It’s maybe not something that’s necessarily a team goal, but certainly winning at home is what you’re supposed to do,” Blair Oaks coach Sharon Buschjost said after a 17-0 victory in three innings against the Hickman Kewpies. “You’re supposed to win at home.”
It was far from an ideal start for the Blair Oaks Falcons. Blair Oaks lost a fumble on its first play from scrimmage, then the Seaman Vikings scored a touchdown on their first play on offense. “It was reminiscent of Lutheran North,” Blair Oaks coach Ted LePage said of the start to the game. But that’s why football games last 48 minutes, not 20 seconds.
On paper, it was the No. 1-ranked team against No. 3. On the scoreboard, it wasn’t quite that close. The first five Fatima batters reached base Wednesday night, and they never slowed down from there. The top-ranked Lady Comets dominated from start to finish in a 9-0 victory against the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons at Lions Field.
Another year, another Tri-County Conference championship for the Blair Oaks volleyball team. The Lady Falcons clinched at least a share of their 13th consecutive conference title Thursday night, sweeping the Hallsville Lady Indians 25-6, 25-17, 25-14 at Blair Oaks High School.