SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Brooke Boessen has already been a hero before in the state semifinals for the Blair Oaks softball team.
It shouldn't have been a surprise what was on her mind when she stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday against Lathrop.
"I was thinking, 'I'm going to hit this ball with everything I have,'" Boessen said.
Boessen lined the first pitch she saw from Lathrop's Brooke Huitt into left field for a single, driving in Ellie Kliethermes to give the Lady Falcons a 2-1 extra-innings win against the Lady Mules at the Killian Sports Complex.
"Brooke looked so good in her previous two at-bats, she just seemed zoned in at the plate," Blair Oaks coach Sharon Buschjost said. "That's who I would have picked to have up there at that time.
"No matter how big the game is, there's not too many situations that she is afraid of."
Blair Oaks (28-5) advances to its second straight Class 2 state championship game and will play the Bowling Green Lady Bobcats (25-4) at 10 a.m. today.
Boessen also had the game-winning hit - a solo home run - for Blair Oaks in last season's 1-0 state semifinal victory against Jefferson: Festus.
With the score tied at 1 heading into the bottom of the ninth Friday, Makenna Kliethermes singled to left field to lead off the inning. It was the first time all game Blair Oaks put its leadoff batter on base.
After Ellie Kliethermes entered the game as a courtesy runner for her older sister, Hannah Schroeder sacrificed her to second base on a bunt.
"It's one of those times where being the home team creates pressure on the visitors, to get the leadoff batter on finally," Buschjost said.
Boessen followed with her single, just the fourth hit all game off Lathrop pitcher Brooke Huitt, who surpassed 300 strikeouts for the season in the semifinal loss.
The RBI was Boessen's 37th this season.
"It was definitely going to take a big play, and there were opportunities for that big play for both teams, especially late," Buschjost said. "I'm just thankful our big play came at the end."
Huitt dominated early on in the pitcher's circle, retiring the first 13 Blair Oaks batters she faced. Her rise ball kept the Lady Falcons off-balanced for much of the game.
"She was as tough as I had heard," Buschjost said. "She's a very good pitcher, and she was on her game today and made it very tough for us."
Then the Lathrop junior put her team on the board by hitting a solo home run beyond the left-center field fence in the top of the fourth inning, giving the Lady Mules a 1-0 lead. The homer was Huitt's second this season.
Boessen, playing center field, barreled through the chainlink fence in an attempt to track down the ball, delaying the game for nearly five minutes as officials repaired the damaged fence.
"I didn't realize how close the fence was," Boessen said. "I kept running and had my arm out to feel the fence, and then as soon as I felt it, the momentum carried my whole body through the fence."
Boessen was the first Blair Oaks batter to get on base against Huitt, reaching on an error in the fifth inning. After Boessen stole second, Sydney Wilde drew a nine-pitch walk, then Torie Thurston slapped a single into shallow left field.
Lathrop left fielder MacKinzie Cantrell made a great play on the ball, but it hit off her glove and dropped in for the Lady Falcons' first hit. Buschjost didn't hesitate to wave home Boessen, who scored to tie the game at 1.
"As difficult as it was to get runners on, quite honestly, I felt like that was the easiest call in the game for me," Buschjost said.
Lathrop had its chances late against Blair Oaks, but came up empty each time. The Lady Mules left the bases loaded in the sixth, then had runners on second and third base after a sacrifice bunt in the eighth.
The Lady Falcons caught Lathrop's Lexi Seitz in a rundown on a groundball hit to third baseman Kayla Jones, while the next batter grounded out to shortstop Macey Stockman to end the threat.
"We had to get out of big jams more often than I would have liked," Buschjost said. "But having said that, you have to get out of them. We stayed composed enough to finish off some innings when they were threatening, which seemed like a lot of times."
The Lady Mules also had a runner on second with one out in the top of the ninth, but Makenna Kliethermes recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end that threat.
Kliethermes improved to 22-1 and scattered eight hits while walking three. She finished with 11 strikeouts and constantly got out of jams, stranding nine runners.
"It was hard, especially when you know how high the stakes are for this game," Kliethermes said. "But eventually, when you settle down and know your team's going to back you up, it starts to get easier."
All four Blair Oaks hits were singles. Kayla Jones added a bunt single in the sixth inning.
Huitt went 2-for-3 - and drew an intentional walk in the sixth - to lead Lathrop, which lost in extra innings in the state semifinals for the second straight season.
Blair Oaks will be making its sixth championship game appearance today, while Bowling Green advanced to its first state title game Friday with a 7-6 semifinal win against Kelly.
"I hope what this game did is give us even more confidence to walk into that championship game," Buschjost said. " We have to expect another dogfight tomorrow, but I think everything we went through with this game is going to toughen us up."
In Friday's Class 2 third-place game, Lathrop defeated Kelly 1-0 to finish the season with a 28-2 record.