Freshman Allie Bockstetter beat a throw to the plate to give the Lady Owls a 6-0 lead over Clinton in the fourth inning. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The Marshall softball program took what head coach Danielle Callanan called "a big step forward" Wednesday with an 8-2 victory over Clinton in the first round of the Class 3, District 13 Tournament at Boonville.

The Lady Owls had earlier won their first two NCMC games after going winless in the league during their first two seasons. Now they have their first district win, against a team which clubbed them around during a 12-0, five-inning rout two years ago.

"It's a good confidence-builder," Callanan observed.

Marshall sent 10 batters to the plate during the four-run second inning that would fuel the victory. It began with a leadoff double by freshman Allie Bockstetter, who has elevated herself into the clean-up spot in the order after finally cracking the line-up midway through the season.

Sophomore Chelsey Anderson bunted Bockstetter to third base, from where she scored on sophomore Nikki Cornine's grounder.

"That sacrifice bunt got everybody going, everybody pumped," Callanan said. "We haven't had an inning like that this season, so that was a big deal."

The Lady Owls weren't done, even with two outs. Junior Chandra Crawford singled and was stopped at third base on junior KaeLeigh Brown's ground-rule double. A wild pitch allowed Crawford to score, senior Alicia Gross walked and swiped second base. When the throw went into center field, Brown trotted home.

Sophomore Kelsey Griffin doubled in a run, but Marshall ended up leaving the bases loaded -- which it also did during a scoreless third. Still, the Lady Owls had the lead, and that was important.

"That's really what we needed," Callanan said. "We have a difficult time coming back when we're down 4-0."

Now it was up to Anderson to keep the Lady Cardinals in check, which she did. After getting out of a first-inning jam, in which Clinton had two runners in scoring position with one out, Anderson tossed four hitless innings, retiring 14 out of 16 batters.

"She was 'on,'" Callanan remarked. "That was one of the best games she's pitched all season."

Junior Tara Bartel singled, went to third on when Bockstetter's bouncer was booted and scored on Anderson's sacrifice fly in the fourth. Bockstetter came in on a wild pitch.

Singles by Crawford and Brown produced a run in the fifth on Griffin's sac fly and Bockstetter doubled in Bartel after a leadoff single in the sixth.

The Lady Owls had gone five innings without a major defensive miscue, including being perfect on catching balls, but a couple of throwing errors following sophomore Amanda Clifton's single starting the sixth lead to a pair of runs for the Lady Cardinals (5-17).

However, Anderson didn't fold, getting the final two outs in the sixth and not yielding a hit in the seventh to secure the win. She allowed only two hits and no earned runs during the game.

Even if the record doesn't reflect in, Marshall (4-16) -- which ended a six-game losing streak -- has come a long way, even what Callanan called "immense improvement" since the start of the season.

Considering that in their first meetings against the three top teams in the NCMC, the Lady Owls lost 10-0 "mercy rule" contests, but each of the rematches were closer -- all decided by margins of three or four runs. One of those foes was Boonville, which Marshall will face Friday in the semifinal round after losing to the Lady Pirates, 5-2, on Sept. 22.

The Lady Owls are hoping the third time will be the charm.