10/16/09
Maggie Ruckenbrod broke the state high school softball record for career hits Friday in a state tournament sectional Friday at Troy.

The Oakville senior banged out four hits in a 12-1 victory against Hillsboro on a chilly, gray afternoon. Ruckenbrod, chasing the record all season, tied the record of 181 hits with a double to the centerfield fence in the sixth inning and broke the mark with another double, this one to the fence in right-center, in the seventh. The old mark was set last fall by Nicole Hudson of Webb City.

Oakville, 21-5, advanced to the state quarterfinals with Friday's runaway win. The Tigers lost in extra innings to Parkway South in last year's quarterfinal round game.

Hillsboro finished its season at 23-4. The Hawks were knocked out of state tournament play last year in the sectional by Oakville.

Ruckenbrod is the fourth player to break the career hits record in the last decade. In addition to Hudson in 2008, the hits record was held by Erin Steffens of Herculaneum (166 hits, 2006) and Stefanie Standley of Lamar (149 hits, 2001).

Though she had the record in her sights all season, Ruckenbrod didn't give the hit mark a thought when she stepped to the plate against Hillsboro's Alicia Litviak in the sixth inning Friday. At that point the game still was tight – Oakville was up 3-1 – and the right-handed hitting catcher was worried only about driving in Baeley Reed and Marissa Simon who were on base ahead of her.

“I really didn't think about it when I hit it,” Ruckenbrod said, whose record-tying hit drove in two runs and launched the Tigers toward a big inning.

There was no pushing the record out of her mind when she came up in the seventh inning. “That last time, I definitely knew,” she said.

dbarnidge@yourjournal.com