Fatima came through a demanding stretch of six games in six days with four victories, improving to 11-5 while navigating strong competition, district implications, heat, and the accumulated fatigue of the schedule.

The Lady Comets opened Monday with an 8-6 loss to St. Francis Borgia, but coach Dan Campbell came away encouraged by how his team responded after falling behind.

“Battled back to the very end against Borgia with the tying run on in the seventh, just couldn’t get the key hit when we needed it,” Campbell said. “I was very proud of the girls for battling until the end.”

Borgia led 4-0 before Fatima answered with four runs in the third and two more in the fourth to move in front. Borgia eventually regained the lead and held off the Lady Comets’ final push.

Sadi Lehman went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Maci Wilbers had two hits. Kamryn Lee homered and drove in two runs. Ava Heckemeyer, Wilbers, Marlee Oliver, and Lehman each doubled as Fatima finished with nine hits.

Fatima responded Tuesday with what Campbell called a significant 4-1 victory over St. Elizabeth.

Wilbers gave the Lady Comets an early lead with a solo home run before St. Elizabeth tied the game. Fatima faced one of its biggest challenges in the second inning when St. Elizabeth loaded the bases with nobody out.

“I thought the key to the game was our defense and getting out of a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the second,” Campbell said. “Gracie Atkins made a fabulous play at short to save a couple of runs, and we escaped that inning unscathed.”

The game remained tied until Lehman delivered a three-run home run in the fifth.

“Sadi Lehman and Maci Wilbers had big games offensively,” Campbell said. “Rylie threw a nice game for us. Defensively, we were solid all night, and that paved the way for the win.”

Rylie Wieberg went the distance, limiting St. Elizabeth to one run on four hits.

Fatima carried that momentum into Wednesday’s matchup with district opponent Iberia, rolling to a 13-2 victory in five innings.

The Lady Comets scored three runs in the first, five in the second, and five more in the third while collecting 13 hits.

“Beating Iberia, a district opponent, helped our position for the No. 1 district seed,” Campbell said. “We hit the ball extremely well with Kam, Maci, and Sadi leading the way.”

Lee hit two home runs and drove in four, Lehman went 3-for-3 with a home run, double, and three RBIs, and Wilbers was 3-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.

“Ava was solid in the circle for us, walking no one and only allowing four hits,” Campbell said.

The Lady Comets then entered the Jefferson City tournament Friday and survived a battle with Capital City for a 7-6 victory in extra innings.

“We knew we were in for a battle against Capital City, and we were fortunate to win,” Campbell said.

Fatima’s defense delivered one of the game’s defining plays in the extra inning when the Lady Comets cut down a runner at the plate.

“Rylie made a great instinctive play on that ball to get the out at home,” Campbell said. “Rylie came in as pitcher and slammed the door, and we were able to get one across in the bottom of the inning to win 7-6.”

Lehman went 3-for-3 with a home run and scored four times, while Wieberg also homered, finished 3-for-4, and drove in four runs.

Fatima could not carry that performance into its second game Friday, falling 8-0 to Chaffee.

“Chaffee game was disappointing as our defense and offensive effort was very poor,” Campbell said. “Walks and errors did us in early as Chaffee got three runs in the first inning.”

The Lady Comets were held to two hits, a double by Lehman and a single by Heckemeyer.

“Chaffee is an excellent squad, and they make you pay for every extra baserunner and out that you give them,” Campbell said. “They have now beaten us twice, but maybe we will get one more shot at them if we can make the Final Four.”

Fatima closed the week Saturday by getting back in the win column with an 8-4 victory over Macon.

“Our intensity was not there early, but we managed to do enough to get the win,” Campbell said.

Lehman went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, Wilbers finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Atkins and Oliver each doubled.

Wieberg earned the win in the circle before Heckemeyer worked a scoreless final inning.

Campbell said the cumulative effect of six games in six days, coupled with the heat, began to show by the end of the stretch.

“I think with having six games in six days, we were a little fatigued both physically and mentally, and the heat complicated that even more,” Campbell said. “It was a good week overall, and I feel like we are continuing to improve.”

For Campbell, the next step is consistency.

“When we throw strikes and make the routine defensive plays, we are very tough to handle,” he said. “I want us to get there on a more consistent basis.”