Jam after jam, Kelsey Anderson did just enough to pitch out of them and keep the top-ranked Blaze perfect this softball season Thursday at Burnsville High School.

Lakeville South left runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings and again in the fifth but never could break through, losing 3-1 in the South Suburban Conference matchup.

“A big team effort,” Anderson said. “We all never had a doubt in our mind about the game, and we backed each other up when we needed to. If I’m not always doing my job, they’re doing theirs.”

Indeed, that happened both at the plate and in the field on a raw afternoon when Anderson didn’t have her best stuff yet still struck out 12.

Lakeville South (3-4) put its first three batters of the game on base and took a 1-0 lead on pitcher Kendall Palfi’s RBI single to right-center.

Anderson, though, struck out the side and fanned two more in the second after the Cougars again put runners on base with no outs.

Burnsville (9-0) then went to work. The Blaze scored twice in the bottom of the second inning on back-to-back infield run-scoring hits by Abby Harazin and Megan Threlkeld. That was all the offense the defending Class 3A state champions needed.

Anderson found her groove and benefited from clutch double plays turned by Kelly Grove and Danielle Wolk down the stretch.

“Our defense is always in control, always confident,” said Threlkeld, the catcher. “They always know where to go.”

It’s the second consecutive close call for Burnsville, which has now outscored opponents 52-9 this season. On Monday, winless Bloomington Kennedy took the Blaze to nine innings.