Dirden powers Scott City softball past Woodland

Scott City third baseman Jamie Glastetter stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the second inning and said to no one in particular, "See what I have to follow?"

Moments before the Rams' No. 3 hitter got into the batter's box, her teammates made their way out of the home dugout to mob Kaileigh Dirden and sing the "Da da da. Da da da," of ESPN's SportsCenter theme following her three-run home run.

There wasn't much that topped the freshman Dirden's performance, as she drove in five runs and pitched a one-hit shutout to help host Scott City to a 10-0 victory in five innings against Woodland on Wednesday night.

"She seems to just be as steady as they come," Scott City coach Lance Amick said of Dirden. "You don't get much emotion out of her one way or the other. ... She hits the ball really hard, you get a little wry grin out of her every now and then."

Dirden reached base in each of her four at-bats and recorded three of the Rams' five hits.

She singled through the right side and reached third when the right fielder misplayed the ball, scoring shortstop Valerie Bahr in the bottom of the first, then scored on a wild pitch to give Scott City (9-2) a 2-0 lead over the Cardinals.

Scott City's Jamie Glastetter fields a ground ball and makes the toss to first base to out Woodland's Kelsie Long in the third inning Wednesday, April 13, 2016 in Scott City, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

Catcher Bella Bowers and Bahr drew back-to-back, one-out walks in the second before Dirden sent a 1-1 pitch over the fence in right center to make it 5-0.

"She's a great player for us, and she's got a long, bright future ahead of her," Amick said. "We're glad to have her."

Bowers and Bahr drew consecutive one-out walks again in the third, and Dirden got a single to drop in center to plate Bowers.

Paige McNeely entered as a courtesy runner for Dirden and stole second to put runners on second and third.

Bahr broke home on a pitch that got past the catcher but stopped as a throw was made toward the plate. When it got past pitcher Mackenzie Altenthal, Bahr raced home to score. Right fielder Tori Buckner singled home McNeely to extend the Rams' lead to 8-0 after three innings.

Scott City's Kailiegh Dirden makes a throw to first base for an out against Woodland in the fourth inning Wednesday, April 13, 2016 in Scott City, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

Left fielder Courtney Enderle, Buckner and center fielder Madison Thompson drew walks to load the bases with one out in the fifth. Pinch hitter Rylee Venable ended the game with one swing when she drove in a couple with a hit up the middle.

While the Rams only recorded five hits, they drew 15 walks and were hit by pitches three times. Altenthal took the loss on the mound for Woodland.

"I think we showed great discipline at the plate," Amick said. "It's easy sometimes to open your zone and expand and get yourself out, and I thought we did good job of having some discipline with that today."

Dirden did not allow a baserunner after the second inning. She struck out seven batters.

"I've got a good defense -- I did today. A bunch of plays at second base, so I thank Paige Cummins for that," Dirden said with a laugh. "We all worked as a team defensively."

Woodland coach Andrea Arnold talks with the team in the fifth inning against Scott City Wednesday, April 13, 2016 in Scott City, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

Mara Grindstaff drew a two-out walk in the top of the first for Woodland (9-5) but was stranded with a strikeout.

Catcher Kandyce Mifflin hit a one-out single to center in the second before center fielder Johna Martin drew a two-out walk, but a grounder to second hit Mifflin for the final out of the inning.

The Cardinals were retired in order over the next three frames.

"She's got a good fastball. And there's a lot of times that she could just throw that all the time and it'd really benefit her, but she still tries to pitch and work the changeup," Amick said. "She throws a curve, a little rise, two different kinds of changeups, so they really try to work those pitches. She was locating pretty well today."

Amick's hopeful his team continues to make the necessary improvements to be prepared once postseason play rolls around. The Rams finished third in state two years ago and lost in a state quarterfinal last season.

"The best thing about our team is we've got a good bunch of girls," Amick said. "They're good people, they work hard, and I think good things come to good people. Hopefully this thing can end up well because I know the girls want to and the coaching staff wants to. That's what we're working towards, that light at the end of the tunnel, and hopefully we can stay the course and continue to get better."

Woodland 000 00 -- 0 1 1

Scott City 233 02 -- 10 5 0

WP -- Kaileigh Dirden. LP -- Mackenzie Altenthal. HR -- Dirden (SC). Multiple hits -- Scott City: Dirden 3-3.