Final four notebook: Freshmen pitchers take center stage for Scott City baseball team

The Scott City baseball team reached the eighth inning of the Class 3 state championship game with just a sophomore and two freshmen appearing on the mound at the final four.

Freshman starter Dakota Talley and freshman reliever Bryan McNeely threw four innings apiece in Tuesday's title game a day after sophomore Braden Cox's five-hit, one-run performance.

Talley gave up two runs -- one earned -- on four hits while McNeely allowed one run on three hits.

By contrast, the Rams batters faced only seniors on the mound.

"It says a lot about them," Scott City coach Jim May said. "We've got a lot of talent there, and there's some others there that you don't get to see all the time."

The Rams will return all nine fielders who started the title game and eight out of the nine batters in their lineup.

"We've just got to continue to try to get better, and we still make some bonehead mistakes," said May, who pointed out multiple times that there is no guarantee the Rams will make a return trip to the final four. "That comes with youth. We're going to continue to play the game, and we'll play as many games as we can get in next year just like we did this year because the more we play, the better we're going to get. We just hope the cards fall for us."

The Scott City players were fueled by their sectional loss a year ago throughout the offseason, but junior second baseman Hunter Copeland said this time around the incentive is even greater.

"This is completely different," Copeland said. "We had never won sectionals when I played, so I didn't know what it was like to win it. But now it's like we know what it's like, so it's different.

"I don't even know how to describe it. Having the crowd behind you -- it's kind of cool. *... It's something you'll never experience unless you're here."

T-Bone bids farewell

Scott City's Tyler Rogers watches the eighth inning from the dugout against Fatima during the Class 3 championship, Tuesday, June 2, 2015 in O Fallon, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

Senior designated hitter Tyler Rogers got a hit in his final at-bat for the Rams. He reached on a one-out single in the eighth before being pinch ran for.

"Tyler always hits the ball," said May, who calls Rogers "T-Bone." "He was a really good hitter for us the last two years. He was a really good player for me in football as well. He's going to be sorely missed by me."

Rogers hit clean-up for the Rams at the final four.

"He's just a great kid," May said. "He's one of those kids -- at our athletic banquet, he won the Do It for Dom Award. He's that kid that will do anything that's asked of him to try and help his teammates succeed. He's just a great, great young man."

Slow start, fantastic finish

Fans greet Scott City players after the Class 3 championship, Tuesday, June 2, 2015 in O Fallon, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

Despite coming off back-to-back district titles, it would have been difficult to predict the end of the Rams' season a couple weeks into their schedule.

"We started out 1-6," May said. "I think we were 3-9 at one point in our season, and I just told them I was proud of how they came together and played. We came up here with a 20-12 record, and I don't think people quite gave us the credit that they earned because they played exceptionally well up here against two quality ball clubs."

The Rams won 12 of their final 14 games.

Copeland shines in return

Scott City's Hunter Copeland celebrates after catching a fly ball in the sixth inning against Fatima during the Class 3 championship, Tuesday, June 2, 2015 in O Fallon, Missouri. (Glenn Landberg)

After being forced to sit out the state semifinal because of Missouri State Activities Association ejection rules, Copeland made a big impact on the championship.

He doubled home a run in the second inning and made a spectacular defensive play in the sixth and eighth innings.

"He was trying to get two games into one," May said. "He played exceptionally well defensively, and he hit the ball well. He's been a good player for us all year long. I had people ask me, 'What are you going to do with Copeland?' I said, 'We'll I'm going to put him back in the lineup.' He's hitting over .300 and is a big part of what got us here. That was a no-brainer."

With two outs in the sixth, Copeland ran deep into center field before reaching up over and behind his head to catch a pop up.

"At first I thought it was [center fielder] Isiah [Berry]'s ball, but I was going to go out there to high-five him after he caught it," Copeland said. "I started running and then I heard Braden go, "Look up!" Then I look up and there's the ball, so I just caught it over the shoulder."