MacKenzie Lawless nearly flawless in Scott City win over Oak Ridge

MacKenzie Lawless was nearly flawless for Scott City on Thursday.

The junior threw a complete game shutout and hit a pair of home runs to lead the Rams to an 11-0 win over Oak Ridge at Scott City High School.

"Pitchers can be hitters too," Scott City coach Alexis Atchley said.

Lawless went 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in a total of four runs. She hit a home run in the first and third inning.

"She's done really good at making adjustments at the plate," Atchley said. "She's not your typical bunt leadoff batter."

Lawless' second home run highlighted a five-run inning for the Rams in the bottom of the third. Halle Comer drove in a run with a single and Olivia Ponder hit an RBI double. Each of them racked up multiple hits for the Rams.

Lawless allowed only one hit with seven strikeouts over five innings on the mound.

"She's done a really good job this year of hitting her spots," Atchley said. "She did a really good job all year. She's almost at 80 strikeouts on the year."

Kinsley Bogenpohl got the only hit for Oak Ridge, which came in the first inning.

Scott City (11-5), coming off sweeping through the Malden Tournament, extended its winning streak to five games. The Rams have outscored opponents 61-3 during this streak. Thursday is also the ninth game in which the Rams scored over 10 runs.

Lawless and Ponder were underclassmen during the Rams' most recent district championship run. That was two years ago during Atchley's first season as head coach. The Rams missed the state tournament last year after appearing six of the previous seven seasons, but with her cornerstones, Atchley feels this is the year the Rams return.

"We just kept saying it's coming, it's coming," Atchley said. "All that season we battled and then we got a little better last year. This year we've kind of hit our peak and our young ones are now our veterans. We've really been looking forward to this year."

The Rams travel to Dexter on Saturday for the Swing Pink Tournament.