Oran stuns Scott City after wild ninth inning

A ninth inning of madness led to Oran defeating Scott City 9-4 on Monday in Scott City.

Carson Kern started the ninth inning with a walk. He later scored on an RBI single by Kolten Payne. After turning the basepaths into a conga line, the Eagles scored three more runs on two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Kern returned to the plate and got his first hit of the game, a three-run double to clear the bases and end the seven-run rally.

“It felt great because I’ve been struggling, and to get a hit like that means a lot,” Kern said.

“It’s good for him to have those two at-bats,” Oran coach Joe Bickings said. “It’s huge for us and it’s huge for him. Hopefully, he builds off that and gets some confidence.”

Payne was successful both at the plate and on the mound. On top of being the only Eagle to have two hits, he also started the game and held the Rams to two runs on eight hits with 11 strikeouts over six innings.

“My changeup was working really good in just keeping them off balance,” Payne said. “One of my pitches wasn’t on today, so I just had to work through it.”

Scott City took an early lead in the third inning when Gavin Venable hit his first career home run.

Oran tied the game in the fourth inning after a sacrifice fly by Parker Bryant scored Luke Peterson. The Rams retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning when Luke Umfleet hit an RBI single to right field.

Oran retied the game in the fifth inning after a ground out by Brenden Campbell scored Kole Berger.

The Rams made an honest attempt to rally in the bottom of the ninth. Chase Vanabele led off with a double and scored on a base hit by Kobe Watson. Mark Panagos, who reached on a walk after Venable, scored during a ground out to round out the scoring.

Watson started the game on the mound and threw for five innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out seven. Blake Wilburn and Braden Mashek entered from the bullpen, throwing 3.1 innings and two-thirds of an inning respectively. Colin Blaylock allowed four runs on four walks in the ninth inning without recording an out.

Oran, who have now won five games in a row, travels to Advance (6-2) on Thursday while Scott City (7-3) travels to Kelly. Both games are expected to start at 4:30 p.m.