Payne-Train keeps Oran rolling to second straight Scott-Mississippi title

BENTON, Mo. — The Oran baseball team chugged along to its second consecutive Scott-Mississippi Conference Championship behind an overpowering performance from Kolten Payne.

Payne’s cool-headedness and precision pitching led the Eagles (13-4) to a 2-0 victory over the Kelly Hawks (18-7) on Friday, May 5 at Kelly High School.

“It feels amazing to win a big rivalry game and conference championship at the same time,” Payne said. “ had exceptional defense behind me, and I just tried to go out there, hit my spots and pump strikes.”

Oran's Kole Burger (18) scores a run during a 2-0 win at Kelly to clinch the Scott-Mississippi Conference Championship on Friday, May 5, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

With nerves of steel on the mound, Payne delivered a complete game shutout and only allowed two hits while striking out 10 batters.

“We came in ready,” Payne continued. “We haven’t been playing our best, but we brought the energy today. We didn’t have any errors, and everyone made good plays. I love this group of players and I couldn’t ask for a better team.”

Oran broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fourth inning with a well-executed play that showcased their offensive prowess.

Kelly's Dalton Forck (15) watches his pitch sail toward home plate during a 2-0 loss to Oran on Friday, May 5, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

Gabe Dirnberger had a base-hit single that allowed Parker Bryant to cross home plate for the first run of the game.

Bryant had previously been walked to lead off the inning, setting the stage for Dirnberger’s clutch hit.

“I was just glad when we got on the scoreboard,” Payne said. “It helped me to be more comfortable out there.”

Kelly's Jett Hull (12) makes a throw to first base for an out during a 2-0 loss to Oran on Friday, May 5, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

During the top of the seventh inning, the Eagles were able to widen their lead to 2-0 due to a costly error made by the Hawks.

Kole Burger reached base with a double and then scored on an error doing the next at-bat after Payne hit a hard ground ball.

“We’re super excited to win a conference championship,” said Oran coach Joe Bickings. “Our approach at the plate was good. We were staying on pitches and hitting balls to the right side against their [left-handed pitcher]. They went out, executed and played a good game of baseball.

Oran's Parker Bryant (8) makes a throw for an out during a 2-0 win at Kelly to clinch the Scott-Mississippi Conference Championship on Friday, May 5, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“It was good to see,” he continued. “We’re moving in the right direction with districts coming up. We still have two games left in the season and we just have to keep it rolling.”

Oran travels to Bell City (6-11) on Monday, May 8, and is on the road at Woodland (14-8) on Tuesday, May 9 for its regular-season finale.

The Class 1, No. 2 ranked Eagles received the top seed in the MSHSAA Class 1, District 2 Tournament and will host the winner of fourth-seeded Delta (3-16) and fifth-seeded Richland (1-10) on Monday, May 15 at Oran High School.

Oran players celebrate following a 2-0 win at Kelly to clinch the Scott-Mississippi Conference Championship on Friday, May 5, 2023. (Dennis Marshall/Standard-Democrat)

“Hopefully, this gives us momentum heading into districts,” Payne concluded. “We just have to stay locked in and not take anyone for granted, no matter who they are or what their record is.”

Dalton Forck took the loss after throwing 6.1 innings and allowing one earned run on six hits with eight strikeouts and two walks.

“It wasn’t the outcome that we wanted,” said Kelly coach Josh Hopkins. “But our kids fought well. We just ran into a guy that was in charge the entire day, got us out of our approach and was in command of the ballgame.

“Hats off to Oran and Kolten Payne,” Hopkins continued. “That guy has as good of an arm as we’ve seen all year, and they’re virtually unbeatable when he’s on the bump. We gave it our best effort, but he threw extremely well.”

Despite Oran having runners in scoring position three other times, the Hawks never let the game get away from them.

“We never let the big inning happen,” Hopkins said. “We did a good job of staying out of big innings because that ballgame could have gotten ugly quickly.”

Kelly plays at Class 6, No. 5 Jackson (25-6) on Monday, May 8, and concludes its regular season at Dexter (9-12) on Tuesday, May 9.

The Class 3, No. 10 ranked Hawks received the top seed in the MSHSAA Class 3, District 2 Tournament and will face the winner of fourth-seeded East Prairie (15-11) and fifth-seeded Charleston (8-12) on Tuesday, May 16 at Hillhouse Park in Charleston.

__ORAN 2, KELLY 0__

Oran 000 100 1 — 2 7 0

Kelly 000 000 0 — 0 2 3

W—Kolten Payne. L—Dalton Forck. 2B—Oran: Kole Burger.