Rams, Graff slow strong East Prairie start with 5-0 win

Coming off a 5-0 thumping to a very good Class 3 No. 4-ranked Scott City High School baseball squad, that one defeat doesn’t diminish the strong start that East Prairie High School has gotten off to this spring.

The Eagles now have four defeats in their nine games, but three of those losses were by either one or two runs.

“We haven’t really played up to our potential yet,” veteran East Prairie coach Gary Scott said recently following a win at Risco. “It is more of what we are not doing well. We aren’t getting that timely hit right now.

“We are getting runners on base, but we are just kind of struggling in those big moments to get those guys in.”

Scott City senior thrower Lawson Graff made sure that continued to be the case on Thursday.

Graff threw a complete game and allowed just two hits and no runs while walking three and striking out nine.

The Rams (7-1) opened the second inning by getting four consecutive base hits (Lane Miller, Graff, Levi Senn, and Mark Panagos) off of Eagle starter Noah Johnson, as the Rams built a 2-0 lead.

Kobe Watson notched a two-RBI single for a 4-0 margin, which was followed by a walk drawn by Luke Umfleet and Gavin Venable getting hit by a pitch to load the bases.

“We want our pitchers to make pitches,” Scott said. “We don’t want to throw it down the middle, but we want to throw the ball in the strike zone (and) get ahead in the count.

“You’ve got fielders out there for a reason.”

The Rams put their final run across the plate in the sixth inning and finished the game with eight hits, including three from lead-off hitter Panagos, who also had two runs scored and a pair of RBI, as well as two stolen bases.

Lane Holder added a hit for Scott City while Watson (one hit, three RBI, Umfleet (two walks), Jackson Gloth (two walks), Miller (one hit, one run), Graff (one hit), and Senn (one hit) also contributed.

Johnson had one hit for the Eagles while senior Owen Knight added a hit and two walks in the loss.

Tate Henderson drew a walk for East Prairie, as well.

Johnson worked four innings on the mound and allowed six hits, four earned runs, walked three, and struck out eight Ram hitters.

Eagle sophomore Jack Pearson closed the game by throwing three innings and giving up a couple of hits, one earned run, walking one, and striking out five.

East Prairie’s schedule doesn’t get any easier, as it will host Class 2 No. 3-ranked Chaffee (8-1) on Monday at 4:30 p.m.

Scott City will host unbeaten Twin Rivers (7-0) on Monday at 4:30 p.m.