Rams win sectional on eighth-inning grand slam

SCOTT CITY -- Senior Cody Carlyle admitted he was thinking about the possibility of smashing the first grand slam of his high school career when he walked to the plate with the score knotted 6-6 and one out in the eighth inning of Monday's Class 2 sectional game against Portageville.

"I stepped in there and I was hoping I'd get a hit in the gap," Carlyle said. "I wasn't necessarily thinking to hit a home run, but it was in the back of my mind."

After nearly getting hit in the head with an offering from Bulldogs hurler Mikey Johnson, Carlyle dug back into the batter's box and stroked an opposite-field grand slam that cleared the fence in right to lead his team to a 10-6 victory.

The senior's first grand slam and his eighth home run this spring could not have come at a better time for the Rams, who lacked momentum after the Bulldogs scored five runs in the previous two innings to send the game into extra innings. Portageville scored the game-tying run in the seventh on two balks.

Carlyle, the cleanup hitter, was afforded his bases-loaded at-bat when Portageville opted to pitch to him rather than face No. 3 hitter Ryan Modglin, who was intentionally walked to create a force-out situation at each base.

"That is by far the best hit I've ever had of my life," Carlyle said. "I was so shocked. I was so happy. I thought it was going to be a routine fly ball and he was going to catch it. I was trying to edge it with my words. I was saying, 'Come on, baby. Go over.'"

Carlyle went 3-for-4 at the plate. In addition to his homer, he smacked a double, single and walked once while driving in six runs to lead the Rams (20-1) to a quarterfinal showdown Wednesday against Clearwater (16-4) at Clearwater High School.

Scott City's Josh Henson laid down a sacrifice bunt during the first inning of Monday's sectional game.

"Timely wise, that was just unbelievable," Scott City coach Lance Amick said of the grand slam. "It doesn't surprise me though because he's done that kind of stuff for two years now. He's a clutch, clutch hitter. Him and Ryan, you want them at the plate when those situations come up. If they're going to walk Ryan, we'll take Cody right there. I'm sure when it happened he was pumped up and fired up at the opportunity. He delivered. That was a huge hit for us. I'm happy for him. He's a senior and has worked hard."

Carlyle got the Rams' offense off on the right foot in the first inning by doubling in Shae Simmons and Josh Henson to give his team a 2-0 lead.

Scott City built a 3-0 advantage when junior Cody Page drilled his first home run of the season to lead off the second inning.

Page, who was batting seventh, increased the lead to 4-0 in the third when he stroked a sacrifice fly to center that scored Modglin, who doubled to begin the inning.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Scott City's Ryan Modglin delivered a pitch against Portageville on Monday at Scott City.

"Cody is a kid we've been waiting to break out," Amick said. "He's a big, strong kid. He rips the cover off the ball a lot of times in practice. He's batting around .300, but we've always felt there is a little bit more in him. I think he showed a little bit of that today."

Modglin started the game on the hill for Scott City. Despite running into a few jams, he limited Portageville to one run over the first five innings.

That Bulldogs' run, which was unearned, came in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 4-1. But Scott City battled right back with one run in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Austin Raines and an unearned run in the sixth to claim a 6-1 advantage.

Modglin allowed a hit and a walk to start the sixth inning before striking out the next two Bulldogs hitters. But then he walked the No. 9 hitter.

Amick pulled Modglin, saying he felt his ace looked fatigued. He opted to bring in Simmons. Modglin left the game with 14 strikeouts.

With the bases loaded, Simmons hit the first batter he faced, forcing home a run to make it 6-2. He then surrendered back-to-back singles that allowed Portageville to score three more times that inning and bring the deficit to one run at 6-5, before recording the final out of the inning.

Simmons remained in the game in the bottom of the seventh, but was pulled after he allowed two of the first three batters he faced to reach.

"I just wasn't throwing very good today," said Simmons, who was struggling to get a good grip on his breaking ball because of a blister.

Henson relieved Simmons with runners at first and second and one out. Before throwing his first pitch, he made a quick pickoff move to second base. The baserunner originally was called out. But the umpires discussed the play and determined that Henson balked. That moved each runner up one base. Then later in the inning, after Henson recorded a strikeout for the second out with the runners at second and third, he was called for another balk. It scored the game-tying run to make it 6-6.

"They said he moved his hands before he moved his foot and there was intention to deceive," Amick said of the first balk call. "You've just got to try to maintain your focus. Him battling and getting that first kid was a big one, and then had a breakdown with the other one on third. His hands went down before his foot came off. It's tough to criticize somebody in the moment like that. I'm not going to. I'm just happy about what he did in the seventh."

Henson added: "They said it was because I went over my head first before I stepped back, which I think I stepped back before I went over my head."

After Carlyle's grand slam put Scott City ahead 10-6, Henson returned to pitch the eighth.

"As soon as he hit it, I jumped out of the dugout and just ran to the plate and was fired up," Henson said. "I knew as soon as he hit it I was going to be more fired up and I was going to have the confidence to go 1-2-3."

Henson retired the side in the bottom of the eighth, facing four batters.

"Thank God Josh came in and shut it out for us," Simmons said.

Scott City 211 011 04 -- 10 11 2

Portageville 000 104 10 -- 6 6 3

@z_agate_no tab_no indnt_bld ld:WP -- Josh Henson 3-0. LP -- Mikey Johnson. HR -- Cody Carlyle (SC), Cody Page (SC). 2B -- Ryan Modglin (SC), Carlyle (SC), Jacob Campbell (SC). Multiple hits -- Portageville: Jay Singleton 2-4, Jacob Estes 2-3, T.J. Smith 2-4; Scott City: Modglin 2-3, Carlyle 3-4, Campbell 2-4. Records -- Scott City 20-1, Portageville 12-9.