Scott City faces Kennett in Class 1 spring softball semifinals

~The Rams' top pitcher missed the first encounter in March

When Scott City meets Kennett in today's spring softball Class 1 state semifinal at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, the Rams will be hoping for a different result than the first time the teams met.

Scott City fell to the Indians 10-3 on March 31 in a game the Rams on one hand would like to forget, but instead will use as fuel for today's matchup.

"That's why I'm looking forward to this rematch," Scott City coach Kaitlin Zink said. "It will be fun."

Kennett (23-2) will encounter a different Scott City team this time around. For one, the Indians will face the Rams' top pitcher in senior Becky Burger, who missed the first meeting because of a school event.

"I'm looking forward to getting a chance to play against them," Burger said.

Kennett used a nine-run third inning en route to their victory over the Rams.

"We didn't play too bad," Scott City senior catcher Macy Hall said. "We just had one bad inning. We started to come back at the end. It was just that one bad inning that got us."

Since that time, the Rams have learned how to play through adversity. Close losses to Portageville and Naylor actually brought the team together, and the Rams, who fell to 4-3 after that loss to Kennett, have since won 13 of 15 games to improve to 17-5.

"I think I knew we had something special when we were coming back and fighting against the good teams that people thought would just beat us," junior shortstop Lyndsie Robert said. "Against Portageville, we came out and we didn't lay down. We lost, but we're not going to let any team just run over us."

Robert said the same thing happened in a loss to Naylor, another top team in Southeast Missouri.

"When we lost that game, there were so many of us that were upset and teary-eyed, and I could just see in our eyes that we wanted this bad," Robert said. "We were going to work for it. And the next day in practice, we came out and worked so hard. And I'm so proud of our girls for working so hard."

Zink has also noticed a change in how her team responds to adversity.

"Whenever we get in a troubling situation, we don't lose it like we did earlier in the year," she said. "Somewhere along the way that changed. I don't know how it happened, if it's leadership on the field or what, but we just somehow got to where we can handle ourselves better in tighter situations."

Burger comes into today's action with a record of 14-4 and a 1.89 ERA. She leads the team with a .516 average. Hall is hitting .508, while Robert checks in at .475. Senior Hailey Clayton is hitting .446 and has 12 stolen bases. Senior Shelby Rhymer leads the Rams with 18 steals.

Kennett has five players batting over .500. Freshman right fielder Anna Wheeler, who bats leadoff, is hitting .632 (12 for 19). She sets the table for a handful of players, including junior shortstop Logan Vaughan, who is hitting .510 with three homers, five triples and 32 RBIs. Senior third baseman Kelsey Washburn is hitting .600 and leads the Indians with eight home runs and 55 RBIs.

"The work the girls put in in the off-season and the way then finished last season, we knew we could compete," Kennett coach Kevin McCaig said. The Indians lost just one senior from a team that finished 17-5 last season.

Senior Shayla Jansson and sophomore Madison Pickens lead the pitching rotation. Jansson (12-2) has good velocity and has a good change-up, McCaig said, while Pickens (11-0) is more of a control pitcher with a good drop ball.

"We're not going up to enjoy the final four," McCaig said. "We've got some goals, and we're going up there to compete."

The day's second game features Mt. Vernon (20-3) against Crest Ridge (20-1). Mt. Vernon used a six-run inning to defeat Galena 7-3 last week to earn a berth in the final four.

"We've got some good, young talent," said Mountaineers second-year coach Matt Schubert, who starts three freshmen, three sophomores and three juniors. "The key for us will be timely hitting and playing good defense."

Sophomore Maddie Brown (15-2) is the team's top pitcher.

"She gets a lot of ground balls," Schubert said. "Her ball really sinks at the end."

Brown, sophomore third baseman Kaitlyn Foulk and freshman catcher Hailea Schubert are all hitting .500 or above. Foulk leads the team with three home runs and 37 RBIs, while Schubert has amassed 15 doubles. Freshman first baseman Morgan Hull is batting at a .485 clip with 30 RBIs.

The Mountaineers average about 13 runs per game while allowing about four.

Crest Ridge first-year coach Mark Amos starts two seniors and two juniors. The rest are sophomores.

"We're pretty solid," he said. "We are very sophomore-heavy."

Sophomore Kaylee Schmidli (20-1) has pitched every game for the Cougars this season.

"She's got great location," Amos said. "And she works hard on the change-up. That's a great equalizer. She's started hitting a groove."

The Cougars' top hitters are sophomore catcher Jamie Windholz (.577, 14 doubles) and junior third baseman Kelsie Seaman (.571, 11 doubles).

Crest Ridge snapped Sweet Springs' 55-game winning streak with a 1-0 win during the regular season.

The Cougars also beat Sweet Springs by the same score to win its district title.

"I told the girls, from here on out there's no bad teams," Amos said.