Scott City goes to 11-1 with rout of Charleston

SCOTT CITY — The Scott City High School baseball team is aiming for an extended postseason run this year.

Nothing the Rams have done in recent weeks suggests it won't happen.

The Rams pushed their winning streak to seven Tuesday afternoon by demolishing visiting Charleston 18-0 in a game stopped after 4 1/2 innings by the mercy rule.

"We play well together," junior shortstop Shae Simmons said. "I don't see why we can't [do well in the postseason]."

Scott City improved its record to 11-1. The Rams' only defeat came during the fifth game of the season when Winfield and a left-handed pitcher headed to nationally ranked Wichita State struck out 17 in a 4-0 victory.

The losing hurler in that contest has a pretty good arm of his own.

Senior right-hander Ryan Modglin, who fanned 15 during the Rams' lone setback, moved his record to 4-1 with Tuesday's shutout.

Modglin, who has signed with Missouri State, struck out nine, walked three and allowed two singles.

"I threw decent," Modglin said. "I didn't make some of the pitches I wanted, but they're a good hitting team."

Modglin, also one of the Rams' top hitters, entered the contest batting .639, which was just ahead of the .621 mark held by junior third baseman Cody Page.

Add in Simmons' .500-plus average from the leadoff spot, along with an overall team mark of better than .350, and the Rams have a potent lineup to go with a solid pitching staff led by Modglin and Simmons.

"One through nine in the lineup can hit, and we usually field well," Modglin said. "We should [do well in the postseason]."

Simmons went 3-for-3 with two doubles and a triple Tuesday. He drove in four runs and scored four times as he reached on a walk during his other plate appearance.

"Shae is a great table setter for us," Scott City coach Lance Amick said.

Page went 2-for-2 with four RBIs, while junior second baseman Josh Henson had two hits, drove in three runs and scored three times.

Sophomore center fielder Skylar Cobb and junior first baseman Clayton Hall both had two hits and two RBIs.

Scott City banged out 12 hits, including four doubles and two triples.

"We hit the ball well. We stress hitting," Amick said.

The Rams also took advantage of four walks, four hit batters and two errors from the Bluejays (9-6), who Amick said are a lot better than they showed against Scott City.

"Charleston has a real good team. We didn't see any of their better pitchers today," Amick said. "It's still nice to beat a district opponent, and they should be one of the higher seeds."

Scott City jumped on top with four runs in the first inning, added five in the second and broke things open with a nine-run third that featured 13 at-bats.

Nick Johnson singled in the third and Paul Johnson singled in the fifth for Charleston's hits.

The Bluejays had one strong scoring chance as a single and two walks loaded the bases with nobody out in the third.

Modglin got a strikeout and then started a home-to-first double play to keep the shutout intact.

"We're still not where we need to be. We need to polish some things up," Amick said. "But I think we're playing pretty well."

Charleston 000 00 — 0 2 2

Scott City 459 0x — 18 12 2

WP — Ryan Modglin, 4-1. LP — Justin Hardin. 3B — Shae Simmons (SC), Modglin (SC). 2B — Simmons (SC) 2, Josh Henson (SC), Clayton Hall (SC). Multiple hits — Scott City: Simmons 3-3, Henson 2-4, Hall 2-3, Cody Page 2-2, Skylar Cobb 2-3. Records — Scott City 11-1, Charleston 9-6.