Scott City rides freshman hurler to district baseball title

CHARLESTON -- After losing eight seniors from last year's district champion team, Scott City found a way to repeat by handing the ball to a freshman.

With Braden Cox on the mound, the Rams beat Clearwater 5-2 in the Class 3 District 2 Championship on Wednesday.

The Tigers put together six hits but stranded nine runners and neither of their runs was earned.

"We just didn't get the bounces," Clearwater coach Joey McAlister said. "Our kids battled and we played well the whole game. We just had one inning where a couple got away."

Clearwater (14-5) had runners in scoring position in four innings but didn't get the ball out of the infield after Scott City took the lead for good in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Riley Burns and Hayden Clark, hitting fourth and fifth, scored in the fourth inning and each had a pair of hits. Two spots behind Clark, Tristan Holmes was 3-for-3. Around them, though, the Tigers struggled to reach base despite consistently putting the ball in play.

Cox had two strikeouts and two walks in the win.

"He's done well all year. He's thrown a no-hitter and he's thrown several complete games. He's just a big-game pitcher," Scott City coach Jim May said. "He kept the ball down and kept it in the park and we made a few plays behind him."

Clearwater got both of its runs courtesy of back-to-back errors by the shortstop.

Burns singled and Clark doubled to the deepest part of center field, putting runners at second and third.

With two outs, Holmes rolled a slow grounder to the left side of the infield and Burns scored after the throw to first sailed high.

Then Matthew D'Amico connected for a hard bouncer that was bobbled to tie the game.

Scott City (15-11), which was 3-10 at one point this season, retook the lead in the sixth inning.

"We're pretty young as far as a lot of the people who got playing time this year. We made a lot of strides from the fall season," McAlister said. "It just takes one swing, give them a lot of credit, that young man on the mound, he's got a bright future."

Zach Carlyle singled with a high chopper through the hole between short and third to lead off the inning and then Stephen Carter walked Trent Pobst.

May called for a sacrifice bunt, but got lucky when the ball sailed past Stephen Carter, who dove on the play. But the ball died in the grass for a single.

"We were just fake bunting there until they threw us a strike. We got a couple of guys on via walk and were sacrificing them over," May said. "Normally, high school baseball, if you put the ball in play good things will happen."

With the bases loaded, Drew Short sent a three-run double to the gap in left-center field. He was thrown out at third and quickly made his way to the Rams' dugout, cheering along the way.

Needing three runs with three outs left, the Tigers struck out and grounded out to third twice.

On the final out, Dylan Menz, playing third for Scott City, backhanded a hot grounder, but his throw to first was a good five feet toward second base.

Short left the bag to catch the ball and dove head long back to the base, with his glove just beating out Clark's foot.

Scott City took a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Cox and Carlyle hit back-to-back doubles down the third-base line to take the lead.

Pobst scored Carlyle with a high bouncer through the left side. After that, Stephen Carter gave up two hits and a walk until the sixth inning, which he opened with six straight balls.

McAlister made a mound visit to slow down the momentum, which shifted completely two pitches later on Short's double.

"We were just trying to regroup," McAlister said. "I could see after a couple of balls got through and a walk or two, I was trying to slow the momentum down because I could see it building on their side. We talked about just getting an out."

Stephen Carter gave up eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts.