Scott City softball breezes past SCC in district semifinals

SCOTT CITY -- If coaches want their teams peaking at tournament time, Scott City softball coach Kaitlin Zink must feel pretty good about her squad.

The host Rams coupled 10 hits with 10 walks in racing past Scott Country Central 18-0 in a Class 1 District 5 semifinal Tuesday afternoon.

Scott City (14-5) scored 13 runs in the bottom of the first inning -- batting around in the order twice -- and plated five more in the second. Becky Burger tossed two hitless innings in the circle, then gave way to Lyndsie Robert, who put the Bravettes down in order, striking out two, in the top of third before the game was called by the mercy rule.

"The problem going in and meeting teams like this is you've just got to make sure you're still aggressive in there, and we're still aggressive with strikes," Zink said. "And that's what we've really been pushing all year with these girls. And they're just doing a great job with their approach. I'm so proud of them for that.

"But it's over, and we move on to the next game, and we're just so excited to play."

Scott City ‘s Valerie Bahr circles the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam during the first inning Tuesday in Scott City.

Scott City advances to face Advance, a 13-6 winner over Charleston, in today's district final beginning at 4:30 p.m. in Scott City.

Scott County Central (0-5) was limited all season by a wet spring that prevented them from taking the field not only for a number of games, but practices as well. And against the top-seeded Rams, it showed.

"They've had a very good record this year, and that's a very, very good team," Bravettes coach Heather Knuth said. "We were limited to [five games] because of all the rainouts, but we played with a lot of heart this year."

Scott City came out swinging and was very aggressive on the basepaths, and never let up. Hailey Clayton reached base on an error to open the bottom of the first, and Robert followed with a drive down the line in right that made it all the way to the fence. By the time Scott County Central's right fielder could track down the ball and get it back to the infield, the speedy Robert had an inside-the-park home run.

Two walks and a double-steal put runners at second and third for Liz Hensley, who plated one run with a single. Following a walk to Jamie Glastetter, Valerie Bahr duplicated Robert's effort, driving a ball down the line in right and racing around the bases for a grand-slam home run to make it 7-0.

The rout was on. And when it was over, the Rams had totalled seven extra-base hits among their 10 hits in the game.

"We start getting real pumped up and we feel good about ourselves and confident," Bahr said about her team's ability to swing the bat. "We get more aggressive."

Zink had recently moved Clayton to the top of the order, and the senior right fielder responded by going 2 for 3 with a double, a triple and three runs scored.

"I like it a lot," Clayton said about hitting leadoff. "I like starting it off. Most of the time, hopefully, I get a good hit to start it off for our team."

The big lead allowed Zink to pitch Burger, her top starter, just two innings and give Robert a chance to get some work in with a eye toward today's district final and, possibly, beyond.

"She's come in in a lot of games like this where I just want to give her some time on the mound and face some real batters in live situations," Zink said about Robert's relief effort. "She looked great today. She was throwing read hard."

"I felt comfortable," Robert said. "I'll do whatever the coach wants me to do. I like it. It's fun."

Robert, Clayton and Bahr each had multiple hits for the Rams. Robert finished 2 for 3 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored. Clayton was 2 for 3 and scored three times, while Bahr was 2 for 2 with a triple and home run and five RBIs. As a team, the Rams totalled 10 stolen bases.

"I can't even express how important it is to stay aggressive [hitting and running]," Robert said. "That's like the most important part of the game. You can be the best hitter at the plate, but if you're not aggressive on the basepaths, then it's not even worth it."

SCC 000 -- 0 0 2

Scott City (13)5x -- 18 10 0

WP -- Becky Burger. LP -- Kaitlyn Lovel. 2B -- Hailey Clayton (SC), Macy Hall (SC), Jamie Glastetter (SC). 3B: Clayton (SC), Valerie Bahr (SC). HR: Lyndsie Robert (SC), Bahr (SC). Multiple hits -- Scott City: Clayton 2-3. Robert 2-3, Bahr 2-2. Records: Scott County Central 0-5, Scott City 14-5.