Scott City softball team advances to final four

The Scott City softball team's lead had just been cut to two and there were still two runners on and no outs recorded in the bottom of the seventh when West County's No. 3 hitter Hannah Hollock drove a ball hard into center field -- and right into the glove of Scott City senior Shelby Rhymer, who made snagging the smoked ball look routine.

"I blew her a kiss," Scott City pitcher Becky Burger said. "I was like 'I love you!'"

Two batters later Rhymer, Burger and the rest of the Rams were hugging each other in the middle of the infield after securing a 5-3 win and a trip to the inaugural spring softball final four.

Scott City (17-5) will face Kennett in a Class 1 state semifinal at 5 p.m on Friday, May 16, at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.

"I can't even explain it," first-year Scott City coach Kaitlin Zink said. "I love these girls. I love these girls so much. They know I can't hardly even talk at the end of the game because I'm about to cry because of how proud of them I am, but I just can't even believe that this is happening. It's so surreal. These girls are great. They're hard workers. They come into practice every single day ready to work and they deserve to go as far as we can get."

The Rams, who were playing on their home field but were the visitors on the scoreboard, led 5-2 entering the bottom of the seventh before the first three batters reached and cut the lead to 5-3.

"My girls told me, 'Don't worry, we've got you're back. You can throw them down the middle. Go out there, throw your game, we know you can,'" Burger said. "That means a lot to me, so just having that confidence instilled into me that they have through me, that means a whole, whole lot."

After retiring Hollock, Burger struck out No. 4 hitter Mickenzie Carlyon before getting Hannah Beck to fly out to left to end it.

Scott City center fielder Shelby Rhymer catches a West County fly ball to end the sixth inning in their Class 1 state quarterfinal softball game Thursday, May 8, 2014 in Scott City. (Fred Lynch)

"It eased the pressure a lot," Burger said about the first out. "And then by the second out, when I got that second out, it was just like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders because when we've got two outs we work like a machine it seems."

The Rams got on the board in the top of the first inning and never trailed in the game. No. 3 hitter Macy Hall worked a full count with one out and a runner on first and fouled off multiple pitches before singling to left. The ball slipped by the left fielder and to the fence, allowing Rhymer, who had singled, to score the game's first run.

"She has great at-bats every single time," Zink said about Hall. "She makes sure if she's swinging, it's going to be her perfect pitch right there, and if she ever gets deep in the count, which doesn't happen too often with her, then she's swinging, she's fouling off until she gets the one she wants. She's a great batter."

Burger and Hall discussed the virtues of batting first after a pregame coin toss made them the visitors on the scoreboard.

"My catcher, Macy, and me were talking about how we wish that we could be the visitors in the beginning of the game and then the home team at the end because we always like to score first, so getting out here and being able to score first that meant a lot just to be able to get the momentum on our side early," Burger said. "That was a good help."

West County evened the score in the bottom of the second when Erica Barton hit a one-out double and later scored on a wild pitch. The Bulldogs might have added more runs in the inning, but Hall threw out a runner trying to steal second after a lead-off hit.

The biggest hit of the day came from Scott City shortstop Lyndsie Robert in the third. The leadoff batter reached for the Rams, but was doubled off on a foul out behind home plate.

Scott City's Becky Burger punctuates her score against West County on the way back to the dugout during the third inning of their Class 1 state quarterfinal softball game Thursday, May 8, 2014 in Scott City. (Fred Lynch)

"On teams I've been on, those are things that can easily deflate you and you can just be like, 'One more out, that's all we've got. We're done,'" Zink said. "And my team, they're just fighters. They never quit, and we're always up there ready to hit -- some great girls."

Hall and Burger followed the play with singles and Robert drove both home with a hit to left.

"I know it was outside, and I'm really bad at hitting outside," Robert said. "So right when I saw that it was outside, I was like, 'Man, I've got to hit it because it's outside.' I always try to pull them, but it ended up scoring us the runs, so I was happy for it anyways."

Burger doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the fifth to make it 4-2, and the Rams added a little more insurance when Rhymer drove home Hailey Clayton in the top of the seventh.

"All I can say is 'I love my team,'" Burger said. "I've loved my team since day one, but these girls are like my best friends, I swear. We can be in the hallways and it's nothing but chit-chat about the game. 'Are you ready, are you ready?' Everybody is. We all came out here and we gave it 100 percent. I know that I can count on any of them to make any play, to hit the [ball]."

Scott City 102 010 1 -- 5 9 3

West County 010 100 1 -- 3 9 3

WP -- Becky Burger. LP -- Hannah Hollock. 2B -- Erica Barton (WC), Shelby Rhymer (SC), Burger (SC). Multiple hits -- Scott City: Hailey Clayton 2-3, Rhymer 2-4, Macy Hall 2-4, Burger 2-4; West County: Rikki Wright 3-4, Hannah Beck 2-3, Barton 2-3.