Scott City softball team claims first district title

SCOTT CITY -- The Scott City softball team's first-ever district title was on the line, and Becky Burger wasn't about to let this chance slip through her fingers.

The Rams' senior right-hander pitched possibly her best game of the season Wednesday, a three-hit, 12-strikeout gem in leading Scott City to a 9-0 victory over Advance in the Class 1 District 5 title game.

And not even a scary, freakish collision that sent Burger sprawling past first base could keep her from finishing the task at hand.

"She's just got that mentality where she's never going to quit," Scott City coach Kaitlin Zink said. "Her getting hurt, it worried me a little bit. ... But, man, once she gets back out there on that mound, she's all business. She goes out there, and she's ready to put them down."

The moment of truth came in the bottom of the fourth, after Scott City (15-5) had just scored twice to push its lead to 4-0. With one out and runners at first and second, Burger grounded to Advance third baseman Kendra Sokolowski, who stepped on third for a force out and threw across the diamond to first. Her throw sailed wide, pulling first baseman Sydney Bailey off the bag and into Burger's path. The two collided and Burger went down in a heap past first base.

"I tried to go around (Bailey), but when I did, she moved and knocked me down," Burger explained. "I landed and rolled over on my wrist and it popped backward."

Luckily for Burger, it wasn't her throwing hand that was hurt. After several minutes being tended to by the trainer, Burger was lifted for a courtesy runner and continued receiving treatment in the dugout.

After Lyndsie Robert flied out to end the inning, Burger trotted back to the pitching circle. Any lingering doubts of her ability to continue were answered when she struck out the side in the top of the fifth.

"It's tingling, it's throbbing, but it's districts," she said of her injury. "Painful or not, I was out there, and I was not coming off that mound."

Her effort seemed to inspire her teammates. Hailey Clayton smacked a two-out, three-run home run to the fence in center field in the bottom of the fifth to increase the Rams' lead to 7-0.

"I'm very proud of Becky for pushing through there, definitely," Clayton said. "I just thought to myself that I was not going to leave (runners) on the bases. There was no way."

Scott City shortstop Lyndsie Robert tags Advance base runner Denae Cato out at second base during the third inning of Wednesday’s game. (Adam Vogler)

Burger's battery mate, Macy Hall, wasn't worried.

"I'm used to her being that tough," Hall said. "We've been in that situation before, and she's pulled through. I knew she could do it."

The Rams opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first, utilizing their aggressive running game to the fullest. Clayton singled, stole second and went to third on Hall's flyout. Burger singled to right, scoring Clayton, took second on a wild pitch and was awarded third base on an interference call. From there, she scored on another wild pitch.

In the fourth, Bella Bowers and Shelby Rhymer had run-scoring singles to push Scott City's lead to 4-0.

Advance's lone threat came in the sixth, when Denae Cato and Madison Brown walked to open the inning. Hannah Clark lined a shot to center, where Rhymer was able to knock the ball down. Cato had to wait at second to make sure the ball wasn't caught, and she was thrown out trying to score on a terrific relay throw home from third baseman Michaela Kiefer.

Burger then struck out the next two batters to end the threat.

Scott City's defense also helped Burger on a couple other occasions. In the third, Cato reached on an infield error but was cut down trying to take second on a heads-up throw from right fielder Clayton, who was alertly backing up the play at first. In the seventh, Krystal James singled with one out but was picked off first base on a bullet throw from Hall behind the plate.

"We couldn't get going in some of the ways that we typically do," said Advance coach James Hamlin, whose squad finished the season 10-6. "They played outstanding defense behind (Burger). And when you run into a combination of great pitching and great defense, you're going to have to hold them. We made a lot of miscues in the field and did not hold them where we needed to. And we let things snowball on us a little bit."

Scott City advances to face the winner of Class 1 District 6 in a state sectional on Monday. District 6 play begins today at Oak Ridge after wet field conditions forced the tournament to be delayed. Leopold will face Meadow Heights in a semifinal at 3 p.m. and Woodland will face Oak Ridge at 4:30 p.m.

This is the first year MSHSAA has hosted state softball playoffs in the spring, and there is only one class for all participating schools. The Scott City softball team participated in the traditional fall playoffs before this season while Advance and all of the schools in District 6 are taking part the softball playoffs for the first time.

"It feels great," Clayton, who finished 2 for 2 with a home run and three RBIs, said about the school's first district title. "It feels like all our hard work has paid off. We've been dreaming about this moment for several months now."

"We really worked on this really hard," said Hall, who doubled and scored in the sixth inning. "We really wanted this. It's been our goal since the beginning. And we aren't done yet. We're going to keep going."

Advance 000 000 0 -- 0 3 3

Scott City 200 232 X -- 9 10 1

WP -- Becky Burger. LP -- Hannah Clark. HR -- Hailey Clayton (SC). 2B -- Clark (A), Macy Hall (SC). Multiple hits -- Advance -- Clark 2-3. Scott City -- Clayton 2-2, Burger 3-4, Bella Bowers 2-3. Records -- Advance 10-6, Scott City 15-5.