Scott City softball team rides power hitting into postseason

Scott City senior Paige McNeely has the duty of courtesy runner for freshman sensation Kaileigh Dirden, who has an absurd .643 batting average and .713 on-base percentage this season.

One would think there would be plenty of work there, but for McNeely, there are limitations on the job.

"When she lets me. If she doesn't hit a home run," McNeely said softly with a smile, drawing an outburst of laughter from teammates listening in on the conversation Friday. "When she gets a base hit, yes, I actually get to run."

Since softball doesn't allow for courtesy trotters, the precocious Dirden has had to circle the bases on her own 16 times this season.

It's an act her teammates have joined in with regularity in a 20-2 season that has led the Rams to their third straight Class 1 sectional game, where they will host Malden at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

Scott City's Paige McNeely laughs with a coach on third base during a time out in the Class 1 District 4 championship game Wednesday, May 4, 2016 in Marble Hill, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

Scott City has been sending balls over the fence at the rate of 1.4 per game. The Rams more than doubled that pace in Wednesday's 7-6 win over Oran in the District 4 championship game, where Dirden, junior Jamie Glastetter, who bats third, and No. 9 hitter Bella Bowers, one of three seniors on the team, all deposited pitches over the outfield fence at Woodland High School.

Dirden's home run was her 16th of the season and broke the Missouri high school single-season record, which was set by Jessica Damico of Pacific in 2009.

"It kind of surprised me because I wasn't going into this season thinking I was going to break a record or anything, but the support from my team has helped me through the year," Dirden said. "I thought two or three home runs, tops, and they've pushed me so hard and given me so much confidence throughout the year. Besides me, everyone has gotten home runs pretty much."

There have been 15 other bombs to be exact.

In the win against Oran, Scott City leapfrogged Webb City into second place on the state's all-time single-season team total, with its 31 home runs ranking second only to the 42 clouted by Oakville in 2008.

Senior shortstop Valerie Bahr is second on the team with a career-high five home runs from her leadoff spot. She is one of six Rams to have homered this season in an offense that averages 9.1 runs per game.

Scott City's Valerie Bahr connects with the ball for a base hit in the fourth inning against Oran during the Class 1 District 4 championship game Wednesday, May 4, 2016 in Marble Hill, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

"We've got a really powerful bat right now," Bahr said. "Our lineup is stacked. We're really good."

Glastetter has four home runs, an increase over her sophomore year, which she says has come with no conscious thought of swinging for the fences.

"I think it's mostly we practice so hard on just focusing on just hitting the ball, like, a line drive, and hitting it hard, and working on the tees," Glastetter said. "So I'm not really surprised we have a powerful lineup."

Bowers, junior Tori Buckner and freshman Britney Parker all have two home runs apiece.

Not to say the power ends there. Don't forget about freshmen Rylee Venable, the No. 8 hitter with five doubles and a triple, and Courtney Enderle, who bats in the heart of the lineup.

"Between Courtney and Rylee, I bet they've had eight or nine of them off the fence," Scott City coach Lance Amick said. "There's quite a bit of power up and down the lineup."

But the offense is not all about power. The Rams have a healthy .376 team batting average and a .554 on-base percentage with four freshmen and one sophomore in the batting lineup.

"I think it's fair to say in the three years I've been [with the team], this is the most complete lineup we've had," Amick said. "Obviously, Kaileigh is a special hitter you don't see too often."

Amick said his team has a lot of girls that swing the bat with "authority and aggression" and only has to look at his own precautions at batting practice to make his point.

Scott City's Jamie Glastetter makes her way around the bases after hitting a home run in the sixth inning during the Class 1 District 4 championship game Wednesday, May 4, 2016 in Marble Hill, Missouri.Glenn Landberg

"Two years ago, when we were going through this, I used to pitch batting practice with no screen," Amick said. "I'd stand, whatever, 43 feet away, and I'd where a mitt, and there ain't no way I'd do that now. You know, sometimes you don't even feel safe with that screen sitting there. And that's a credit to our girls and the evolution of our program. There's not a lot of girls that hit the ball hard and make you feel uncomfortable."

Oran pitcher Mackenzie Graviett had a thankful-to-have-my-teeth encounter during the district title game with Enderle, who sent a head-high, line-drive single up the middle in the sixth inning Wednesday.

"I can't tell you how many times she's almost hit me," Amick said. "I think she did hit Coach [Mark] Danennmueller in the preseason. I think she's hit Coach Ray [Reinagel] once. She's one you're afraid to pitch her outside because, yeah, it does wind up coming back at you a lot of times."

Scott City, which has six freshmen and six sophomores on its 18-player roster, has outscored the competition 201-31 this spring and has invoked the mercy rule 10 times during their current 17-game winning streak.

The streak was in jeopardy Wednesday when the Rams fell behind Oran 3-0 in the first inning. The Rams were still trailing 3-0 when Bowers, at the bottom of the order, sparked a three-run third with a leadoff home run to center field.

"They hide me back there," Bowers said with a laugh. "I'm being honest, I had a really slow start."

She's since raised her average to .302 and has an OBP of .478. After Bowers, the lineup rolls over to Bahr, who also is batting .302 with a .554 OBP. The serious thunder then arrives with Dirden, who bats No. 2 in the order -- a high spot for a power bat -- with the hope of an extra at-bat in a game.

"We have two table-setter hitters in front of her," Amick said. "She's sitting in the three-hole spot a lot in the two hole after the first inning."

Dirden has reinforced the thinking with a team-leading 51 RBIs.

If a team opts to pitch around Dirden, Glastetter and Buckner -- batting .426 and .455, respectively -- are more than willing to take their hacks at foiling the strategy.

It's a lineup full of poison from which to choose.

Or as Bowers puts it, "Right after me, Val, Kaileigh, Jamie ... pretty much everybody. I could keep saying all the names. They all can hit the ball hard."

The offense was just enough in the district final, where the Rams surrendered a season-high six runs.

The combination of offense, Dirden on the mound -- she's 19-1 with 171 strikeouts in 107 innings with a 1.10 ERA -- and steady defense usually have made for easy wins. The Rams made one error in the first inning against Oran but were airtight otherwise.

"I can trust them whenever I need help," Dirden said. "Which definitely during that Oran game, I needed my defense, and they were there for me, no doubt."

The runs and power, like they usually do, ultimately came through.

However, McNeely is one who doesn't take anything for granted.

"We have a superstition that I have to go through every at-bat so that she gets a base hit," McNeely said about Dirden. "I have to have my gloves on to run for her, and them Velcro-ed, but not my helmet [on]. I can't act like I'm going to run."

It seems to be working.

"[Paige's] like an extension of a starter because Kaileigh is on base quite a bit," Amick said. "She runs every time, and she's a great base runner."

The road ahead

Scott City defeated Malden 11-6 in last year's sectional game on the road. The Rams' 18-7 campaign ended in the next round to eventual state champion Kennett in the state quarterfinals. Kennett also defeated the Rams in a state semifinal on the way to the title in 2014.

Kennett and Scott City, who have split a pair of games this season, could meet again in the quarterfinals, but the Rams must first deal with the Green Wave. Malden (18-5) rolled through District 3 with a 15-0 win over Charleston in the semifinals and a 9-0 victory over Bernie in the final.

"Early in the year, they beat Portageville, which not many teams in the state can say," Amick said about Malden's 3-2 victory. "They've competed with about anybody they've played."

Malden defeated Portageville and its record-setting ace Taylor Tiffany, who is responsible for Scott City's only other loss this season. However, Portageville avenged the loss to Malden with an 11-0 victory. Two of Malden's other losses came to Kennett, and the Green Wave also fell 4-2 to Oran.

"We know we've got our work cut out for us and will have to play well to win," Amick said, "but this time of the year, you've got to believe that going into any game.

"You're going to have to play well to win. That's what the playoffs are all about."