Scott County minimizes loss to Dunklin

~ The local team didn't put a premium on the district game and suffered a 12-8 loss.

CHAFFEE, Mo. -- Scott County American Legion coach Tom Dirnberger didn't approach Tuesday's showdown with Dunklin County like a showdown.

Dirnberger gave first-year pitcher Alex Orr a chance to bond with his teammates while going up against the defending District 14 regular-season champion.

Scott County catcher Aaron Jenkins tagged out Dunklin County's Anthony Patton, who tried to score on a third-inning groundball to first base Tuesday night at Harmon Field in Chaffee, Mo. (Don Frazier)

Orr allowed 10 runs -- five earned -- in four-plus innings, as Dunklin County held on for a 12-8 victory.

The loss was the first in district play for Scott County (7-4, 1-1), while Dunklin County (7-5, 2-1) has just one district game remaining against Sikeston to determine its tournament seed.

"We're just getting started with Alex," Dirnberger said. "This is his first year, and he's getting acclimated with the team.

"We're going to Mountain Home this weekend, and we want our 1-2-3 pitchers ready for that. We're not going to drive five hours to use our fourth and fifth pitchers. The district is important but it boils down to the tournament, not the league. We don't want everyone to see our best pitchers."

Scott County hadn't faced Dunklin County since last year when Post 369, playing as the No. 6 seed, eliminated the top seed and host from last year's district tournament, proving the regular season didn't mean much.

Dunklin County took it out on Orr in the fourth inning Wednesday, scoring seven runs to claim an 8-1 lead. Two runs came in on a dropped pop-up with two outs, and two more came in after that on a double.

Dunklin County added three more runs in the fifth, including two runs charged to Orr after he was chased from the game.

Scott County reliever Rusty Hendricks limited Dunklin County to one run over the final four innings, while Post 369 chipped into the lead.

Jon Simpher delivered a two-out, two-run single in the sixth that made the score 11-3. Shane Menz had a two-run single in the seventh that made the score 11-5 and chased Dunklin County starter Anthony Patton.

And Trenton Moses, who finished 3-for-4 to lead Scott County, had a two-run opposite-field double on a two-strike pitch in the eighth.

"He gets 0-2 and he's still tough to deal with," Dirnberger said.

After Dunklin County scored one in the ninth, Scott County put runners on first and second with one out in the ninth but was unable to get the tying run to the plate.

Simpher, Blake Dirnberger and Aaron Jenkins each had two hits.

"We've got the bats," Dirnberger said. "We showed that with our comeback."

Scott County will have even more bats when Jordan Felter and Blaine Stewart return and some of the Notre Dame players who recently returned from a trip get into the flow.

That, despite the loss of Air Force-bound Caleb Daughhetee, should keep Scott County in the district mix.

"I think they're all going to be pretty close games," Dirnberger said.