Bahr walkoff home run sends Scott City softball over Oran

Things were snowballing, and not in Scott City softball's favor. After a calamity of bad luck and mental mistakes, the Rams suddenly found themselves trailing Oran 2-1 going into the hosts' final three outs of the game. But Scott City coach Lance Amick didn't say anything to his team. He didn't have to.

Rather than put their heads down, the Rams responded in the bottom of the seventh, getting quality at-bats from the bottom of the order to set the table for Valerie Bahr to launch a walk-off three-run home run and send Scott City to a 4-2 win over Oran on Monday evening at Scott City High School.

"I think they knew. They knew where we were and where we could be and had a lot of mental toughness without being told so, and that's good," Amick said. "When they don't rely on you, it's a good thing. The kids are starting to have a mentality. Mental toughness is definitely a learned behavior and hopefully that's a sign we're getting some."

Going into the bottom of the sixth tied at 1 in an otherwise uneventful game, things started to get interesting in a hurry. That's when the heart of the Rams' order came up, with Kaileigh Dirden blooping a one-out single just behind first base before moving to second on a wild pitch. An error put two runners on, and a groundout put both in scoring position with two outs. A ground ball toward third sent pinch runner Paige McNeely scrambling toward home plate, but the umpire ruled she didn't beat the tag, much to the dismay of the Rams.

It looked like a missed opportunity -- one of many in a game in which Scott City (2-0) stranded five runners and failed to get runners in from scoring position in four different innings -- when Oran (0-1) broke the tie in the top of the seventh.

MacKenzie Graviett reached on a fielder's choice before Madison Graviett lifted a ball into right field. The setting sun was bright and there was a touch of breeze, but it was otherwise a routine play -- until the right and center fielders collided and the ball bounced to the fence, leaving two runners in scoring position. Leah Cauble then came to the plate, ultimately striking out, but not before a hesitant pickoff attempt at third saw MacKenzie Graviett race home to steal the go-ahead run and give the Eagles a 2-1 advantage.

The bottom of the seventh saw Skylar Rhymer lead off with a single to right field for Scott City, and Diamond Ham followed with a walk. That led to a pitching change, with Oran starter Tatum May giving way to MacKenzie Graviett in the pitching circle.

Scott City's Diamond Ham slides safely into third base as Oran shortstop Sydney Kern covers on the play during the third inning Monday, March 21, 2016 in Scott City.Fred Lynch

Graviett earned a strikeout before Bahr turned the order over and took the first pitch she saw over the right-field fence.

"I felt it. It just felt good," Bahr said. "I knew it was coming -- I knew she was going to throw me a good one.

"At that point [after Oran took the lead] I was thinking that if I don't stay up -- me being a senior on the team -- [my teammates] are going to be down, so I've got to stay up for them. Helping them helped me."

It was the second home run of the day for Scott City, which only had six hits in the game. Jamie Glastetter hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 1.

Tatum May (0-1) took the loss for Oran. She pitched six innings and gave up three runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks. MacKenzie Graviett gave up one run on one hit in 1/3 innings of relief.

"Softball's a vicious game -- it can rip your heart out. And it ripped our heart out," Oran coach Jim Eftink said.

"[For] the first game, they're about where they need to be. We made two bad pitches today and they hit two home runs, and that was the difference in the game. I'll take the way they played today and we can build on that. It was a good game."

The Eagles managed just four hits off Scott City pitcher Dirden, with Hannah Scherer going 1-for-3 with a run batted in.

"That pitcher out there today is a quality pitcher, and you're going to have to put together some quality at-bats to beat her," Eftink said. "We're going to see as the season goes on that our girls can hit, but whenever you've got a pitcher of that caliber out there it's tough to handle her. I have no qualms about what we did, it's just that pitcher, she was on today."

Dirden (2-0) went a complete seven innings in the pitcher's circle, giving up two runs -- one earned -- on four hits, with six strikeouts and one walk.

Scott City starter Kaileigh Dirden pitches to an Oran batter during the first inning Monday, March 21, 2016 in Scott City.Fred Lynch

"I don't think Kailiegh had her best stuff today but she battled," Amick said. "She spotted the ball, she moved it and worked all of her pitches. That's what a great pitcher does. You're not always going to have your best stuff but you're going to battle. I think we did a good job with that today."

Dirden was also 2-for-3 in the batter's box and had the game's first hit, rapping a double into right field with two outs in the bottom of the first. But she was thrown out trying to stretch the double into a triple.

The Rams piled on to that mistake when a fielding error to open the top of the second saw Oran's Jessie Long reach base. She moved up on a wild pitch before going to third on a sacrifice bunt by Sydney Kern. Hannah Scherer then brought Long home on a ground out to give the visiting Eagles a 1-0 edge.

May worked out of trouble in the bottom of the third, leaving a pair of Scott City runners in scoring position, but the Rams drew even in the fourth when Glastetter put a 2-1 pitch over the fence.

Both teams had chances to take a lead in the ensuing innings. Oran left runners on the corners in the fifth and then put a runner at second base with one out in the sixth before Dirden locked things down.

Ham singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt for Scott City in the bottom of the fifth but got no further.

And then there was the play at the plate in the bottom of the sixth.

In the end, the hosts were the ones who came through at the right moment.

"We put a good [seventh] inning together there," Amick said. "Sky comes in with a good at-bat when she hadn't really looked comfortable at the plate all day and she comes up with a good approach and a nice, smooth swing. Then you have Diamond, who could have wanted to be the hero there and expand the strike zone, and she had a great at-bat. She was unselfish and takes what they give you, which was a walk. Then Val, she was an all-state player last year for a reason. She likes that spot right there and she wasn't scared of the moment. You can't say enough about the resilience of the girls. They didn't have a frightened attitude.

"I think Oran is a great early-season test. ... We had a lot of situations today that were good early-season situations to be in, where you have some pressure, you've got some defensive assignments you've got to work out. Oran works the ball around, they bunt, they slap, they put a lot of balls in play. That's invaluable to see that early in the season and put yourself in those scenarios."

Scott City is back on the field today at Portageville.

Oran will try to bounce back hosting rival Advance on Thursday.

"I talked to them after the game and they're fired up and ready to go again," Eftink said.

"They didn't give up, they were patient and didn't panic or make critical errors. They played a steady game and whenever they had opportunities to score, we took advantage of it. ... [But] whenever you've got blasters like they've got -- they've got some guys that can jack it -- there were two of them hit today that were pretty salty."

Oran 010 000 1 -- 2 4 1

Scott City 000 100 3-- 4 6 3

WP--Kailiegh Dirden (2-0). LP--Tatum May (0-1). 2B--Madison Graviett (O), Dirden (SC). HR--Jamie Glastetter (SC), Valerie Bahr (SC). Multiple hits--Scott City: Dirden.