Big hits elude Scott City baseball team in 6-4 loss to Bernie

The headline on this story has been changed to reflect the correct final score.

The Bernie Mules took advantage of their opportunities in the first three innings of Monday afternoon's contest against the Scott City Rams.

The Rams (3-4) did not.

That timely hitting proved to be the difference as Bernie opened their season with a 6-4 victory.

"Early on we had some really good at-bats," Bernie coach Darrin Shipman said. "Especially we had two big two-out hits, one in the first and one in the second. That's three runs and it gave us a little confidence so I was pretty pleased with how we started the game."

Bernie's B.J. Jennings, also the winning pitcher, smacked a two-out, two-run single up the middle in the top of the first inning to put the Mules on the board.

Scott City was poised to answer in the bottom half of the inning, but the Rams failed to convert.

The Rams loaded the bases when Layne Spies was plunked with a pitch after back-to-back, two-out singles by Braden Cox and Zach Carlyle.

Jennings coaxed Trent Pobst to ground back to him to end the inning.

The second inning was similar.

The Mules made it 3-0 when Austin Beck drove in Justin Stanfield on a two-out RBI single.

The Rams again failed to convert in the bottom half of the inning.

This time Scott City managed to put runners on second and third with two outs, but Jennings struck out Eric Urhahn to end the threat.

"I think we left seven guys on the first three innings," Scott City coach Jim May said. "We left the bases loaded in the first, two on in the second, and then two on in the third, and then we did it again in the sixth. That's what I've told them, we have to be able to come up with big hits in those spots."

Bernie chased Urhahn after three innings. The right-hander allowed four runs on five hits, walking two and striking out three.

Sophomore Jordan Kluesner relieved Urhahn and held Bernie scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings.

"I thought we took some poor at-bats," Shipman said about the middle innings. "I thought [Kluesner] did a good job of throwing strikes, but I thought we were swinging out of the strike zone a little bit which then got us behind and were defensive a little bit too much, but you have to give him credit."

Kluesner found himself in trouble in the sixth, but it was it was no fault of his own.

"We pitched fairly well," May said. "Eric [Urhahn] didn't have his best stuff, but Jordan [Kluesner] came in and did a pretty good job in relief. He's a sophomore. He had some experience last year -- he threw it just a little bit on varsity. He's going to be a big pitcher for us out of the 'pen and probably get some starts for us as well."

The Rams scored their first runs in the fifth to get back in the game.

Cox led off with a double, Carlyle struck out, and Spies was hit by a pitch to make it first and second with one down.

The Mules pulled Jennings and brought in Devin Trammell.

Trammell coaxed a ground ball back to himself to record the second out, but Tyler Rogers stroked a two-RBI single to center field a batter later to make it 4-2.

The Mules re-established a four-run lead in the sixth.

Back-to-back errors with one out set up an RBI single by Beck and an RBI groundout by Trammel for a 6-2 lead.

"I've always told the kids if they give you an extra out, you better take advantage of them because you don't get them too often," Shipman said. "So when you get them you have to take advantage of them, and I thought we did."

Scott City scored two runs of its own in the sixth.

Kluesner led off with a walk, Isiah Berry singled and Urhahn walked to load the bases with nobody out.

Shipman turned to his closer, Brad Freed, after the second walk. Cox welcomed Freed with a double to right-center field, plating Kluesner and Berry. The Rams had the tying runs at second and third with nobody out.

Freed struck out the next two batters before retiring the side on a comebacker to the mound.

"I told Brad what I was proud of was he kept his composure on the mound," Shipman said. "After giving up the double, he kept his composure and got a couple of strikeouts."

It was a painful sequence for the Rams.

"The last three games we've won because we've come up with those hits early and got ahead of people," May said. "We couldn't find them today. We hit the ball, but we hit some at them and things like that."

Freed made sure the Rams didn't have any ideas of a comeback in the final inning.

He struck out the first two batters before a grounder ended the game.

"The top of the seventh ended with them picking somebody off first and you could tell they were kind of up," Freed said. "I tried my best not to let them get their momentum."

Bernie 211 002 0 -- 6 7 1

Scott City 000 022 0 -- 4 8 4

WP -- B.J. Jennings. LP – Eric Urhahn. HR -- Josh Stevens (B). 2B -- Braden Cox 2 (SC). Multiple Hits: Bernie -- Austin Beck 3-4, Stevens 2-4. Scott City -- Isiah Berry 2-4, Cox 3-3. Records: Bernie 1-0, Scott City 3-4.