Hicks leads Bell City baseball past rival Oran for district repeat

ADVANCE, Mo. -- It turns out that maybe the worst thing Oran baseball could have done was beat Bell City a week and a half ago.

On Thursday the revenge-minded Cubs returned the favor, this time with a whole lot more at stake, getting a sparkling outing from pitcher Austin Hicks and dropping the rival Eagles 4-1 in the MSHSAA Class 1 District 2 championship at Westfield Park.

"Losing to them only helped us," Bell City junior catcher Bobby Wright said. "It helped to motivate us and made us fight through everyone else to get to them."

It was the second straight district title for Bell City (20-3), the defending Class 1 state champions, and the second straight year the Cubs earned it by victimizing Oran. It's the third consecutive postseason the two programs have clashed.

Oran's Layne Johnson singles against Bell City during the seventh inning of the Class 1 District 2 championship game Thursday, May 19, 2016 in Advance, Missouri.Fred Lynch

This season, Oran pulled the rug out from under Bell City, 5-3, in a regular-season matchup on May 9.

This time Bell City erased a 1-0 deficit thanks to a pair of Oran (14-9) errors in the bottom of the third and then let Hicks do the rest of the work.

"That kid [Hicks], he amazes me," Bell City coach Justin Simpher said. "It's just what I expect of him and that's just what he knows how to do. He goes out there and gives you a chance to win every time. ... [A situation like this] is where we want him, and he pitched a great game.

"We just played a better game. We limited our mistakes. They capitalized on our mistakes last time we played. We limited those today. ... After they got us, it didn't settle well with our guys and they worked toward that and was able to come back out and get another opportunity."

Hicks threw a complete game, allowing one unearned run on four hits with eight strikeouts and one walk on 92 pitches.

His walk didn't come until there were two outs in the top of the seventh inning. He gave Blake Overfield a free pass to begin an Eagle rally attempt, as Oran got back-to-back hits from Layne Johnson and Tanner McVay to load the bases and bring the go-ahead run to the plate. But Hicks ended the game in the most appropriate fashion, striking out Drew Mitchem looking.

Of Hicks' eight Ks, six were looking.

"Credit him, because he had a day," Oran coach Joe Bickings said, "but at the same time I told the kids before the game he likes to mix it up and we've got to make sure when we get our pitch we do something with it. If you take that pitch that's yours, you're limiting your chance ... He's a good enough pitcher that he'll keep you off balance and if you don't get yours when you can, he'll put you away like he did.

"The strikeouts looking, you can't stand and watch. You have to put it in play. Make them catch, throw and, most of the time, catch it again."

Bell City did just that to Oran and it paid off. Trailing 1-0 midway through the third, Nate Finney came to the plate with one on and one out before bouncing a grounder to third base that was booted. Peyton Maddox then singled to right to load the bases before Wright sent the ball toward third base, where it again caused problems, allowing a pair of Cubs to score for a 2-1 lead.

Tyler Evans smacked an RBI double to center field in the next at-bat as Bell City ended the inning up 3-1 and never looked back.

"The difference, in my mind, was after we came out and scored that first run to go ahead and they had the top of the order up," Bickings said. "I think if we get through that unscathed, obviously it gives us a much better chance. But they hit the ball and put it in play and we had some miscues. They took advantage of some opportunities. I told the kids before the game that this game was going to come down to who takes advantage of those opportunities, and unfortunately it just wasn't us."

Oran had taken a 1-0 lead in the top half of the inning on a Cub mistake, also at third base, where a fielding error allowed McVay to get on base to lead off the inning. A sacrifice bunt put him in scoring position and Austin Eftink brought him home with a deep single.

Bell City did what the Eagles couldn't -- extend and secure its lead -- in the bottom of the fifth. Wright opened the inning with a base hit, moved up on a sac bunt and scored on a two-out single to right by Jesse Smith to go up 4-1.

Bell City pitcher Austin Hicks and catcher Bobby Wright react to their 4-1 win over Oran in the Class 1 District 2 championship game Thursday, May 19, 2016 in Advance, Missouri.Fred Lynch

Wright was 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Smith was 2-for-3 with one run batted in.

Layne Johnson took the loss on the mound for Oran. The left-hander started promisingly, striking out four in the first two innings, but quickly exited the game after Evans' third-inning double. His final line was 2 1/3 innings pitched, giving up three runs (none earned) on five hits with four Ks and a walk.

Drew Reischman threw 3 2/3 innings in relief, allowing one run on four hits with one strikeout.

Clay Sauceda was 1-for-3 with a double for Oran.

"Especially this time of the year, one mistake can beat you," Bickings said. "They're the defending Class 1 state champions and they returned just about everybody, so we knew it was going to be a dogfight. With Hicks going out on the mound, I think he walked one kid and that was the last inning. He was up there throwing strikes, and I'd like to see how many 0-2, 1-2 counts he had, because he was ahead all day and he was able to mix pitches in."

Hicks was 0-2 or 1-2 against nine of the 26 batters he faced. Much of the time he didn't even need to throw three pitches, getting out of the inning on 15 pitches or less on four occasions.

"All his pitches were working," Wright said. "His sinker was working -- we throw a sinker inside and then a curveball outside; he had a big hook today. He threw the ball well today."

Because of it, Bell City's season continues, while Oran's will not.

"From where we started the season, you'd think we couldn't catch the ball," Bickings said. "... But we won something like 11 of our last 13 [games] and we played our best at the right time to get here. We just ran into a buzz saw and one of the best teams in the state."

Bell City will host Gideon in a Class 1 Sectional at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The Bulldogs defeated Risco, 2-1 in nine innings, in the District 1 final.

Oran 001 000 0 — 1 4 2

Bell City 003 010 x — 4 9 1

WP — Austin Hicks. LP — Layne Johnson. 2B — Clay Sauceda (O), Tyler Evans (BC). Multiple hits — Bell City: Austin Hicks 2-4, Bobby Wright 2-3, Jesse Smith 2-3.