Scott City baseball team takes fun route back to final four after painful ending

Through success and through heartbreak, the Scott City baseball team has never let the process stop it from having fun.

That joyful camaraderie is a quintessential element of youth sports, and as children become adults it's also something that often gets lost in the preparation and focus required to succeed.

But that's not the case for the Rams.

They've hoisted themselves on the wings of that brotherhood, riding them to a second straight appearance in the Class 3 final four, which begins Wednesday at CarShield Field in O'Fallon, Missouri.

"When we're loose and having fun, that's when we play our best. We're just playing ball like we're little kids again," said Scott City senior catcher Ty Wilthong, who's batting .342 with 21 RBIs this season. "If you're just having fun, you play well. If you're uptight and scared about every little thing, you just won't make the plays or get the hits you need. ... Having fun is just an important part of life, and it shouldn't change for baseball or anything else."

Scott City coach Jim May watches the second inning against Notre Dame from the dugout Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at Notre Dame Regional High School.Glenn Landberg

The Rams are composed of five seniors, six juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen, most of whom have been playing together for as long as they can remember.

Scott City's Trent Pobst is congratulated by teammates in the dugout after his two-run homer in the sixth inning against Notre Dame Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at Notre Dame Regional High School.Glenn Landberg

Through both the ups and downs -- and there have been plenty -- that youthful mentality has never faded.

"It's just who they are," said Scott City coach Jim May, who's in his third year at the helm of the program. "They make me laugh so much -- it's unbelievable -- because of the silly things they do and say, but they're good kids.

"They play hard, and you never have to worry about that."

It's a mentality the Rams have always known to be true, even all the way through last year's state championship against Fatima, a game that still draws feelings of heartbreak and disappointment.

In the top of the eighth inning, Will Robertson sent a fastball over the 40-foot wall in right field to give Fatima a 3-2 lead it never relinquished. The Rams were able to get two runners aboard in the bottom of the frame, but a strikeout stranded both, signaling a painful end to their season.

"The feeling of heartbreak when you lose -- there's no worse feeling like that for an athlete," said Scott City's Jordan Kluesner, a senior pitcher/shortstop who's batting .308 on the year. "When you get to a state championship game and lose on a go-ahead home run in the top of the eighth, there's nothing that can describe the pain you feel in sports. It's just like ripping something out of you that you can't get back.

"I guess everyone just kind of thinks that if we win, it'll patch up that feeling. We really want to win it this year -- that's been our mindset all year."

Members of the Scott City baseball team greet Trent Pobst (7) at home plate after Pobst hit a solo home run against New Madrid County Central Monday, May 23, 2016, during a Class 3 sectional baseball game at Scott City High School in Scott City, Mo.Chris Pobst ~ Standard Democrat

In spite of that letdown, May believes his players have never forgotten their identity.

"We're a scrappy little bunch," May said. "We're not anything spectacular. People don't watch us and think, 'Oh, my.' We're going to battle and have a good time doing it, and that's just their attitude. It's the same way this year. They've carried forward. They're just a little more focused.

"Our celebrations have been a little subdued, like in districts and sectionals and stuff. They've got bigger fish to fry. They've got unfinished business."

The Rams feature a hot-hitting team with a combined .341 batting average. They bring a 22-7 record into this year's state semifinals, but perhaps more importantly, they're the only returning team from last year's Class 3 field.

May was concerned with how his players would react to playing in the championship setting last season but was pleased to see them respond with a 4-1 win over Warsaw in the semifinal round.

"I was really worried last year that they were going to be tight, and we weren't," May said. "We had a ball up there."

A member of Scott City's baseball team takes a picture of the Class 3, District 2 plaque with his cell phone Wednesday following the Class 3, District 2 championship game at VFW Memorial Stadium in Sikeston, Mo. Scott City won 9-4.Chris Pobst ~ Standard Democrat

Playing carefree has hardly been a problem for Scott City.

Most of the 17-man roster is involved with two or more sports. There's not a season during the school year in which they're not together competing in some form or fashion.

"They're something special, that's for sure," May said. "They're just different. Baseball, to a lot of people, is a game that's real rigid, and there's a certain way to do everything. They don't fit that mold at all. That doesn't make them not good. They just have their own way of doing things."

When it comes to that lighthearted nature, the Rams might not have a better representative than junior Caden Hillemann, a starting third baseman who's batting .250 with 15 RBIs.

He's most known to spectators as the kid in the dugout wearing a coonskin hat, one he purchased at a Bass Pro Shops during last year's trip to the final four.

"Caden Hillemann may do some of the dumbest things you've ever heard of, but he'll also jump in front of a bus to win a game -- I know that," May said. "It's fun to be a part of, and it's fun to be around."

As for his teammates and coaches, Hillemann's the champion of the belly-flopping contest, and May has the video evidence to prove it.

"We went last year and got beat in extra innings, and I'm sure they're going to remember that forever. But they're also going to remember the fun we had because we had a lot of fun," May said. "We did some silly things. ... We had a belly-flopping contest in the pool, just things like that. Those are the things you're going to remember. I know I'll remember them forever. The pain of the loss hurts, but now they remember the good times.

"They can't wait to get back up there because they know it's going to be fun, and they believe they're going to play well."

Just like most teams, there are plenty of traditions and superstitions that help keep the Rams in tune with their identity.

They make it a point to listen to the Beastie Boys, sit in the same seats on the bus and warm up with the same person before every game.

So what keeps them going?

"We drink a lot of energy drinks," Kluesner said. "I'm not kidding. You can ask any of us. We will literally go to a gas station and buy all kinds of Rip Its, Red Bulls. You get on our bus and go to our trash can, and it's like piled up with energy drinks."

"Some of us wear the same undershirts," Wilthong said. "If we hit one game without batting gloves, we'll keep hitting with no batting gloves. We're just a bunch of freaks that do a bunch of stuff that we think help us win, when really it's just our skills that help us win."

There's also the leather football helmet, of which no one can really identify the origin.

May said it came to be about three weeks ago and has since been ceremoniously donned by freshman Sam Jordan.

"He's required to wear it now because we're on a roll," May said. "... That just makes me happy. I know they're having fun, and whether people want to believe it or not, you've got to have fun at this time of the year or you're going to be worn out."

Such can be possible for a group that's led by a trio of three-sport athletes in senior Trent Pobst, junior Braden Cox and junior Dylan Keller.

Cox has a .411 batting average and 19 RBIs on a team-high 90 at-bats. The starting shortstop is also the team's ace on the mound with a 6-1 record and 1.27 ERA. Keller starts in right field and is batting .367 with a team-leading 24 RBIs, while Pobst is hitting .333 with 23 RBIs as a starter in left.

However, the bottom of the lineup -- which features Kluesner, Wilthong, Hillemann and sophomore Dakota Talley -- has been one of the biggest distinctions in this year's postseason run.

"During the beginning of the year, we kind of got off to a slow start, and nobody was really hitting the ball. But Coach May wanted to change a few things, tweak the lineup a little bit, switch up the hitters, and we finally found a good, solid lineup," Kluesner said. "It seems like we hit better when [Isiah] Berry's just playing center field and he lets Talley bat. Talley's come up big for us in the last couple of games -- big hits in our district game, big hits in our sectional game. It's just everybody's confident in their abilities."

Scott City has won 13 of its last 14 games, the only blemish a 6-4 loss against Class 5 Poplar Bluff, leaving little doubt regarding the team's current level of confidence.

"We're a very confident group," Berry said. "We don't really worry about things. We just go up there and hit the ball, field the ball, have fun -- just try to stay together."

The Class 3 semifinals begin with Scott City taking on Mountain Grove (23-5) at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, followed by the second semifinal between South Callaway (25-5) and Summit Christian Academy (25-2) at 7 p.m.

The championship game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, while the third-place game will take place at 10:30 a.m.

"We've been dreaming about this since we were kids knowing we were so close with one man on and nobody out in the bottom of the seventh and couldn't get it," Wilthong said. "It hurts, and that's what we've been thinking about all year, all summer long. ... We want to get back there and see if we can win it."