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SCC baseball team falls behind early during 9-0 loss to Zalma
SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Scott County Central baseball team gave up four quick runs before they could swing a bat. And with Zalma's ace dealing, the Braves' chance of making a comeback dwindled as each inning passed.
Scott Central fell 9-0 to the visiting Bulldogs behind a combined shutout from Zalma pitchers Dallan Stotts and Logan Borders Wednesday at Scott County Central High School.
The Braves fell behind after the top of the first inning when Zalma came out swinging. The Bulldogs had four hits through their first five batters including a bases-clearing double by Ethan Barrett. And while Zalma greeted their hosts with an early barrage, the Braves didn't help themselves with early errors.
SCC's starter Jordan Crone did exactly what coach Matt Limbaugh wanted him to do by putting the ball over the plate. His defense, however, didn't come through.
"I thought Jordan pitched a very good game," Limbaugh said. "He did what he needed to do. He threw strikes and made our defense work and our defense didn't do a very good job in the beginning innings of really having his back.
Crone finished a complete game giving up seven earned runs on 12 hits and one walk. He did find a groove towards the middle innings striking out 12 and retiring seven of eight at one point.
"He just pounded the strike zone and made them put the ball in play," Limbaugh said about Crone. "That's all you can really ask for. He doesn't have overpowering stuff that's going to get you 10-15 strikeouts a game, but he's always going to keep you in the ball game. He's going to make guys put it in play but you've got to have guys backing him up. We did a better job at the end which hopefully gives us some confidence going into the next game, but, again, the first really put us in a hole."
After a scoreless second inning, Zalma added one more in the third and essentially put the game away in the fourth after a home run by Stotts.
Stotts hammered a 1-0 pitch to left field for a three-run dinger to put the Bulldogs up 8-0.
"That home run was a big momentum booster for them to really get them over," Limbaugh said. "That put us down a little bit."
Stotts, who finished the game 2 for 3 including a double, helped himself at the plate. Zalma's ace right-hander had no trouble protecting their lead baffling SCC hitters one by one.
Landon Glueck started the game with a leadoff double, but after that, Stotts retired the next 14 batters straight striking out 12.
"Any time Dallan pitches it gives us a chance to win," Zalma coach Bryant Fernetti said. "It gives us a lot of confidence too behind him. We got some runs early and that built a lot of confidence too."
Borders kept the shutout going for the Bulldogs. He finished the final 2 1/3 innings giving up one hit and striking out five for the Bulldogs, who improved to 3-6 on the year.
"Usually, if we can get off to a good start we either compete or win," Fernetti said. "That first inning is pretty big for us."
The Braves fell to 3-5 on the year with a young roster, who lost five starters from a 7-8 team a year ago.
"We just have to keep battling," Limbaugh said. "We're a young team with a lot of inexperience and all we can do is just play. Just getting out here to play hopefully makes us better in the long run."
SCC returns to action today when they host Meadow Heights at 4:30 p.m.
Zalma 401 301 0 -- 9 12 0
SCC 000 000 0 -- 0 2 2
WP -- Dallan Stotts. LP -- Jordan Crone. 2B -- Stotts (Z), Ethan Barrett (Z), Landon Glueck (SCC). HR -- Stotts (Z). Multiple hitters: Zalma -- Garret Robinson 3-4, Mayson Casey 2-3, Stotts 2-3, Barrett 2-4, Borders 2-4.