Bulldogs steal one

SIKESTON -- In baseball, one hit is usually not enough to pull out a victory, but the Sikeston Bulldogs did just that on Tuesday afternoon as they collected just one hit, but somehow snuck out of VFW Stadium with a 4-3 win against Scott City.

As it turned out, Sikeston was solid in every other aspect of the game, particularly on the bases to rally from a three-run deficit.

After the game, Sikeston head coach Kevin Self had a look of relief.

"I think we stole that one," he said with a grin.

Scott City (2-2) seemed to be cruising with hard-throwing junior right-

hander Ryan Modglin silencing the Bulldog bats.

Sikeston (2-0) managed to chip away the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth on a run-scoring double by Seth Baker to bring in Josh Jackson. Baker's double was the Bulldogs' only hit of the game.

Control issues surfaced for Modglin in the bottom of the fifth inning as he walked two batters to start the inning.

Jerod Scott then laid down a nice sacrifice bunt, but Modglin couldn't get a handle on the ball, leaving everybody safe and the sacks full.

Modglin then nailed Jackson in the back to bring in Garrett Limbaugh, cutting the lead to 3-2. Modglin was able to retire the next two batters, but he unloaded a two-out wild pitch to the backstop.

Scott scored easily, but the catcher's throw back to Modglin was wild. Jackson, running hard the whole way, rounded third and also scored to give Sikeston an improbable 4-3 lead.

"You just battle and battle for all your worth and you hope that instincts or base running or something can pull you through," Self said. "They gave us an opportunity. Josh was running hard and he never let up when he saw the throw get away. That's just base running. That's all it is. The most neglected thing in high school baseball showed up and gave us a 'W' today."

Scott City coach Lance Amick added: "We went brain-dead for just a minute and we lost the lead. It's the little things in the game of baseball that will beat you."

Scott City held the early lead as Shae Simmons scored from third when the catcher threw the ball into left field while trying for a pickoff.

The Rams tacked on another run in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly by Blake Dirnberger.

The Rams made it 3-0 in the top of the fourth on a run-scoring single by Modglin.

"Losing to Sikeston 4-3 is not a bad deal, but we all know the outcome could've been different," Amick said. "We put the bats away when we got up 3-0. They brought the lefty in and he shut us down a little bit."

The lefty is senior hurler Joey Williams, who relieved starting pitcher Nick Lambert.

Williams threw 3 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing one hit while striking out five and walking three.

"Joey came in and shut the door," Self said. "He threw the ball really well. I was pleased with the way he threw. That's something positive that I saw today."

Lambert got the no-decision, throwing 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs off three hits with five walks and two strikeouts.

Modglin was saddled with the loss, throwing six innings and allowing four runs (two earned). He struck out 11, but he walked eight and hit a batter.

"We only had two hard hit balls all day -- Seth's double and a liner right at center," Self said. "We knew what was coming -- (Modglin) just reared back and threw the fastball. When you chase it above the belt, you're not going to hit it. If we can make the routine plays and we can just keep battling, our pitchers can throw strikes, we'll have a chance. Today we kind of squeezed one out."

Sikeston will play at Cape Central today in a SEMO Conference matchup at 4 p.m.

Sikeston's J.V. team lost to Scott City 6-3.

Sikeston's Dylan Tangen took the loss, throwing 1 1/3 innings. Josh Carlyle and Logan Kirkpatrick threw in relief.

Sikeston (1-1) was led by Jason Issacs and Jordan Williams with two hits apiece. Williams added an RBI.

Charlie Bohannon, Blair Bohannon and Steve Beydler each had one hit. Beydler also had an RBI.

Sikeston 4, Scott City 3

Scott City 101 100 0 -- 3 4 2

Sikeston 000 130 x -- 4 1 1

WP -- Joey Williams. LP -- Ryan Modglin. Doubles -- Sikeston: Seth Baker. Multiple hitters -- Scott City: Shae Simmons 2-2. Records -- Sikeston 2-0. Scott City 2-2.