Kelly's Dustin LeGrand attempts to slide around the tag of Scott City second baseman Josh Henson in the sixth inning Tuesday. LeGrand was called out on the play. (David Jenkins/Standard Democrat) [Click to enlarge]

CHARLESTON -- Ryan Modglin and Levi Felter matched up Tuesday afternoon in a Class 2 District 2 semifinal game that ended in a 1-0 victory for the Scott City Rams.

Felter threw a near gem against Scott City, but his Kelly Hawk teammates couldn't muster up enough offense to defeat the flame-throwing Modglin.

In the 24 batters he faced in seven innings Modglin only allowed one hit and two walks while striking out nine.

"I thought that I threw decent today even though I didn't have everything working for me," said Modglin of his performance on the mound. "My teammates made some great defensive plays behind me, and we came through when we needed to with a big hit. It was a big win because in the regular season they played us hard. This was a game we just had to win in order to win a district title."

Felter reached base for the Hawks in the top of the first, and quickly stole second to put a runner in scoring position. Bryce Faulkner then hit a sharp ground ball down the line but the third baseman, Cody Page made a good play and threw out Faulkner by a step at first base.

Josh DeBrock recorded the lone hit in the top of the third inning for Kelly as he fought off a tough pitch for a single that dropped in down the right field line. DeBrock also stole second base but Dustin LeGrand went down swinging and Ryan Essner popped out to the third baseman to end the threat.

After the third inning the Hawks would only have one more runner reach base as Ross Lasater got on via a walk in the top of the fifth inning. DeBrock recorded the third out swinging on a Modglin fastball and Kelly never threatened again.

The Rams also left several runners stranded on the day, but in the bottom of the sixth inning Cody Carlyle roped a single into left field to reach base with one out. He advanced on a passed ball then Clayton Hall flew out to right field to put the second out in the book.

Freshman Austin Raines then came to the plate with an opportunity to give Scott City the lead and he quickly delivered, lacing a single into the gap in right center field to bring home Carlyle.

Scott City head coach Lance Amick said he knew that Raines had the potential to come through when the opportunity presented itself.

"Our freshman stepped up and got a big hit," said Amick. "I had confidence going in there that he could hit. Earlier in the game he made me second guess myself a bit, but he came through in the end. To start off the game he was kind ' of passive, and I told him, 'Son, you've got to be aggressive at the plate,' and he went up there and got a good swing on it. That was the key there at the end."

Felter suffered the loss, as he faced 25 batters through six innings, giving up one earned run on four hits and three walks. He struck out six in the contest.

Shae Simmons, Carlyle, Raines and Skylar Cobb each recorded one single apiece in the win for the Rams. Raines picked up the lone RBI.

In his first year as Kelly's head coach, Nate Wills said that he thought they had a good season despite a 9-12 finish.

"Really, I thought today might have been the championship game," said Wills after the loss. "We threw our best pitcher and they threw their best, so that shows me that they respected how well we've been playing as of late. They were willing to throw their best today instead of tomorrow. We played just about as good as you can.

"I told the kids that we played good defense and we pitched outstanding," he added. "We just didn't hit the ball. We got a couple of walks but we only got two runners in scoring position and we couldn't get anything. Ryan (Modglin) was a better pitcher today than the first time we saw him. He mixed it up a little bit better, but our kids toward the end of the year came on at the right time. We felt like we proved today what a good baseball team we can be. They were just one run better than we were."

Scott City now finds itself in the championship game, scheduled for today at 5 p.m. The Rams will take on Charleston.