C1D2: Oran secures another shot at district gold

Oran's Brenden Campbell (20) rounds the bases during a win over Sikeston at VFW Stadium earlier this season.

Dennis Marshall ~ Standard-Democrat

BELL CITY, Mo. — For the 13th consecutive season, Oran will compete for a district championship.

A 6-2 victory over the Advance Hornets (4-15) in the MSHSAA Class 1, District 2 semifinal on Monday, May 13, furthered the Eagles' (16-9) streak of dominance rarely seen in high school sports.

“We played fairly well for not playing a game for 10 days and had some good at-bats,” said Oran coach Joe Bickings. “We battled off some rust and were able to walk away victorious which is what you have to do this time of year.”

Carson Kern ignited the offense in the bottom of the second inning, blasting a leadoff solo home run to give Oran a 1-0 advantage.

The momentum continued in the third inning when Kole Burger led off with a double, and Brenden Campbell promptly brought him home with another double, extending the lead to 2-0.

The Eagles capitalized on defensive miscues in the fourth inning, adding three more runs after Campbell and Rolen Heuring scored on errors, while Campbell also came home on a throw, stretching the advantage to 5-0.

Advance narrowed the lead to 5-2 in the top of the fifth inning after Drew Welch and Lelind Kennedy capitalized on an error.

“Advance was a tough matchup,” Bickings said. “They are well coached and a very young gritty team that we knew wouldn't go down easily.”

However, Oran quickly responded in the bottom of the inning, with Heuring's line drive single to center field bringing Kern home, pushing the score to 6-2.

Parker Bryant's complete-game gem anchored the victory. Bryant didn’t allow any earned runs on four hits with 12 strikeouts and two walked batters.

“[Bryant] was really good on the mound,” Bickings concluded. “He had all three pitches working today and that was probably his best outing of the year.”

Oran will face Bell City (13-7) in the title game on Wednesday, May 15 at 4:30 p.m.

ORAN 6, ADVANCE 2

W—Parker Bryant. L--Caleb Henson. 2B—Oran: Brenden Campbell, Kole Burger. HR—Oran: Carson Kern.