By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
LEXINGTON — Scott baseball coach Jeff Trame didn’t think it would end this way. His team had been playing so well over the last few weeks that a 15-4 loss to West Jessamine in the semifinals of the Rawlings/KHSAA state tournament on Friday stunned him.
“We didn’t make plays a team should make,” Trame said. “West Jessamine can hit the baseball, but I felt like we could play with them if we did not give them runs. And, unfortunately, we had five errors.”
Four of those errors came in the second inning when West Jessamine scored six unearned runs to take an 8-2 lead. The Colts got four runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth to extend the margin to 15-2. Scott managed to get two runs in the bottom of the fifth, but that wasn’t enough. The mercy rule was applied and the game ended because West Jessamine led by more than 10 runs after five innings.
West Jessamine (35-7) will play Highlands (35-6) in the state championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday. Scott ends the season with a 23-12 record.
“It’s unfortunate that we didn’t give them a better game, but I’m not taking anything away from our kids,” Trame said. “They were in a great position and (Friday) things just didn’t happen for them.”
Scott starting pitcher Zachary Mann was tagged with the loss. He gave up seven runs on five hits in the first two innings, but only two of the runs were earned. The winning pitcher was Tanner Graham, one of five seniors in the West Jessamine lineup.
Scott had three seniors, three juniors and three sophomores in its lineup and most of them were first-year starters when the season began. After getting off to a 9-8 start, it all came together and they won 14 of their last 18 games to make it to the state semifinals for the first time.
The Eagles’ leading hitter in Friday’s game was senior outfielder Noah Back, who went 3-for-3 and scored twice. Sophomore second baseman Jake Ohmer had two hits and two RBI. Junior shortstop Andrew Trame, the coach’s son, also had a pair of hits and scored twice.
“Having only two starters coming back (from last year) and to go to the state semifinals, it’s a dream come true,” coach Trame said. “Our guys over-achieved. (Friday’s loss) was unfortunate, but we need to put this behind us.”
WEST JESSAMINE 264 30 — 15 9 0
SCOTT 200 02 — 4 11 5
WP: Graham. LP: Mann. HITTING LEADERS: WJ — Greer 2-4; Peters 2 RBI; Mahon 3-3, 2B, 3B, 4 RBI; Merida 3B, 2 RBI; Layne 2B. S — Back 3-3; Trame 2-3; Ohmer 2-3, 2 RBI. RECORDS: Scott 23-12, West Jessamine 35-7.