Sandites take second at Wooden Bat Tournament
/By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief
The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (19-7) made their way to the finals of the Sand Springs/Broken Arrow Wooden Bat Tournament with wins over Sapulpa and Muskogee, and drew first blood against Broken Arrow, but the Tigers (19-8) racked up a 6-1 lead by the bottom of the fourth and held on for the win.
Josh Cordell (2-2) picked up the loss on the mound, giving up six hits and two walks for six runs and two earned runs. Conner Dennis (1-0) and Brock Youngblood (3-0) each took turns on the mound for one inning each and didn't give up any hits or runs, but were unable to sway the tide of the game in the Sandites' favor.
Keaton Stamp pitched a no-hitter in the first inning for the Tigers. Brady Bean singled and survived four pickoff attempts before finally being caught stealing by Joey Montgomery to end the inning.
Malachi Walton scored on a Hunter Greathouse sacrifice in the top of the second, but Treyce and Trevor Tolbert both flied out to center field to end the inning with Tyler McCallie stranded on third after a double.
The bottom of the second is what did the Sandites in. Devon Johnson singled and the bases were loaded as Cordell walked Mack Chambers and Drew Lowe. Kade Goines reached third on an error by McCallie, allowing all three runners to score. Austin Hulet sacrificed to score Goines and the Tigers took a 4-1 lead.
Josh Taber reached on an error in the top of the third but was caught stealing. Bean scored for Broken Arrow in the bottom on a steal of home. The Tigers pitched a no hitter in the top of the fourth, then added to their lead on a Goines sacrifice that scored Chambers.
Neither team managed a hit in the fifth, through Broken Arrow did strand a walker. Finally, the Sandites began to rally in the top of the sixth with singles from Taber and Rhett Rutledge. Jake Ward was hit by pitch to load the bases and Montgomery scored two on a double. Treyce Tolbert batted in Ward on a fielder's choice that outed Montgomery at third, and McCallie was outed at first on a dropped third strike to end the inning 6-4.
Youngblood pitched a no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth, but Jon Gilton retaliated with a no-hitter in the top of the seventh to secure the victory and the tournament championship.
Sand Springs will return to action Monday at 6:00 pm at Union (11-9), whom they've already defeated once this season in a close 7-6 thriller at the Bixby Tournament.
