Lady Sandite Softball defeats Bixby 13-1 and will play District Championship Thursday

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Photo: Scott Emigh

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (20-5, 11-2) played a district double-header against the Bixby Lady Spartans (15-13, 10-4) Tuesday at home and split the games. After winning the first game 13-1, the Sandites couldn't bring in a run in the second game and lost 1-0. Fortunately, they only needed one win to stay alive in the race for a district title. 

The Sandites jumped on the Spartans quick and early as Oklahoma State commit Sydney Pennington drew a walk in the top of the first, reached third on a sacrifice from Jessica Collins, and scored after tagging up on a fly out by Elizabeth Luttrell. Soon after, Cameron Clemons singled to score Collins and Makenna Skaggs for the 3-0 advantage. Felicity Horn scored on a failed fielder's choice, and Sabrina Usher reached on an error to score Clemons and Kimi Presnell to cap off the inning 6-0 after being put out at second.

Sophomore Jacie Taber doubled in the top of the second inning to score Pennington, then came home with Skaggs on a single from Horn. She batted in another pair of runs in the top of the third, scoring Pennington and Usher on a single for the 11-0 lead.

Usher hit a double to start off the fifth inning and scored on a home run from Pennington, her ninth this season.

The Spartans hit their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, a double from Adrianna Forbus, to score Mia Gates. It would be their only run of the game, however, and the Sandites won it 13-1 after a five-inning run-rule.

Junior pitcher Madelyn Blair (8-2) picked up her sixth straight win on the mound with only one hit and two walks against four strikeouts and one run. She also hit two singles in the game.

The second leg of the double-header was an anomaly as the Sandites were shutout for only the third time this season, despite landing five base-hits and putting ten runners on base over the course of the game. 

In the first inning, Horn reached on an error and was joined by Pennington, who walked. Both were left stranded.

The Spartans scored their first and only run of the game in the top of the second with a home run from Meredith Iden. Bixby loaded the bases from there as Forbus was hit by the pitch, Brooklyn Lemon hit a single, and Kyndal Pirtle walked to load the bases. Sophomore pitcher Jacie Taber was able to save the inning, however, striking out Teri Pogue swinging. 

Presnell was stranded on a single in the bottom of the second. Sarah Tyree was stranded after a triple in the top of the third. Blair and Taber both singled in the bottom of the fourth, but Blair was caught in a double play and Taber was stranded. Horn reached on error once again in the bottom of the fifth, and Pennington walked in the sixth.

The Sandites threatened again in the bottom of the seventh. After Clemons grounded out and Jensen Arnold struck out looking, Usher drew a walk and Horn singled. Collins was next to the plate and also singled, but Usher was caught advancing on the play and the game was brought to an end.

Taber (8-3) pitched a career-best eleven strikeouts while giving up only four hits and two walks. She averages less than one run per game with five shutouts this season. This is her third double-digit strikeout game this season.

The Sandites' 11-2 district record is surpassed only by Yukon at 12-1. However, the Sandites and Millers will play the final district match for both teams Thursday at 4:00 p.m. at the Sandite Softball Complex. Sand Springs has already defeated Yukon once this season, 9-1 at the Miller's home turf. If the girls can pull off the repeat, they will match the Millers' record and win the district on head-to-head results. 

Bixby comes from behind for 8-3 victory over Sandite Baseball

/ Bixby High School/

Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief 

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (13-4) met with the Bixby Spartans (13-3) for the fourth time in a week and this time their rival got the win, splitting the series 2-2. During the Bixby Tournament pool play the Spartans won 4-1, but the Sandites spoiled things for the hosts with a 10-6 championship victory the next evening. Monday night the Spartans traveled to Sand Springs for a district game that the home team won 8-7, but when the Sandites traveled to Bixby Tuesday the Spartans exploded in the sixth inning for a come-from-behind 8-3 victory.

Junior University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry (4-1) got his first loss on the mound of the season, giving up seven hits, eight walks, and six earned runs with two unearned runs and eight strikeouts. Fellow junior University of Oklahoma-commit Cade Cavalli got the win for the Spartans. As their record indicates, both teams are very close in talent with the Spartans leading the series scoring 25 runs to 22.

Both teams landed a single hit in the first inning and both runners were put out in double plays. Sand Springs did the same in the top of the second, but Bixby got in a run as Cavalli walked and came in on a Matthew Henderson single to strike first blood.

The Sandites weren’t content to play from behind, however, and scored two in the top of the third. Tyler McCallie and Mack Thompson were walked and McCallie scored on a fielding error off a Treyce Tolbert single. Sandite of the Week Rhett Rutledge sacrificed a grounder to short to score Thompson for the 2-1 lead.

Bixby stranded two walks in the bottom of the third but got another go at bat after Cavalli struck out the side in order to top the fourth. This time they landed a single by Jeremy Goodwin and Cole Parker was hit by pitch. Pinch runner Levi Harper scored on an error by Joey Montgomery to tie things up, but Terry struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

McCallie led off with a double to left field for the top of the fifth and scored on a Thompson bunt and error by Goodwin at third. Bixby stranded two in the fifth, pitched a no hitter in the top of the sixth, and finally reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth.

Goodwin singled to right field and was replaced by courtesy runner Kyler Herron. Parker reached on error but was caught stealing second. Braden Hackler reached on a fielder’s choice that failed to put out Herron and instead scored him. Gavin Staton singled to score Hackler, Breydon Daniel walked, then Staton scored on a Tanner Griffin single. Cavalli hit another double to score Daniel and the Sandites sent Josh Cordell (0-1) to the mound. Nic Swanson singled to score Griffin and Cavalli but the next two batters were put out. By the time the frenzy was over the Sandites were in an 8-3 hole.

Griffin went to the mound for the Spartans and pitched a no-hitter to secure the win in the top of the seventh.

The Sandites will return to action Friday at 4:00pm in a home game against Highway 97 rival Sapulpa (1-9), whom they already defeated 7-2 in the second game of the season.

 

Sandite Baseball run-rules Life Prep Academy 8-0 in Bixby Tournament

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Hunter Greathouse pitched no hits in his second win of the season

Story by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School baseball team (13-3) rebounded from their Friday night loss to Bixby (11-1) with an 8-0 run-rule shutout over Life Prep Academy (1-5) Saturday morning.

Hunter Greathouse (2-0) got the win on the mound for the Sandites, pitching three innings with no hits and seven strikeouts. Jake Ward (4-0) pitched two innings in relief and struck out two while giving up three hits.

Greathouse had his hand in all three first inning outs, striking out two and catching a foul for the third.

Treyce Tolbert drew a walk for the first Sandite plate appearance, then stole his way to third before coming in on a passed ball. Ward was hit by pitch and found his way in for a run on another passed ball and curtesy runner Malachi Walton (running for Greathouse, who walked) scored on a Josh Taber single. 

Taber was put out at second, Tyler McCallie singled and stole second with Ty Fain at bat, and Fain singled to bring McCallie in. Cody Motes replaced Fain on base and promptly stole second on a passed ball and Jake Terry walked and both stole bases. Motes scored on a passed ball and Treyce Tolbert walked to load the bases. The runners would be left stranded, however, as Rutledge flew out to left field and the Sandites went to field with a 5-0 lead.

Noah Roberts flied out to left field to start the second. Ramon Hart was hit by pitch and stole second, but was stranded as Greathouse struck out two more batters.

Ward hit a close grounder to second and barely beat the ball to base for a single. Greathouse flied out to center to advance Ward. Walton made his first plate appearance of the season and grounded out to first. McCallie was hit by pitch and Fain singled to left field to score Ward. McCallie stole home on a passed ball and Terry walked but was stranded as Mack Thompson flied out and Life Prep came in to bat trailing 7-0.

Jaivin Burrows grounded out to Greathouse, AJ McDaniel struck out looking, but Beckford reached first on a dropped third strike. He would be left stranded, however, as Ricardo Seymour lined out to short. Motes and Rutledge both grounded out in the bottom of the third and Ward struck out in the first runless inning.

Ward relieved Greathouse on the mound to start the fourth. Myron Johnson grounded out to short, but Roberts singled for the first hit of the game for the Fire then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kohei Furukawa grounded out to advance Roberts, but the runner was stranded on third as Malich Barry flied out to short.

Greathouse walked to start the bottom but was caught stealing and Walton struck out. McCallie also walked but was stranded as Fain flied out to center.

In the fifth Tristen Shanelec singled to third and made his way around the bases with Burrows at bat, but was put out at home on a fielder’s choice. McDaniel and Beckford both struck out and the Sandites were back at bat. Terry hit a double to the left field fence and Thompson took a pitch to the head to advance to first. Both stole bases with Motes at bat and Motes singled to score Terry and win the game by run-rule.

The Sandites are now 3-1 in the tournament after dropping their first loss in seven games to host Bixby last night. They will next play either at 4:00 or 6:30 depending on the results of the Bixby vs. Union game at 1:30.

Spartans end Sandite win streak with 4-1 tournament victory

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Story by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It come down to the wire for the Charles Page High School baseball team (12-3) as they trailed 4-1 coming in to bat the top of the seventh. Jake Terry and Treyce Tolbert were put out at first. Rhett Rutledge drew a walk and Jake Ward stepped up to bat. The first pitch was a foul, then came two balls and another foul. The slugger grounded out to third on the next pitch and the Bixby Spartans (11-1) had successfully sabotaged the Sandites’ six-game win streak.

Joey Montgomery (0-2) got the loss on the mound for the Sandites, giving up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs.

Treyce Tolbert was first to bat for the Sandites and was outed on a center field fly. Rutledge hit a popup to first, but Ward finally got the Sandites on base with a walk. Sandite of the Week Hunter Greathouse smacked a long line drive to right field for a single, but both runners were stranded as Josh Taber tipped a grounder to first and was put out.

Gavin Staton singled to center for the Spartans and came in on a Trevor Tolbert error as Cade Cabbiness grounded past second for a single. Breydon Daniel had secured the single but got greedy on and went for two and was put out by Rutledge. Cade Cavalli reached first and Cabbiness scored on a Greathouse error, but Nic Swanson grounded out to third to end the inning with a 2-0 Spartan advantage.

Trevor Tolbert drew a walk to start the second. Montgomery hit a pop fly to foul territory, Tyler McCallie flew out to right field, and Tolbert was caught stealing second to bring Bixby in to bat. Cole Henderson lined out to Rutledge at short and Jeremy Goodwin and Cole Parker both flied out to Taber in right field.

Terry led off the third for the Sandites and failed to beat his bunt to first. Treyce Tolbert struck out and Rhett Rutledge flied out to short for another scoreless inning. Montgomery struck out the first batter swinging and Cabbiness grounded out to Rutledge. Daniel singled but was put out at second on a fielder’s choice.

Sand Springs finally started to put men on the bases in the bottom of the third as Ward was walked and Greathouse hit a deep single into center field. Ward was picked off at second, however, and Taber sacrificed to advance Greathouse to second. The pressure was on Trevor Tolbert and he didn’t disappoint, scoring Greathouse on a double. Montgomery was hit by pitch, but the two runners were stranded as McCallie hit a pop fly to right field.

Cavalli singled on a leadoff grounder and Swanson reached on a combination fielder’s choice and error.  Henderson singled with a full count as Greathouse outed Cavalli at third. Goodwin reached on a controversial error call to load the bases and Swanson reached home on a passed ball after Parker flied out to center. Staton flied out next and the Sandites came in trailing 3-1.

Treyce Tolbert and Ward were walked but Terry was outed on a pop foul fly and Greathouse lined out to right field to bring in the bottom of the fifth. Cabbiness walked and Daniel singled to right. Griffin sacrificed to score Cabiness and the Spartans took a 4-1 lead. Cavalli reached on a fielder’s choice and Henderson lined out to center to usher in the sixth.

Taber grounded out to second and Trevor Tolbert hit a pop foul fly. Montgomery doubled but McCallie flied out to center leaving the Sandites just one inning to try and tie things up. Goodwin flied out to McCallie in left field. Paker tripled on a centerfield line but was picked off leaving Staton at bat with a full count and he was promptly struck out. But the seventh was no kinder to the Sandites and the Spartans came away with their ninth-straight win.

The Sandites will next take on Life Prep Academy Saturday at 11:00. 

Sandites come from behind in extra innings to top Union 7-6 for 6th straight victory

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OU-commit Jake Terry is undefeated this season and got the save after pitching two innings against Union.

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It looked like the Charles Page High School baseball team (10-2) was about to end their win-streak as the Union Redskins (8-2) rode a 6-4 lead into the seventh, but Sandite-of-the-Week Hunter Greathouse smacked a single to right field to score Treyce Tolbert and kept the team's dreams alive. Josh Taber followed it up with a single of his own and Malachi Walton crossed home to force extra innings.

Josh Cordell (1-0) got the start on the mound for the Sandites, but University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry (4-0) got the win and the save after taking the mound in the seventh and striking out three over two innings with no runs.

The Sandites had a hard time getting on base to start the game as Treyce Tolbert, Rhett Rutledge, and Jake Ward grounded out in the first. Union's Landen Wood reached on an error and Braden Merrill and Devin Layton both singled to load the bases. Rutledge scooped up a groundball from Grady Davenport and pitched it to Tyler Tolbert at second to out Layton, then Tolbert sent it to Ward at first for a double play, but Wood made it home to draw first blood for the Redskins. Merrill scored next on a Greathouse fielding error as Ryan Farrell reached first, but the inning came to a close as Hector Carrillo lined out to Ty Fain in right field. 

Greathouse got the first hit of the game for the Sandites and survived three pick-off attempts but was ultimately stranded on second as Union came in to bat once more. 

Zach Ponio hit a home run over the left field fence to start the bottom of the second and Evan Jones hit a double into left field. Jones advanced to third on a passed ball, then was batted in by Cade Brown who in turn came in on a sacrifice by Merrill. The Sandites found themselves in a 5-0 hole and finally turned their bats on in the top of the third.

Fain was walked, Tyler McCallie singled on a hard grounder to left field, Fain survived four different pick-off attempts, and Treyce Tolbert hit a home run to left field to close the gap to 5-3. Rutledge, Ward, and Greathouse all flied out, but the boys were back in action. Cordell walked two in the bottom of the inning, but put out Jones on a popup and catcher Joey Montgomery caught Davenport stealing to hold the Redskins scoreless.

Trevor Tolbert singled in the top of the fourth and survived two pick-off attempts to come home on a throw. Fain hit a double but was left stranded as McCallie struck out. The Redskins stranded one in the bottom of the inning.

Both teams put two on base in the fifth and scored none. Montgomery singled in the sixth but courtesy runner Mack Thompson was caught stealing second to end the inning with McCallie at bat. The Redskins pushed their lead to 6-4 in the bottom of the sixth as Brown singled and stole his way around the bases before coming home on a passed ball. 

Sand Springs tied it up in the top of the seventh, however, as McCallie and Tolbert singled. McCallie was put out trying to take second, and Rutledge flew out, but that's when the magic happened. Ward hit a single and was replaced by Walton. Greathouse singled to score Treyce Tolbert, Taber singled to score Walton, and Terry relieved Cordell on the mound. Union flew out the first two batters of the seventh. Ponio singled with a hard grounder to left field and Bradyn Hall was walked, but Brown struck out looking and the Sandites were headed to extra innings for the first time this season.

In the eighth inning Montgomery singled and was replaced on base by Thompson who advanced to second on a Fain sacrifice and third on a McCallie single. Treyce Tolbert flied out to left field and McCallie was put out on second in a double-play, but not before Thompson made it home for the 7-6 lead. Terry gave up two singles to start and intentionally walked Davenport to load the bases, but struck out Layton and Farrell before Carrillo flew out to short and the save was secure. 

The Sandites will next take on the Bixby Spartans (8-1) Friday at 6:30.