Sydney Pennington pitches no-hitter in 8-1 victory over Muldrow

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity softball team (24-6) finished pool play 4-0 Saturday at the Northeastern State University high school tournament in Tahlequah after topping Muldrow (14-16) 8-1 behind undefeated senior pitcher Sydney Pennington (5-0). The Oklahoma State commit pitched five strikeouts and seven walks with no hits and one run in the three inning game. 

SEE RELATED: Jacie Taber pitches no-hitter in 1-0 tournament win over Muskogee

SEE RELATED: Elizabeth Luttrell's three-run homer secures 4-0 shutout over Moore

SEE RELATED: Lady Sandite Softball hammers Jay 14-2 in three innings

The Lady Sandites jumped on the Bulldogs early in the top of the first as Felicity Horn drew a walk and Jessica Collins singled. Pennington hit a single and Horn scored on a passed ball to get the girls on the board. Madelyn Blair hit a single to score Collins, Pennington advanced home on a throw, and Sabrina Usher sacrificed to score Blair for the 4-0 lead. 

It took Pennington a few at-bats to find her rhythm, pitching for the first time in over two weeks, and she walked the first three batters to load the bases. Payton Watts grounded out score Ashlynn Flute, but it would be the lone run of the game. Pennington struck out the next batter swinging and the rest of the game went about the same.

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In the top of the second Elizabeth Luttrell singled, Horn reached on an error, Collins singled, and Jacie Taber reached on error to score Luttrell and Horn. Taber and Collins were left stranded, however,

Pennington struck out two, walked one on balls, and struck two with the pitch in the bottom of the second, but despite loading the bases, she pulled out the inning with a strikeout.

Freshman Sabrina Usher doubled in the top of the third and advanced to home on a throw. Kimi Presnell singled and scored on a single from Luttrell to make it 8-1, and Pennington struck out two batters in the bottom of the inning to win the game 8-1. 

Kyle Keener commits to University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Charles Page High School senior Kyle Keener is the third Sandite of his class to announce his college commitment. Keener will be playing for the NCAA Division Two University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos.

The 6'6" center has been a crucial component in the turnaround program at Sand Springs, averaging 11 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game last season. He held a 62% field goal percentage and 77% free throw percentage over the season and posted two double-doubles with a career-high 22 points against Tulsa NOAH. He led his team in scoring four different times.

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The Bronchos compete in the NCAA Division Two Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association conference. They finished last season with a 16-14 overall record, 11-11 in conference, and 10-5 at home. They went 1-1 in last season's MIAA post-season tournament, defeating the University of Central Missouri 94-74, but falling 67-61 to Fort Hays State. The Bronchos are lead by second-year head coach Tom Hankins who spent the prior 18 years at the Division One level. He was an assistant coach for 15 years at Oral Roberts University and 3 years at Southern Illinois Carbondale. 

Other Class of 2017 college commits include: Sydney Pennington (Oklahoma State softball) and Jake Terry (Oklahoma baseball).

Gloria Mutiri scores 22 kills in 3-2 loss to Victory Christian

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (10-5) gave the 4A No. 4 Victory Christian Conquerors (9-3) a run for their money Thursday night at Victory. The Conquerors likely thought the match would be a breeze after winning the first set 25-14, but Sand Springs surged to victory in the next two games.

The Lady Sandites managed a mere six kills in the first game. Gloria Mutiri got the girls on the board with an assist from MaKenzie Ward, but Victory held the lead at 3-1. Senior Lee Leslie picked up a point on a solo block, but Senior Andrea Redmond responded with a tipped ball for the kill. Mutiri scored one of her signature spikes, but Redmond got in another tipped ball and the Conquerors gained a point from a Mutiri error for the 8-3 advantage. 

The Lady Sandites briefly closed the gap to 16-13 thanks to a pair of Victory errors and a kill from Mutiri off MaKenzie Ward, but the Conquerors surged ahead with four straight rally wins and an ace from Redmond. Mutiri added one more kill before Victory won the next five rallies to end things 25-14.

In the second game the Conquerors started 2-0 once again with an error from Leslie and a blocked shot by Redmond, but the Sandites battled neck-and-neck and tied things up at 3-3 with a block from Makenna Cypert, and 4-4 as Mutiri blocked a spike from Redmond. Redmond committed an error to give the Sandites the lead and Cypert added an ace to push it to 6-4. 

Sand Springs held the lead for seventeen-straight rallies before committing three straight faults to tie it at 13-13. Redmond scored a pair of kills to make it 16-14, but another Cypert ace gave Sand Springs the upper hand at 18-17. The game tied twice more at 23-23 and 24-24 before Lee Leslie got the go-ahead kill and Mutiri added a block for the 26-24 win. 

In game three the two teams exchanged errors till Mutiri scored the first kill for the Sandites to make it 3-2. The teams traded the lead three more times before Victory finally started to build ground on the Sandites and push the advantage to 17-12. A timeout for the Sandites made for a scoring catalyst and the girls won four straight rallies to force the Conquerors to use a timeout of their own. 

Freshman Devree Youngblood scored a pair of back-to-back kills and Mutiri tied things up at 22-22. A consecutive touching call gave Sand Springs the lead, Madison Ward served up an ace, and Holly Kersgieter scored the winning kill off an assist from Madison Burris. The Sandites led the match 2-1.

The fourth game was decidedly Victory's from the get-go. Youngblood scored an early kill to make it 1-1, but Victory won the next eight straight rallies. Mutiri and Redmond exchanged kills, but Redmond managed to block a pair of Mutiri's spikes and the Conquerors furthered their lead to 14-3. 

Mutiri picked up a solo block and the Sandites added another point on a waffle. Kersgieter added a block and MaKenzie Ward scored an ace, then Mutiri tipped a kill into a campfire. Ultimately the early errors were insurmountable and the Sandites lost the set 25-13.

It came down to the final set. Sand Springs scored first on an error, but gave the point right back and allowed an ace. Redmond added three more kills for an 8-5 advantage, but Sand Springs won three straight rallies with kills from Kersgieter and Youngblood to tie it up. 

Victory used a timeout to break up the Sandite momentum and the girls were unable to score again for the duration, save for a service error by the Conquerors. Victory narrowly grabbed the 15-9 win for the match.

Mutiri led her team in scoring by a landslide with 22 kills, including five blocks. MaKenzie Ward registered fifteen assists as well as two aces. Redmond led the scoring for both teams with 23 total kills including three blocks and an ace. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Friday morning at 10:30 a.m. in round one of the Broken Arrow Tournament against Tulsa NOAH Home School. Immediately after that match they will play No. 3 Norman North (7-2) and at 3:00 p.m. they will take on Moore (1-8). 

Lady Sandite Softball wins six-straight shutouts, run-rules Muskogee 11-0

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Sydney Pennington is batting over .500 this season and scored three runs against Muskogee.

Charles Page High School junior Madelyn Blair (3-2) got it done on the mound Friday evening for the Lady Sandites (11-3, 4-0) pitching five strikeouts over four innings and only giving up two hits in an 11-0 run-rule shutout over the Muskogee Lady Roughers (3-3). Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington was the leading batter for the evening with three runs and three RBI, including a home run.

The Lady Sandites didn't waste any time in getting on base with a single from Jessica Collins. Pennington reached on an error and Sabrina Usher scored Collins with a single. Kimi Presnell singled in Pennington, but was left stranded with Usher.

Elexis Watson and Amber Purdin each drew walks over the next two innings but the Roughers failed to bring them home. Makenna Skaggs hit a single for the Sandites but was left stranded in the top of the second. 

Sand Springs blew the game wide open in the top of the third as Pennington hit a lead-off double to center field and scored on a double by Usher. Presnell reached on an error that allowed Usher to score. Jacie Taber singled and scored on a 2RBI single from Cameron Clemons. Skaggs and Collins both hit singles with Collins scoring Clemons, then Pennington rounded out the batting order for a 3RBI homer for the 10-0 advantage. Madelyn Blair hit a single but was left stranded.

Watson and Brookelyn Gilmore both singled in the bottom of the third but were left on base. 

Jensen Arnold made her season-debut behind the plate in the top of the fourth and doubled, then scored on a single from Rachel Blair to make it 11-0. Madelyn Blair retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning and the Sandites secured the victory via run-rule.

Jacie Taber has pitched double digit strikeouts in each of her last two games.

In the second game of the Rogers State Festival in Claremore, sophomore Jacie Taber (5-1) continued to prove herself as an outstanding pitcher and led her team to a 3-0 victory over Pryor (7-4).

Thursday evening Taber pitched ten strikeouts in a 10-0 shutout of Sapulpa. Friday evening she pitched ten strikeouts over Pryor with only two hits in the five inning game. University of Oklahoma-commit Olivia Rains also fared well on the mound for Pryor with six strikeouts and only one hit.

Pryor was the first to threaten as Hunter Gilstrap drew a walk and Rains reached on error in the bottom of the first. Taber struck out MKayla Hillman and Payton White to strand the two runners.

In the top of the second Presnell drew a walk, Taber reached on error, and both nabbed an extra base on a passed ball before being stranded. Pryor's Maeme Ward was walked and stranded in the bottom of the inning. Gilstrap and Olivia Cummings were both walked in the bottom of the third and Rains hit a single, but Taber struck out White and Kennedy Cramer to save the inning. 

Madelyn Blair reached on a dropped third strike in the top of the fourth and Halee Nichols reached on an error in the bottom of the inning. Both were stranded. 

Sand Springs finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth thanks to a series of errors from the Pryor defense. Rachel Blair reached on error, Skaggs walked, and Collins reached on an error that scored Blair. Pennington singled to score Skaggs and Madelyn Blair reached on an error to score Collins for the 3-0 advantage. 

The Tigers tried to rally with a single from Gilstrap, a walk from White, and a reach on error from Cummings, but Rains and Hillman were struck out and Cramer grounded out to first to end the inning and the game. 

The Lady Sandites will return to action Thursday at 5:00 p.m. at Jenks (4-7). 

Lady Sandite Volleyball goes undefeated in day one of Coweta Tournament

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

PHOTO GALLERY

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (6-3) won four straight matches Friday at the Coweta Tournament. Heritage Hall (1-9) fell 2-0 with sets of 25-20 and 25-19. Catoosa (1-4) fell 2-1 with sets of 25-19, 23-25, and 15-9. 

SEE RELATED: Sandite Volleyball tacks on two exciting wins at Coweta Tournament

The Sandites took on the home team in their third match of the day and defeated the Coweta Tigers 2-1 in an edge-of-your-seat thriller. The first game was hotly contested in the beginning, but the tide steadily turned in the Sandites' favor. 

Lee Leslie drew first blood with an assist from Madison Burris, then MaKenzie Ward set up kills for Leslie and Gloria Mutiri to make it 4-2. Coweta scored a pair of kills and profited from a Sandite error to take the lead back at 5-4, but Mutiri got in on four straight kills to put the Sandites on top once and for all. Sand Springs went on a run at the end of the game, winning six straight rallies for a 25-13 victory. 

The second game's outcome was nearly just as lopsided in Coweta's favor. The back-and-forth battle for the lead continued till Ward set up kills for Mutiri and Devree Youngblood to tie things up at 14-14. From there Coweta ran away with a long list of faults on the Sandites. Five straight errors and a handful of kills gave the Tigers the 25-16 win. 

In the final set the Sandites regained their footing and left Coweta behind after Mutiri nailed a pair of back-to-back kills for the 5-3 advantage. The Tigers grabbed one point on an error, but Mutiri and Holly Kersgieter added another pair of kills before giving up a point on a service error. Coweta handed up a fault of their own and Youngblood got back in on the action with a shot off Ward, then combined on a block with Kersgieter to double down 10-5. Leslie got back in the fray and Ward scored a solo shot. Youngblood and Leslie blocked a shot to make it 14-6 and the Sandites had plenty of wiggle room. Coweta won the next four rallies somewhat due to defensive indifference on the part of the Sandites, who already had the win in the bag, but ultimately Youngblood smacked a kill off Ward for the 15-10 win. 

Sand Springs breezed through their final match of the day in a 2-0 victory over Edison (2-6). 

Kersgieter scored back-to-back aces to start the match. Kylie Taylor scored a kill off a Mutiri assist, Youngblood took a solo shot, and an Eagle fault gave Sand Springs the 5-0 advantage. Edison picked up their first point on an error from Taylor, but the next seven rallies went to the Sandites. Sand Springs continued to pile on the points until Mutiri wrapped things up with an ace for the 25-6 win. 

In the second game it was Edison who started things off with an ace, but it didn't take the Sandites long to get back in the lead once and for all with an ace from Youngblood. Madison Ward got in the game and served up a pair of back-to-back aces and MaKenzie Ward scored three-straight aces soon-after. 

The Sandites gave up five errors from there before tightening back up. Youngblood made it 22-11 on an assist from MaKenzie Ward. Kersgieter served, dug the return and scored on the dig, then followed it up with an ace. She gave up one point with an error, but followed it up with a kill for the 25-12 win.

The Lady Sandites will return to action bright and early Saturday morning with a 10:00 a.m. match against East Central (5-6). The Cardinals went 1-3 on day one of the tournament with losses to Tahlequah, Claremore, and Catoosa, and a win over Edison. Immediately following that match the Sandites will take on Tahlequah (2-2). Tahlequah started their season Friday with wins over Edison and East Central, but lost to Claremore and Heritage Hall.

At 1:00 p.m. the Sandites will take on Claremore (5-3) in the final round of pool play. Claremore went 3-1 in day one of the tournament, defeating Edison, Tahlequah, and East Central, but lost to Coweta. 

All eight teams will compete in bracket competition. The Sandites have already earned their way into the gold bracket and if they can finish undefeated they'll play at 3:00 p.m. against the number four seed. The second and third-seeded teams will meet at 4:00 p.m. and the Championship match will be at 5:00 p.m.

Sandite Volleyball falls 3-2 to Bishop Kelley, Mutiri scores 29 kills

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity volleyball team (2-1) got off to a great start against the Bishop Kelley JV Red, winning two sets before the host team rallied for the win. 

Bishop Kelley is last year's 5A State Championship team, and boasts a record seventeen State Titles, including thirty consecutive Regional Championships. The last two years that Sand Springs played the Bishop Kelley JV, they were defeated 3-0. Last year the Sandites never scored more than 20 points in a set, and in 2014 they only managed to break 10 points in a single set against the annual powerhouse.

The Lady Sandite program is clearly in an impressive turnaround under Head Coach Janna Green's third year at the helm. The last two years they opened to back-to-back losses. This year they won their first two matches over teams they lost to last year and gave Bishop Kelley a run for their money.

The Lady Sandites won the first set in a back-and-forth thriller, 25-22. The game was tied seven different times and every time Sand Springs worked up a decent lead, the Comets would rally to tie things up. Kelley took an early 5-3 lead before junior standout Gloria Mutiri scored six kills in eight rallies for a 10-6 advantage. The Comets tied it back up at 11-11 but Sand Springs regained the lead and held it till the Comets scored a six-pack on Makenna Cypert to tie it at 19-19. Freshman Madison Burris was crucial in the final rallies, setting up Mutiri for a kill to make it 23-21, then assisting on a block on the next rally. 

Sand Springs got off to a great start in the second game, winning the first six rallies via Bishop Kelley errors, and capped it off with an ace from Mutiri for the 7-0 lead. The Sandites held the lead for the entire set, despite a five-straight streak from the Comets bringing it to a close 17-12, and ultimately won 25-16.

The Comets pulled a complete about-face in the third game, taking a 5-0 lead. Mutiri scored six kills in the set and sophomore Holly Kersgieter added three more, but the Comets prevailed 25-14. 

Game four was hotly contested and saw the two teams tied up eight separate times. Freshman Devree Youngblood started things off with an ace, Kersgieter and Mutiri combined on a block, and the Sandites led 4-2 before the Comets scored their first kill. Bishop Kelley scored again on free ball with no hands on deck from the Sandites to tie it at 4-4. The Lady Sandites picked up two more points on errors and Mutiri added an ace for the 7-4 advantage.

Sand Springs worked up a 17-12 advantage thanks to a pair of blocks from Mutiri and a kill from Kylie Taylor, but the Comets battled back to a close 17-16. Mutiri and MaKenzie Ward combined on a block to try and build some cushion, but Kelley won the next three rallies for the lead. Ultimately the Comets won 25-23.

Sand Springs never led in the final set and Bishop Kelley won 15-9.

Mutiri led in scoring for the match with a season-best 29 kills, including five solo blocks, four block assists, and two aces. Kersgieter added twelve kills with four block assists. MaKenzie Ward registered the most assists with fifteen, followed by Burris with five. 

Next up for the Sandites is a Tuesday evening Home match against Jenks (5-2) at 6:00 p.m.

SEE RELATED: Sand Springs vs Bishop Kelley Volleyball Photo Gallery