Taber and Pennington pitch like pros in double-header shutouts of Sapulpa

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

Click here for the photo gallery!

The fast-pitch softball edition of the Highway 97 Rivalry went to Charles Page High School (9-3, 4-0) Thursday evening at the Sandite Softball Complex. The Sandites won back-to-back games against the Sapulpa Chieftains (1-9, 0-4); both by shutout, one by run-rule.

Senior Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington (3-0) pitched a no-hitter in game one and sophomore Jacie Taber (4-1) struck out a career-best ten batters in game two and only gave up one hit.

The first game was a slow starter, but finished on a high note for the Sandites. Felicity Horn scored on an error in the bottom of the first, but the home team didn't find home plate again till the bottom of the fifth when Madelyn Blair singled to score Jessica Collins. Blair advanced to score on a throw. Freshman Sabrina Usher added a double, but was left stranded after stealing third. 

In the bottom of the sixth Sapulpa changed pitchers from Jessica Hobbs to Taylor Acree. Hobbs finished with four hits, two earned runs, and five walks over five innings. 

The pitching change did little to stem the Sandite tide as Cameron Clemons singled, Rachel Blair reached on a failed fielder's choice, and Horn was walked to load the bases. Collins grounded out to score Clemons, and Pennington doubled to score Blair and Horn. 

Acree finished with two hits, three earned runs, and one walk over one inning. Pennington had no hits, three strikeouts, and four walks over seven innings. 

Sapulpa put two on base in the first inning of game two. Pitcher Ally Zanca reached on a dropped third strike and Hobbs was walked, but the Sandites pulled out of it and piled on runs in the bottom of the inning.

Horn doubled, Collins singled, and both scored on a passed ball with Pennington at bat. Madelyn Blair was walked and Usher doubled. Kimi Presnell scored Blair on a single and Taber scored Usher and Presnell on a single for the 5-0 advantage.

Taber struck out two in the top of the second and one in the third. Horn was left stranded after a single in the second, and Sapulpa stranded two in the third. Kali Husman smacked a double for the lone Chieftain hit of the evening and Acree was hit by pitch.

Sand Springs added two more runs in the bottom of the third. Usher reached on error, Presnell reached on a fielder's choice that outed Madelyn Blair, and Taber singled to load the bases. Clemons hit a double to bring in Usher and Presnell, but was stranded.

Taber added two more strikeouts to her resume in the fourth inning and Pennington and Madelyn Blair both singled but were left on base. Taber struck out the side in order in the top of the fifth and Sandites came home to win it on run rule.

Taber doubled, Rachel Blair singled, and Makenna Skaggs scored Taber with a single. Collins reached on a failed fielder's choice that allowed Blair to score, and Skaggs scored after tagging up on a flyout by Madelyn Blair to end the game 10-0. 

Taber finished with ten strikeouts, one hit, and only one walk over five innings. Zanca pitched thirteen hits, one strikeout, and two walks over four and a half innings. 

The Lady Sandites return to action Friday at the Rogers State Festival in Claremore. They will play the Muskogee Roughers (3-1) at 7:00 p.m. and Pryor (7-3) at 8:30 p.m.

Sapulpa will take a break till the 27th when they will play Checotah (5-6) and Mustang (9-2) at the Stillwater OSU Festival.

Cheyenne Walden remains undefeated at 3200m run; girls place 6th at Conference, boys 10th

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity track team put up some impressive performances at the Frontier Valley Conference Track Meet at Union High School Thursday evening. The girls team placed 6th overall, coming in three points ahead of their Highway 97 rivals from Sapulpa. The boys team placed 10th. Jenks High School won the conference title in both sexes by a wide margin.

The girls placed 4th in the 4x800m relay with a time of 10:30.03. The boys placed 5th in the 4x100 relay in 46.66 and 6th in the 4x800 in 8:45.47.

GIRLS

  • Cheyenne Walden picked up her ninth and tenth wins of the season, placing 3rd in the 800m run with a season-best 2:19.27, 1st in the 1600m in 5:10.92, and 1st in the 3200m in 10:51.88.

  • Elizabeth Watts placed 7th in the High Jump, tying her career-best at 4'06.00" and placed 15th in the 300m hurdles in 56.89 seconds.

  • Stacy Logan placed 12th in the 200m dash with a season-best 28.36 and 13th in the 100m dash in 13.77.

  • Majasty Lapsley placed 17th in the 100m dash in 14.25 and 21st in the 200m in 30.64.

  • Tiakeya Palmer placed 19th in the 100m dash in 14.31 and 22nd in the 200m in 30.73.

BOYS

  • Colton Washington placed 8th in the Long Jump with a season-best 20'07.00".

  • Aiden Baughman placed 10th in the 1600m run in 4:51.39.

  • Jason Cooper placed 12th in the 110m hurdles in 18.40.

  • Payton Scott placed 12th in the 100m dash in 11.89.

  • Jacob Fortune placed 18th in the 100m dash in 12.07.

  • Dalton Morgan placed 24th in the 200m dash in 25.75.

  • Brayden Hardesty placed 25th in the 200m dash in 25.13.

The season will come to an end for many of the Sandites next Saturday at Claremore in the Regional competition which begins at 9:00 AM. The photo gallery from Thursday's event can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/20152016-Track-and-Field/42816-Frontier-Valley/

Sapulpa Lady Chieftains win Highway 97 Soccer Rivalry with 2-0 victory over Sand Springs

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By: Virgil Noah, Marketing Director
Photo: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School girls soccer team (9-5) entered their matchup with their Highway 97 rivals Sapulpa High School (6-8) looking to right the ship and get to double digit wins after losing back-to-back games for the first time all season. The Lady Sandites fell to Westmoore High School (7-7) on Senior Night by a heartbreaking 2-1 score in extra time. 

The first half saw lots of scoring opportunities from both teams.  

Megan Deshazo put a cross in from a corner kick and Oral Roberts University signee Brooklyn Eardley got a head on it, but Lady Chieftain keeper Cierra Kent was able to bat it away. A few minutes later Lady Chieftain midfielder Mackenzie Biggs took a shot that Lady Sandite keeper Abigail Banks got a hand on and then deflected off the top of the crossbar.

Biggs would get off another shot and Banks made a diving save. Sand Springs defender Emma Peak stepped in front of a shot by Morgan Medina and it ricocheted off of her back and out of striking range. Just before the half Eardley got off a shot at the inside of the post that Kent had to slide to save and the first half came to an end tied 0-0. 

Minutes into the second half Emma Peak took a shot from outside the box that was saved by a sliding Kent and Kyndal Zicker got off a rocket of a shot that Kent barely got to. Sapulpa got on the board midway through the second half as a shot on goal was deflected by Abigail Banks, but bounced straight to Sapulpa midfielder Addyson Hoey who tapped it in for the lead.

Kayla Foster, who has seen limited action since returning from a knee injury, subbed in after the Lady Chieftain goal and nearly scored the equalizer. Foster lined up a free kick from the edge of the box and struck the crossbar. The ball ricocheted directly back to her and she was able to get another shot off but it floated high and over the crossbar. 

Sapulpa put the game out of reach when Kelsey Gordon scored on a penalty kick that was just past Banks's fingertips.  

Sand Springs will play their regular-season finale Thursday night in Edmond against Deer Creek (10-3), while Sapulpa will travel to Moore to battle Westmoore.

Sandite of the Week: Jessica Schuler

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride would like to recognize Charles Page High School senior Jessica Schuler for her consistent outstanding performances at all three slow pitch softball games last week. Schuler is the second-highest scorer on the team with 25 runs and 34 RBI this season and is the leading home-run hitter with 13 this season. She has the highest slugging average at 1.644 and is the only Lady Sandite to hit a grand slam this season.

This past week has been particularly notable for Schuler, who is signed to play for Northeastern State University this fall. In a Tuesday evening game against 2A No.3 ranked Barnsdall (23-4) the No.14 Lady Sandites (10-5) scored a 13-8 upset win with Schuler (6-2) on the mound. 

The Lady Panthers led 4-3 in the bottom of the third when Schuler scored a go-ahead 2RBI homer. Barnsdall had tied it back up at 8-8 in the top of the fifth, but once more it was Schuler to the rescue with a grand slam to make it 12-8. Schuler pitched all seven innings and gave up 12 hits, 1 walk, and 8 earned runs with 1 strike out while throwing 43% strikes. 

On Thursday evening the Sandites had a close double-header rivalry match-up at Sapulpa. In the first game Schuler only got off a single on four at-bats, but she was instrumental in the second game.

Once more Schuler was on the mound, giving up just two earned runs and twelve hits over eight innings while throwing 73% strikes. Schuler got a base hit in the top of the second and courtesy runner Jensen Arnold scored the go-ahead on a Jacie Taber sacrifice. The Chieftains retook the lead in the bottom of the third, but in the top of the fourth Schuler hit a home run to tie it back up. Sapulpa battled back to a 6-6 tie by the top of the fifth and it held through extra innings till Sydney Pennington scored Kimi Presnell, then came home on a single by Schuler to ice the cake. 

The Sandites have just two game-days left in the regular season and will play next at Bixby (5-14) on Tuesday.

Lady Sandites sweep Sapulpa rivals in double-header victories

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

A new chapter of the Highway 97 Rivalry was written Thursday night at Chieftain Softball Stadium as the Charles Page High School slow pitch softball team (10-5) dealt their nemesis back-to-back losses. In the first battle, Sand Springs led for the entirety of the game. Sapulpa rallied from an 8-2 deficit thanks to a pair of home runs by Analys Gloden, who is signed to Rose State College. Ultimately Sand Springs held on for the 8-7 win behind pitcher and Mid-American Christian University-signee Stella Millican (4-3).

In game two it was Northeastern State University-signee Jessica Schuler (6-2) with the win on the mound, giving up just two earned runs and twelve hits over eight innings. The Lady Sandites committed more than half a dozen errors over the course of the game, many resulting in runs. Ally Skaggs got the loss for Sapulpa.

Sand Springs wasted no time in getting on base, landing two hits on two pitches as Southwestern Oklahoma State University-signee Kennedy "Goose" Salyers hit a leadoff single, followed by a first-pitch double from Kimi Presnell. Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington doubled to score both runners for the 2-0 advantage.

Sapulpa wasn't content to trail this time and promptly tied things up in the same inning. Taylor Acree, who pitched the loss in the first game, scored on a single by Kristen Moore. Next was Gloden who scored the equalizer on a single by Coffeyville Community College-signee Raini Deeringwater.

Jensen Arnold reclaimed the lead for Sand Springs in the top of the second on a Jacie Taber sacrifice, but the Chieftains took their first lead of the game as Feather Roberts and Adrianna Butler scored on an error by Salyers. 

The back-and-forth scoring continued as Schuler hit a home run and Rachel Blair singled in Jessica Collins to make it 5-4. In the bottom of the fourth, Jessica Hobbs hit a single and picked up two more bases to score Azelea Fogleman on an error at first. Acree batted in Hobbs and Sapulpa had the 6-5 edge.

Rachel Blair singled in Collins in the top of the fifth to tie things up, and the score would hold at 6-6 till the top of the eighth. With two outs and two strikes, Presnell resurrected the Sandite offense on a do-or-die double into the left field fence. Pennington followed it up with a double of her own for the go-ahead run, then was batted in on a single by Schuler.

Sand Springs gave up a single to Blakely Alden, but Skaggs, Adriana Banks, and Roberts were each put out by Pennington for the victory. 

The Sandites return to action next Tuesday on a road game at Bixby (5-14). Sapulpa plays Memorial (4-16) next Tuesday, then the Highway 97 foes will get a rematch in yet another double-header next Thursday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Lady Sandites prevail 8-7 over Sapulpa despite two late homers from Gloden

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

In classic Highway 97 Rivalry fashion, the Sand Springs vs Sapulpa slow pitch softball game wasn’t decided till the final pitch. No. 14 ranked Charles Page High School (9-5) visited their arch rival, the Sapulpa Lady Chieftains (5-12) for a double header Thursday evening and won the first game by a single run.

Mid-American Christian University-signee Stella Millican (4-3) earned herself a winning record on the mound, while Taylor Acree got the loss for Sapulpa.

The first inning was scoreless for both teams, but Jessica Collins scored the go-ahead run on a single from Millican in the top of the second. Rachel Blair batted in her sister, Madelyn, then Millican came home on a throw. Freshman Jacie Taber tripled to score the elder Blair, then Kennedy “Goose” Salyers singled to score Taber for the 5-0 advantage.

The Lady Sandites added to their lead as Jessica Collins and Sydney Pennington scored on an error in the top of the third to make it 7-0. The home team finally began to rally in the bottom of the third as Acree walked to load the bases and Rose State College-signee Analys Gloden singled in Feather Roberts and Jessica Hobbs.

Sand Springs increased the lead to 8-2 in the top of the fifth, but Sapulpa exploded for four more runs in as Acree doubled to score Roberts and Gloden smacked a homer to score Acree and Hobbs.

Acree gave up only one single over the next two innings and it came down to the bottom of the seventh. Down by two, things began to look hopeful as Gloden hit yet another homer, but Kali Husman and Kristen Moore were both put out and Sand Springs held on for the win.