Sand Springs Falls 7-4 to Westmoore in State Championship Finals

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Head Coach Matt Brown speaks to the team following a 7-4 finals loss to westmoore saturday evening at Chickashaw Bricktown Ballfield in Oklahoma City.

For four innings, things couldn’t have gone much better for the Sandites.

Starting pitcher Kayden Campbell (6-3) surrendered only one hit and no walks while fanning five. The Sandites held a 3-0 lead with five times as many hits as the Jaguars.

But a fifth inning spark against Campbell and a sixth-inning flurry off of reliever Wyatt Rutledge gave Westmoore the edge as the Jaguars claimed their first State Championship since 1994, 7-4, to deprive the Sandites of their first ever crown.

“That’s a really good team over there and they capitalized when they had chances and that’s kind of the way that baseball works,” said head coach Matt Brown.

It was going to be a Cinderella story for either team, as both finished third in their districts and had to go on the road for their Regional titles.

Westmoore (25-17) was making its fifth finals appearance after coming up short in 2015, 2017, and 2018. Sand Springs (29-12) was making its first finals appearance since 1978 and first State Tournament appearance since 2011.

Sand Springs struck first in the top of the second after a lead-off walk from Jackson Turney and a line drive single from Alex Dudley set up freshman Sutton Cook for a three-run blast over the left field wall.

Gatlin Gunn and Jace Arnold also singled in the inning but were left stranded. The Sandites put two on base in the third, but stranded Turney after Rutledge was doubled off at second on a line drive from Dudley.

Runs were in short supply for both teams and the Sandites held their 3-0 lead through the top of the fifth.

Then Westmoore loaded the bases with no outs on a single, an error, and a walk. Dudley turned a 6-4-2 double play, but not before Jacob Wehba scored from third. Oklahoma-commit Josiah Kemp added an RBI single to make it a one-score game before Campbell caught Tanner Fallwell looking to end the inning.

Rutledge took over on the mound in the sixth and surrendered three singles and a walk to tie the game with bases loaded and no outs. Gage Geiger tagged up on a pop fly for the lead and Deacon Frazee added an RBI single before Arnold took over on the mound.

“Wyatt’s been awesome for us all year,” said Brown. “If I could do it again, I’d go back and put him right in the game again.”

Frazee scored off another sacrifice fly to make it 7-3 before the inning ended on an offensive interference call against Kemp.

Sand Springs didn’t go down without a fight. Gunn hit a one-out single, took second on a passed ball, and scored on a double from Arnold. Then Rutledge singled on a pop fly to center field to bring the tying run to the plate.

But, it wasn’t meant to be. Jackson Turney flied out to Kemp in center field to end the game.

“This team’s full of fighters,” said Brown. “This team just competed their absolute tails off all year. I couldn’t be prouder of them.”

“These kids went out and won the games that were put in front of them, they’ve done everything they were asked to do, they played their absolute hearts out.”

It’s hard to beat a good team three times, a fact that Owasso learned the day before after falling 2-0 to Sand Springs, who it had swept 5-0 and 8-3 in the regular season.

This time it was the Sandites who had to learn that lesson against Westmoore, who it had beaten 6-1 and 24-13 just a month ago.

“It’s hard to beat a team three times in a year,” said Arnold. “We had them two-nothing, but they got us the last time.”

Arnold, together with Gunn, Campbell, Eli Buxton, Miller Tavaglione, Jackson Stewart, Connor Graham, Cole Pearson, Jesse Manuel, and Rutledge, make up a senior class that went 107-50 over four years, the Sandites’ winningest record since the Class of 2012 went 104-44.

“What a great testament to our kids,” said Brown. “Our seniors have set a standard of excellence that falls to the guys who are younger now to hold that standard of excellence. These guys that are walking out the door have won 89 games in three years…these guys have set a bar for the program.”

“I’m just proud of our kids. I’m proud of the way they that played today, I’m proud of the way that they represented our school and our town and they should be proud of themselves as well.”

Sandites Upset Owasso 2-0 for First State Finals Appearance Since 1978

Jace ARnold flings His glove in celebration as the Sandites defeat Owasso 2-0.

Two outs away from the Sandites’ first State Finals appearance since 1978, Easton Webb gave up a ground ball single to Reace Martinez. With the tying run now at the plate, the sophomore pitcher took a step back and called time.

“Just the nerves. Regardless of how you try to avoid them, they’re still always there,” said Webb. “They’ll get to you, but you’ve just got to be able to flush it out, go out there and play still.”

After a quick chat with his infielders, the Oklahoma State-commit stepped back up on the mound and finished up. A sacrifice hit moved the runner to second, but Miller Tavaglione caught Bodie Anderson’s pop fly in left field and the gloves went flying.

Final score 2-0. Charles Page High School (29-11) paid back a pair of regular season losses and took down the district champions from Owasso (35-7) in front of a large crowd at Norman North’s Tull Lake Field Friday afternoon.

“My last outing against them wasn’t good,” said Webb (7-1), who gave up five walks and two hits in a three-inning start against the Rams on April 15. That game ended in a 5-0 defeat, his only recorded loss of the season.

“I was trying to throw it by them, but I knew I couldn’t do that this game. They’re a bunch of good hitters, so I had to be able to mix up my pitches, throw everything for a strike, let them get themselves out. If I strike them out, I strike them out. But just throw everything for a strike.”

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EAston Webb and Matt Brown embrace after the sophomore pitcher’s win.

This time around he did indeed throw 68% strikes, only giving up one walk and three hits while striking out two. Not getting too deep in the counts allowed him to stay fresh, throwing just 88 pitches while going all seven innings.

Taking the loss for Owasso was Arkansas-commit Luke Williams (7-2), who struck out 10 but surrendered six walks and five hits.

Williams reached his max pitch count in the top of the seventh after walking Kayden Campbell and giving up a sacrifice bunt to Wyatt Rutledge. Jaiden Gustafson closed things out, getting Jackson Turney to pop out to left, while Tavaglione grounded out to short to leave Campbell stranded at third.

As much as Sand Springs was hoping for insurance runs, leaving eight runners stranded over the course of the game, the two they plated were enough as Owasso was shut out for only the second time this season and the first time in over two months.

“The kids played great,” said head coach Matt Brown. “We’ve been preaching all day just to stay in the moment. The kids are doing a great job of that. They played fantastic so I’m just proud of them.”

A raucous dugout appeared to get in Williams’s head early in the game as senior lefty gave up singles to Alex Dudley and Webb, then walked Gatlin Gunn and Jace Arnold for a free run.

The Rams nearly got a run back in the second after an error at short and a walk put the Sandites in a bind with no outs. Webb sent a ground ball to first and struck out the next two batters to strand the threat.

Owasso stranded a single runner in the third, fifth, and seventh innings but never made it past second base following the second inning.

Rutledge padded the Sandites’ lead in the fifth, reaching on a ground ball to center field. He took second on a passed ball and scored on a single to left from Tavaglione.

Rutledge, a Northern Oklahoma College at Enid-commit, reached base three times with one walk and a team-best two hits. He also came up big in Thursday’s quarterfinal, going 2-of-2 for two runs and an RBI against Edmond Santa Fe.

“I don’t know how long it’s been since we’ve gone to the finals,” said Rutledge. “We’re just going with the flow. We’re hot and we’re hoping to stay hot.”

Sand Springs has won eight games in a row, including shutouts, shootouts, and blowouts. Now they’re only 21 outs away from potentially bringing home the first gold ball in school history.

“The last two years we had a hard Regional and ended up losing both Regionals,” said Rutledge. “It feels really good to come out here and be in the finals.”

Sand Springs will take on Westmoore (24-17) Saturday at 5:00 p.m. at Chickasaw Bricktown Ball Park in Oklahoma City.

Sand Springs is making its first finals appearance since 1978 while the Jaguars are in the finals for the fourth time since winning their only title in 1994.

“We’ve got tough kids and they’re going to go toe-to-toe with anybody,” said Brown. “It doesn’t matter who shows up in the other dugout.”

Sand Springs previously defeated the Jaguars 6-1 and 24-13 last month.

Sandites Dominate Bishop Kelley and Bartlesville in Regional Playoffs

The Charles Page High School baseball team rode its aces to a pair of blowout wins in the first two games of the Regional playoffs Tuesday, while an upset loss for host Union has given the Sandites a strong chance to make their first State Tournament appearance since 2011.

The RedHawks (21-15) were stunned 2-1 by Bartlesville (13-21) in the first game of the tournament, though they battled back in the elimination match with a 4-2 win over Bishop Kelley (13-21) to keep their season alive.

Sand Springs (26-11) took care of business with a 13-1 win over the Comets behind the arm of Arizona State-committed senior Eli Buxton (5-3), who pitched a six-inning one-hitter with three walks and nine strikeouts.

Sutton Cook led a dominant offensive performance, going 2-of-4 with three runs and one RBI while Kayden Campbell, Alex Dudley, and Buxton also had two-hit performances.

The Sandites did most of their scoring in chunks, trailing 1-0 till a four-run fourth inning, a five-run fifth, and a four-run seventh.

Gatlin Gunn pitched one inning of relief with one strikeout and no runners allowed on base.

In game two the Sandites prevailed 8-1 against Bartlesville behind a two-hit, five-inning performance from sophomore Oklahoma State commit Easton Webb (6-1), who struck out eight with four walks. Webb also hit a solo homer in the fourth for his only at-bat of the day.

Gunn went 3-for-3 at the plate with one run and one RBI. Campbell was 2-of-4 with a run and two RBIs while Miller Tavaglione went 2-of-4 for two runs and an RBI.

Sand Springs scored a trio of runs in the third and added a run in both the fourth and sixth innings before pushing its lead to 8-0 in the seventh.

Wyatt Rutledge pitched the sixth inning and fanned all three batters, while Jace Arnold closed things out with three hits and one strikeout.

An RBI single from Jaxon Zaun prevented the shutout but Jackson Stewart turned a 1-4-2 double play to end the game.

Union will play an elimination rematch with Bartlesville at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, with the winner taking on the Sandites at 4:00 p.m. All games are played at the Union Baseball Complex at 7616 South Garnett, Broken Arrow.

Sandite Baseball Splits With Broken Arrow

The hunt for the 6A-3 district title is still wide open as the Charles Page High School baseball team (11-5, 4-2) split a district series with Broken Arrow (13-3, 5-1) last week.

“One of our goals every year is always to finish in the top two and host a Regional,” says head coach Matt Brown.

“We’ve put that opportunity right in front of us. When we go and play how we’re supposed to play, we’re going to end up in a good place at the end of the year.”

The Sandites have now split series with two of the top three teams in the district, making next week’s games against district-leading Jenks (12-6, 6-0) crucial. Sand Springs will play the Trojans at home on Monday and Tuesday on the road.

“Jenks hasn’t lost a district game yet so obviously they’re good,” says Brown.”And we’re pretty good too, so it should be some fun baseball games.”

On Monday the Sandites fell 7-1 to Broken Arrow despite an eight-strikeout effort from Eli Buxton (1-3). Rhen Rutledge scored the lone run on an RBI single from Schlehuber in the bottom of the first.

Schlehuber (3-0) got the win in Tuesday’s rematch with Easton Webb recording the save in a shootout.

“We’re really deep on the mound,” says Brown. “We’ve got a lot of experience on the mound and I think that’s our strength. We’re really pretty well rounded.”

The teams combined for 23 hits as the Sandites scored the most runs of any Broken Arrow opponent this season.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first, the Sandites took the lead once and for all in the second on a two-run single from Wyatt Rutledge. Elliott and Rhen Rutledge added one-run singles to go up 5-2.

The Tigers cut it to 5-4 in the third but Rhen Rutledge added his second scoring hit in the fourth to bring in Brody Rutledge, who tripled. Dom Ornelas’s fifth homer of the year put the visiting Sandites up 8-4.

“Dom is obviously our leader offensively for sure and Rhen and Brody have pretty great years so far. We’ve worked really really hard in the weight room all year long and it’s nice to see that translate out on the field.”

Broken Arrow scored two more in the fifth but Rhen Rutledge added an insurance run in the sixth on a single from Ornelas.

The Sandites had a Thursday game against Lincoln Christian rained out before winning a 6-4 non-district battle against Muskogee (4-10) on Friday.

The Sandites stormed out to a 6-0 lead before a sixth-inning Rougher rally flipped the script from blowout to nail-bitter.

“In Oklahoma, everyone’s good,” says Brown. “Every time you show up, there’s someone in the other dugout who’s capable of beating you.”

“Everybody in 6A has good kids…You lose focus for even a second and mess around - you’ll get beat.”

Four walks, a sacrifice hit from Schlehuber, and a two-run single from Wyatt Rutledge put the home team up 4-0 in the bottom of the first.

Jackson Turney added an RBI double in the second and Brody Rutledge scored on a sacrifice fly from Ornelas after a leadoff triple in the fourth.

Gage Elliott (4-0) got the start and win on the mound, fanning four with one hit in three innings.

Jace Arnold (1-1) entered the game in the fourth and struck out five before getting in a bind in the top of the sixth. After loading the bases with two walks and a single he struck out a sixth before Doc Estes blasted a bases-clearing triple to get Muskogee on the board.

Arnold ended with seven strikeouts to three hits and two walks in three innings. Webb recorded his second save of the week to close out the game.

“I really like where our program is at,” says Brown. “I feel like we can compete with anybody. I know for sure our kids aren’t scared of anybody. We’re at a place right now where our kids show up and expect to win and it doesn’t matter who’s in the other dugout. They expect to win every single time.”

Sand Springs will host Glenpool (7-11) Thursday at 5:00 p.m. before traveling to Edmond Deer Creek (10-8) on Saturday.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Baseball Goes 2-2 at Pensacola Tournament

The Charles Page High School baseball team (5-3) went 2-2 at the 29th annual Tate Aggie Classic in Pensacola, bookending two blowout wins with a pair of tough losses over spring break.

Sand Springs fell 11-4 to Christ Presbyterian (3-1) on Monday as they failed to keep up with the Lions’ nine hits.

Two walks on loaded bases and Brody Rutledge’s two-run single cut an early deficit to 6-4 after five innings but the Nashville private school piled on five more runs over the final two innings.

The Sandites’ bats came alive on Tuesday in a 13-3 rout of Gulf Breeze, FL (6-4) as the Sandites turned a close lead into a romp with a seven-run seventh inning.

Dolphin mistakes did most of the damage as Gulf Breeze surrendered seven hits and 16 walks to go with three errors.

Three consecutive walks and an RBI single from Brody Rutledge set up Rhen Rutledge for a grand slam, followed by a walk and a two-run blast from Jackson Turney in the seventh.

Gage Elliott (2-0) secured the win on the mound with four hits and three strikeouts in five innings.

The scoring melee continued on Wednesday in a 16-2, five-inning victory over Niceville, FL (3-8).

Jackson Arnold (1-0) tossed three hits and five strikeouts over four innings while the Sandites recorded 15 hits.

Sand Springs opened the game at full throttle, taking an 8-0 lead in the top of the first with doubles from Jabe Schlehuber, Kayden Campbell, and Brody Rutledge.

Eli Buxton blasted a three-run homer over the left field wall in the top of the fifth for the final runs of the game.

The success train was derailed Thursday though in a 7-1 loss to Pensacola Catholic (6-2).

The Crusaders jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the third and didn’t let the Sandites on the board until an RBI single from Arnold in the top of the seventh.

Brody Rutledge led the Sandites offensively, going 4-of-7 at the plate for seven runs and four RBIs over the course of the tournament. Turney was 3-of-11 for three runs and seven RBIs.

Sand Springs will play its final tournament of the season Thursday through Saturday at the Bartlesville Bruin Classic.

Wrestling

Sandite senior Ethan White recently announced his commitment to wrestle at Reinhardt University, an NAIA program in Waleska, Georgia. White went 30-19 in his senior campaign and was a State qualifier.

Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Jabe Schlehuber Pitches One-Hit Upset of Owasso

The defending 6A State Baseball Champion was toppled Tuesday, March 7th, as Jabe Schlehuber pitched a one-hit shutout against Owasso (4-3, 1-1).

The NOC Enid-signed senior tossed eight strikeouts in seven innings to deal the Rams their first loss of the season while also going 2-of-3 at the plate with a run and two RBIs.

Sand Springs (3-1, 1-1) won the game 8-0 after jumping out to an early 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to three walks, two errors, Schlehuber’s two-run double, and a two-run single from Brody Rutledge.

Alex Dudley and Jackson Turney added RBI singles in the third and fourth innings to pad the lead.

The victory paid back a 4-0 loss to start district action the night before.

The Sandites departed for their annual Spring Break tournament Saturday night and will compete at the Tate Aggie Classic in Pensacola.

Powerlifting

The Lady Sandite powerlifting team took fifth place at the OGPCA State Championship meet with two placers.

Jaden Jordan finished as runner-up at heavyweight, placing fourth in squat (370) and bench (160), while setting the OGPCA State Meet record in deadlift at 420 pounds.

Madison Thompson took fourth place at 220, finishing third in squat (325) and deadlift (330) and fifth in bench (150).

Golf

The Sand Springs varsity boys took second place in their season opener at the Muskogee Golf Invitational at Muskogee Golf Club behind a third-place performance from Zane Downey.

Downey shot 74, Cole Hight shot 78, Mason Ward scored 80, Cameron Villines scored 83, and Drew Paden scored 90.

Eastyn Eardley led the varsity girls with a 104 at their season opener in Sapulpa, Addison Endicott shot 114 and Kaylee Brenner scored 117.

Wrestling

Mitchell Smith was selected to represent the Large East at 150 pounds in the OCA All-State Duals. Smith went 108-35 in his career as a four-time State qualifier and two-time placer.