Sand Springs weekly roundup: Eli Buxton pitches perfect game in 20-0 shutout of US Grant

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Left to right: Abbie Dunn, Daffaney Snyder, Caitlin Shipman. Courtesy of Dana Peacock.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Charles Page High School baseball team (26-5, 9-3) started last week with a pair of run-rule district shutouts, 18-0 and 20-0, at U.S. Grant (1-14, 0-7) before taking on Oologah-Talala, Bixby, and Tahlequah in non-district play.

Jabe Schlehuber (5-1) threw a five-inning one-hitter with seven strikeouts in the first game and Keaton Campbell went 4-for-4 at the plate with two runs and five RBI to lead a slugging crew that amassed 15 hits.

Eli Buxton (2-0) pitched a perfect game in the nightcap, tossing 11 strikeouts as the visitors recorded 14 hits. 

Keaton Campbell continued his dominant night at the plate, going 2-of-3 with three runs, three RBI, and a triple. Ty Pennington was 2-of-2 with three runs, three RBI, and a home run, and Jace Arnold was 2-of-2 with two runs, three RBI, and a triple. 

On Thursday the Sandites traveled to Oologah (15-9) and won 11-4 while out-hitting the Mustangs 12 to six. 

Kayden Campbell (3-0) tossed eight strikeouts with five hits and two walks in five innings, while Gage Elliott threw one hit, one strikeout, and one HBP in two innings of relief. 

Keaton Cambpell led at the plate, going 3-of-5, while Schlehuber scored one run and three RBI.

The Sandites’ six-game win streak came to an end on Senior Night in a 17-7 run-rule loss to Bixby (27-5).

The Spartans scored five runs in the first, second, and third innings and out-hit the Sandites 17 to eight with nine home runs.

John Keim (4-1) took his first loss of the season, tossing two hits, five walks, and three strikeouts in two-thirds of an inning. Elliott threw 10 hits, one strikeout, and one walk in two innings, and Wyatt Rutledge threw five hits and one walk in 2.1 innings.

The Sandites also had strong offensive performances in the second and fourth innings, but couldn’t stymie the Spartan bats that combined for nine homers.

Pennington went 2-of-3 with two runs, three RBI, and a home run, and Keaton Campbell hit a solo homer.

Prior to the game the Sandites celebrated seniors Carson Seabolt, Jacob Shields, Cale Askew, Keaton Campbell, Jason Clark, Brooks Dudley, Nathan Gibson, Gabe Glenn, Keim, Ethan Norton, Pennington, and manager Avery Tanner.

Sand Springs wrapped up the busy week with a high-noon showdown at Tahlequah (9-19) and won 16-3 in five innings.

Arnold (6-0) got the win on the mound, tossing three hits, six strikeouts, and no walks in four innings. Buxton threw two strikeouts and one walk, surrendering one hit in an inning of relief.

Glenn and Dom Ornelas both hit home runs and the team amassed 11 hits overall.

Sand Springs will wrap up the regular season with a district home-and-away series against Putnam City North Monday and Tuesday, followed by home games against Sapulpa Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and Westmoore Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Softball

The No. 15 Sand Springs slow pitch team (7-12) picked up an 11-8 upset win against No. 8 Union (15-16) Tuesday but fell 8-0 to Bixby in the evening game and 16-7 to No. 5 Jenks (23-8) in Thursday’s regular season finale.

The Sandites will travel to Jenks for a three-team Regional tournament on Wednesday, April 27th, with a first-round game against No. 14 Guthrie (12-8) at 10:00 a.m. 

Sand Springs has yet to play the Bluejays this season, but they’re 1-2 against Jenks, upsetting the Trojans 7-5 at the Haskell tournament in March.

Golf

Gina Foster shot a 103 and Madison Chambers shot 116 at the Frontier Valley Conference Championship in Bartlesville on Wednesday. Chambers scored 108 and Foster scored 110 at the Skiatook tournament on Thursday.

The boys’ Skiatook tournament was rescheduled for Wednesday, April 27th.

Track and Field

The Sand Springs varsity girls placed ninth and the boys took 13th at the Terry Due Track Classic in Collinsville on Friday. The freshman girls and boys both placed eighth and Sandites won four total events.

Layne Kirkendoll won the high jump with a mark of 5 ft. 6 in. and the long jump with a distance of 17 ft. 0.75 in. Jestin Rawlins won the discus throw with a mark of 162 ft. 9 in.

Jazmin Lopez placed fifth in the 800-meter run in 2:32.42.

In freshman action, Gracie Gifford placed third in the 1600 in 6:37.39 and won the 3200 uncontested in 14:37.93. Briona Searcy was second in long jump at 14 ft. 9 in.

Caleb Goodman ran the 110 hurdles in 17.51 seconds for fourth place, Preston Kennedy ran the 100 in 11.8 for fifth, Jacob York ran the 400 in 1:00.56 for sixth. Kennedy also placed third in the high jump at 5 ft. 4 in. and was sixth in the long jump at 17 ft. 8.5 in.

The freshman boys placed third in the 4x100 relay in 48.01 and fourth in the 4x200 in 1:43.68.

Tennis

Kira Shipley placed seventh in No. 1 Singles, Abbie Dunn placed sixth in No. 2 Singles, and Caitlin Shipman and Daffaney Snyder placed seventh in No. 1 Doubles at the Broken Arrow tournament on Friday, April 15th.

On Monday, April 18th the girls won the consolation bracket at the Bartlesville tournament with Dunn defeating Muskogee and Ponca City in No. 1 Singles, while Shipman and Snyder defeated Edison and Ponca City in No. 1 Doubles. 

Sandite Baseball celebrates Teacher Night, beat Midwest City, Bishop Kelley, Broken Arrow

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The student-athletes of the Sand Springs baseball team put an emphasis on the “student” part of their title by acknowledging the teachers in their lives Friday night at the Sandite Baseball Complex.

Each senior member of the Charles Page High School squad selected their all-time favorite teacher to come throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to a 10-2 run-rule win over Midwest City.

Keaton Campbell selected CPHS English teacher Heather Miller as his all-time favorite. 

“Keaton was such a great kid in class,” said Miller, who taught the shortstop during his sophomore year. 

“He was always energetic and enthusiastic about learning. It just felt really nice that he thought I impacted his whole educational experience.”

Sixth Grade Center principal Angelia Noel was honored to be chosen by third-baseman Gabe Glenn, who she taught in fourth grade before moving into administration. 

“I hope I’ve made a pretty positive impact on him,” said Noel. “He’s a great kid and he’s going to do great things.”

“These seniors are amazing and we are so proud of them, and we are excited to see what they do in the future.”

Center-fielder Jacob Shields selected his seventh-grade math teacher Rebecca Davis as his all-time favorite teacher. 

“She was really nice and I always came and talked to her even when I didn’t have her class,” said Shields.

Other teachers recognized by the Sandites included Atticus Dellinger, Lorrie Bailey, Kendra Roulet, Katie Dickerson, Laurie Starling, Starr Corbin, Ben Riggs, and Jerie Carter.

After the ceremony, the Sandites (15-3) gave up two unearned runs to the Bombers (5-8) in the top of the first inning before settling down and dominating the rest of the game.

Brody Rutledge, Dom Ornelas, and Keaton Campbell all hit home runs in the game, and Brooks Dudley pinch-hit a two-run double to end the game in the bottom of the sixth inning.

John Keim (2-0) got the win on the mound with six strikeouts, three hits, no walks, and no earned runs in four innings. Gage Elliott tossed two innings of relief and only surrendered one hit with no runs or walks.

On Saturday the Sandites won 6-3 against Bishop Kelley (11-5) behind a three-hit performance from Ty Pennington. The senior left-fielder went 3-of-4 at the plate with three doubles and three RBIs.

Jace Arnold (4-0) got the win on the mound with six hits, two strikeouts, and four walks in 4.2 innings. Kayden Campbell (2-0) threw two hits and three strikeouts in 1.1 innings, and Eli Buxton got the save with one hit, two walks, and two strikeouts in the seventh.

The Sandites also picked up a pair of huge district wins against Broken Arrow (11-7, 4-2) on Monday and Tuesday to improve to 4-2 in district action.

Monday’s road battle went 11 innings, with Jabe Schlehuber (3-0) tossing seven hits, four strikeouts, and three walks in 6.1 innings before Buxton took over. The closer got his first win of the season with two hits, five strikeouts, and four walks in 4.2 innings.

Broken Arrow took a 2-0 lead in the first inning but Pennington tied it up on an RBI single from Ornelas in the third, then hit an RBI double to bring in Keaton Campbell in the fifth.

The Tigers tied it back up in the bottom of the fifth and the game remained scoreless till Kayden Campbell scored the winning run on a double from Schlehuber in the eleventh. 

In Tuesday’s rematch the Sandites won 5-3 behind a four-hit, two-strikeout performance from Carson Seabolt (2-1) in six innings. Kayden Campbell tossed two hits and two strikeouts in the final inning to earn the save.

The Sandites took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a two-run homer by Glenn, but the Tigers tied it up in the sixth. Two walks and an error put the Sandites back on top and Kayden Campbell threw a clutch strikeout to strand two runners and end the game.

Sandite Baseball will return to district action Monday and Tuesday with a home-and-away series against Jenks, followed by non-district home games against NOAH on Friday and Union on Saturday.

Sandite Baseball wins Best of the West tournament

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The Sand Springs baseball team won the 2022 Best of the West tournament in Peoria, Arizona. Photo courtesy of Carrie Schlehuber.

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

In the second round of the Best of the West tournament in Arizona, the Sandite baseball team (8-2) took a huge loss. 

They won the game 10-3 against Bradshaw Mountain (6-3), but lost Jacob Shields in the process. 

“He was just running, trying to catch a fly ball in the outfield,” said head coach Matt Brown.” It was kind of a freak deal, he got rolled up on his foot.”

The senior center fielder had unexpectedly ended his career, breaking his fibula. That loss, however, motivated the Sandites to win their first tournament title since 2018. 

Sand Springs went 5-0 at the tournament and won 9-8 against Boulder Creek (8-3) in the finals after a huge comeback.

“Those kids just rallied behind him,” said Brown. “They were playing for him and they were not going to give up because he doesn’t give up.”

“It was like there was no other option but for them to come back and win, just because they were doing it for him, for their buddy that they love.”

The Sandites were down 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth in the tournament finals, but rallied to a 9-7 lead with an RBI single from Kayden Campbell, a two-run triple from Jabe Schlehuber, an RBI single from Keaton Campbell, and a two-run single from Gabe Glenn.

“Everybody was a little bit down after Tuesday and upset because we knew he was hurt,” said Brown. “He’s such a big part of our team.”

“The guys who filled in did a great job. They were battling at the plate for him. He was on a plane back to go see his orthopedist so he didn’t get to be there for the rest of the games, but he was watching them online and we got to talk to him on FaceTime in the huddle after the game when we won and it was pretty special.”

“You feel so awful for him because it’s the same senior group that had their entire sophomore year taken away when they canceled our season (due to COVID). He’s been a three-year starter for us, he played a little bit as a freshman too. He’s a really good player who just has caught some bad breaks.”

The lead-off hitter for the Sandites had already made up his mind not to play college ball and is preparing for a career as a firefighter, taking EMT training at Tulsa Tech all year.

He will continue to travel to tournaments and be with the Sandites throughout the season, however. 

The Sandites had to make three big rallies over the course of the tournament and also trailed 6-2 in pool play against Cherry Creek (0-4), and were down 5-2 against Tolleson Union (6-4) in the semifinals.

Keaton Campbell hit an RBI double, Dom Ornelas and Glenn scored on errors, and Jason Clark scored on a bases-loaded walk to lift the Sandites over Cherry Creek on Tuesday.

Then, in Wednesday’s semifinal round, Schlehuber hit an RBI double in the sixth and Wyatt Rutledge walked in on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch. Glenn hit a two-out, full-count double to clear the bases and put his team on top, and Schlehuber added a two-run single in the seventh.

A deep bullpen also proved to be a difference-maker for the Sandites.

The Sandites won 6-1 against Centennial (5-5) in the tournament opener behind a three-hit, four-strikeout performance from Schlehuber (2-0).

Kayden Campbell (1-0) threw eight strikeouts in the win against Bradshaw Mountain, Rutledge (1-0) only gave up two hits in two innings against Cherry Creek, Jace Arnold (3-0) threw seven strikeouts against Tolleson, and John Keim (1-0) only gave up three hits to Boulder Creek.

Sophomore closer Eli Buxton recorded saves in both the semifinals and finals, including a clutch bases-loaded strikeout against Tolleson. 

“We threw 60 innings with freshmen last year on the mound, which is unheard of for a 6A program,” said Brown. 

“One of those guys in the semifinals goes six and two-thirds and gets the W. Eli Buxton was a freshman last year, and Jace Arnold was too. Eli Buxton gets the save in both games. Is that going to happen for them if we don’t throw them last year? Probably not because they’re not ready. They still need that experience.”

“We kept running them out there because they were good and they needed the work. And now it’s really paying off for us.”

Buxton was named the tournament MVP pitcher after only surrendering one run in the tournament, and Glenn was named Offensive MVP for going 8-of-16 at the plate with 8 RBI and 4 runs. 

Sand Springs will return to action Monday and Tuesday with district games against Ponca City (3-5, 2-0). They will then compete at the Bartlesville tournament over the weekend.

Sand Springs Weekly Sports Roundup: Lady Sandite Soccer Routs Muskogee 7-0

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Sand Springs Baseball (3-2, 0-2) hit a hiccup against the top-ranked Owasso Rams (7-0, 4-0) to start district action, falling 5-0 on Monday and 2-0 on Tuesday.

Oklahoma State commit Brennan Phillips tossed eight strikeouts and no walks against the Sandites on Monday, with Jacob Shields recording the Sandites’ only two hits. 

Jabe Schlehuber threw eight strikeouts for the Sandites on Tuesday and the Sandites combined for five hits but couldn’t bring anyone home. 

They got back in the win column on Thursday with a 7-1 win over Carl Albert (3-4) at the Owasso Festival. 

Jace Arnold surrendered only three hits over five innings while Ty Pennington went three-for-three at the plate with two runs and two RBI.

The Sandites had their Friday game against Berryhill canceled and will return to action Monday at the Best of the West tournament in Arizona.

Golf

The boys golf team competed at Muskogee on Monday and Skiatook on Wednesday. Mason Ward led the team with a score of 85 at each event. 

Muskogee (374): Mason Ward 85, Zane Downey 90, Seth Benton 96, Drew Paden 103, Cameron Villines 105.

Skiatook (346): Mason Ward 85, Zane Downey 86, Cameron Villines 87, Seth Benton 88, Drew Paden 97.

Soccer

The boys soccer team is still looking for its first win of the season after falling 3-2 Tuesday against Muskogee and Thursday at Bartlesville.

The Lady Sandites won a 7-0 rout of Muskogee led by a four-goal performance from Ava Watts and three assists from Karsen Lynch. Evelin Marino, Carson Sargent, and Alyssa Cunningham also scored goals, and Allie Wright and Kasandra Burgess also had assists.

On Thursday they suffered their first loss 3-2 in an injury-ridden trip to Bartlesville despite a two-goal effort from Stanfill with an assist from Watts.

The Sandites will take spring break off and return to action on the 22nd at Bixby.

5th Annual Monster Ball raises $3,000 for Special Olympics; weekly sports roundup

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A version of this story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Monsters, inmates, and movie characters came together for a good cause Thursday evening at the Sandite Sports Complex. The fifth-annual Monster Ball softball game raised over $3,000 for Sandite Special Olympics, and featured more Halloween-themed festivities than ever before.

The event began in 2016 when Jessica Collins, then a senior softball player and Special Olympics partner at Charles Page High School, came up with the idea. 

“She was the brainchild of this whole thing,” said Carrie Schlehuber, Director of Special Education for Sand Springs Public Schools. “Since then it’s really just been a cooperative effort between softball coaches, baseball coaches, and the Special Olympics coaches.”

This was the fifth event in six years, with a rainout in 2019. In the past it’s always been just a softball game, with dizzy bat races and the occasional home-run derby. This year, however, it was bigger than ever with a trunk-or-treat and hayrides to increase attendance and raise extra money. 

“This year Megan Elliott and Tamera Ornelas were the big organizers,” said Schlehuber. “They came up with the trunk-or-treat, the hayride, the costumed run on the bases, all those extra things we did for the kids in the community.”

The add-ons made it the most profitable fundraiser yet, but the highlight of the evening remained the slow-pitch softball game.

The game pits the Sandite softball team versus the baseball team, with all players fully costumed. The baseball team bats with their non-dominant hands, but even with that disadvantage the boys prevailed 3-0.

In the bottom of the third inning, Nathan Gibson, dressed as Mario, got the boys on the board with an RBI single to score Jacob Shields, dressed as Buzz Lightyear. Gibson came in on a single from Gage Elliott, dressed as Alan from The Hangover, then Elliott scored on a triple from Jace Arnold in a deer onesie. 

The game was the lowest-scoring in the history of the event, and the first without any home runs.

The series is now tied at 2-2 with the softball team winning the first and third years, and the baseball team winning the second year. Last year the game saw mixed rosters due to a shortage of softball players while many were quarantined.

“It’s just so huge for us,” said Schlehuber, about the community involvement. “We’re always blown away by the fact that our athletic teams, our student body, our parents, everybody is so willing to be helpful, donate money, donate time. By far, this is the biggest crowd we’ve ever had. I would say probably triple the amount of people that we’ve had in the past.”

“Every dollar that we can raise as a fundraiser is money that our Special Olympics athletes and their families don’t have to pay to go towards the State Games when we go to Stillwater in May.”

Cross Country 

The cross country season came to a close for Sand Springs, as neither the boys nor the girls teams qualified for State. 

The girls placed 14th and the boys took 13th at the OSSAA 6A-East Regional Championship at Mohawk Park, Saturday in Tulsa.

Jazmin Lopez led the girls team with a 45th place finish, running the 5K in 22:01. Freshman Gracie Gifford finished in 25:51, and Lauren Foster ran it in 26:42. The entire girls team will be back next year, with no graduating seniors. 

Senior Noah Hanlon led the boys in 45h place with a time of 18:15, followed by Alejandro Lopez in 18:43, and Dalton Wilcox in 19:07. The boys team will graduate four of their top six, opening the door for new stars in the coming season.

The State Championship will be held at Edmond Santa Fe High School on Saturday.

Softball

Six members of the Sandite fast-pitch softball team received district accolades this past week. Raegan Rector was named Defensive Player of the Year, Jolee McNally was named an All-District outfielder, and Kelsi Hilton and Lauren Hammock got nods as All-District utility players. Avery Tanner and Nataley Crawford both received honorable mentions.