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 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.

Sandite Basketball: Girls on a roll, boys not so much

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

If this week’s scoreboard has been any indication of the weeks to come, the Sand Springs girls’ basketball team should be poised to make a deep playoff run.

The 6A-East No. 2 Sandites (19-3) never trailed once in their three games, rolling to dominant wins against No. 11 Owasso, No. 6 Broken Arrow, and No. 14 Bartlesville to wrap up the regular season.

“I think we’re playing better basketball,” head coach Josh Berry said after a 63-34 senior night win against the Bruins (4-18).

“I think we’ve still got a lot of things to clean up before the playoffs, but I like the direction that we’re going.”

The Sandites scored 23 points in a row in the first half and led 36-11 by halftime. The second string played most of the second half, and 10 different Sandites made their way into the scorebook.

“I like the way that everybody’s stepping up and playing different parts,” said Berry. “If we can do that, where we get different scoring, different rebounding, different assists from different people, then I think we’ve got a good chance.”

Sophomore Taiona Morris led the team for the first time this season with a career-high 16 points.

“She’s going to be special,” said Berry. “I think she gets more and more confidence every time we go out there.”

Eight Sandites combined for 17 steals in a stifling defensive effort led by Sakauri Wilson with 5 and Morris with 4. Layne Kirkendoll added 4 blocks.

“I thought we just needed to speed it up a little bit,” said Berry. “They did a good job of rotating and being there for the steals. We just caught them on that.”

Journey Armstead scored 22 points in a Monday night rout of Owasso (10-13), followed by Hailey Jackson with 19 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season, and Wilson with 11 points.

On Tuesday the Sandites bullied Broken Arrow 53-20, giving up only four points in each of the first three quarters while holding the Tigers (13-9) to their lowest scoring output since 2011.

Armstead and Jackson scored 13 points apiece in that game.

The Lady Sandites finished the season second in the Frontier Valley Conference, their best performance since winning the league in 2019.

The Sandites will return to action Thursday at 8:00 p.m. when they host No. 15 Muskogee (2-13) in the first game of the Regional tournament. 

The Sandites previously beat Muskogee 56-43, but Berry isn’t going to let his team overlook the Roughers.

“One game at a time,” said Berry. “It’s Muskogee. That’s the only thing we think about from here on out. We just take them one game at a time and don’t take anybody lightly.”

Boys Basketball

The No. 14 Sandites (5-17) are on a seven-game losing streak after falling 68-31 to Owasso, 55-37 to Broken Arrow, and 87-77 to Bartlesville.

Despite the loss, the Sandites actually played one of their best games of the season on Senior Night. Four Sandites scored double digits and three had double-doubles in their highest scoring output of the year.

Jason Clark and Ethan Oakley led the Sandites with 19 points apiece, and Oakley added 11 rebounds in his season-best performance. Cale Askew and JD Dickson both scored 14 points with 11 rebounds apiece. Askew’s performance was also a career best.

The boys will travel to No. 3 Putnam City West (17-5) Friday at 8:00 p.m. in the Regional playoffs.

Boys Basketball: Sandites get first conference win, 62-46 against Sapulpa

In a battle for last place in the Frontier Valley Conference, Sand Springs finally got a much-needed 62-46 win against Sapulpa, Friday night at the Ed Dubie Field House.

The 6A-East No. 14 Sandites (5-10 overall, 1-6 conference) out-shot and out-rebounded 5A-East No. 14 Sapulpa (4-12, 0-7) to win their third-straight Highway 97 Rivalry meeting.

“It feels good,” said Sand Springs head coach Eric Savage. “We’ve been close several times this year and we just haven’t been able to finish.”

“Sapulpa’s kind of having a year similar to ours, and we knew this was going to be two teams that were really hungry for a win. I thought from the tip we came out focused and executed, and really controlled the game.”

The Sandites took a 6-0 lead out of the gate and never trailed, though the score stayed close till midway through the fourth quarter.

“We had a few lapses in there and Sapulpa kept coming at us, but overall I thought they followed the game plan and we were able to keep them at bay,” said Savage.

Sand Springs took a 31-23 lead into the half and a 44-32 lead into the fourth quarter, with its biggest advantage being a 16-point lead early in the final stanza.

The visiting Chieftains then mounted a comeback attempt, scoring ten in a row, kicked off by a Gavin Read layup through contact. Read missed his and-one opportunity, but Kylen Edwards made the putback and drew a foul of his own, sinking the free throw.

Charles Hobbs scored on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to 48-42, but it was all Sand Springs from there. 

“We just had to keep attacking,” said Savage. “A couple of times we got slow and quit running. I tried to tell them, ‘we’re playing to win, we’re not playing not to lose.’ I thought we got a little tentative there with what to do with the ball.”

Edwards led all scorers with 20 points, but Jaymason Lindsey was the only other Chieftain in double digits with 12 points.

Jason Clark and JD Dickson led the Sandites with 12 points apiece, followed by Kooper Kelly with 10. Ethan Oakley, Cale Askew, and Costen Brockman added 8 points apiece, and Oakley had 15 rebounds.

“We’re making improvements,” said Savage. “It’s hard to see in our conference sometimes because of how top-heavy and good it is, but we’re making improvements, we’re shooting the ball better, we’re passing the ball better. We struggled early in the year when people would press us, and we’re doing a much better job of that.”

The Sandites will embark on another tough week on the road with a Tuesday game at No. 5 Union (8-8, 4-4) and a Friday battle at No. 6 Owasso (11-6, 6-2).

Sapulpa will host Bixby (6-10, 1-6) on Tuesday and Union on Friday. 

In junior varsity action the Sandites won 65-40 behind 17 points from Alijah Roper and 11 from Kade Holland.

CPHS 62 Sapulpa 46
1Q: CPHS 19-9.
2Q: Sapulpa 14-12.
3Q: CPHS 13-9.
4Q: CPHS 18-14.
Free Throws: CPHS 10-of-14, Sapulpa 10-of-14.
Field Goals: CPHS 22-of-39, Sapulpa 15-of-49.
Offensive Rebounds: CPHS 6, Sapulpa 5.
Defensive Rebounds: CPHS 27, Sapulpa 12.
Total Rebounds: CPHS 33, Sapulpa 17.
Steals: CPHS 8, Sapulpa 11.
Blocks: CPHS 2, Sapulpa 0.
Fouls: CPHS 17, Sapulpa 13.

Sand Springs (Unofficial) Stats

Scoring: Clark 12, Dickson 12, Kelly 10, Askew 8, Oakley 8, Brockman 8, Roper 4.
Offensive Rebounds: Askew 2, Clark 1, Kelly 1, Oakley 1, Roper 1.
Defensive Rebounds: Oakley 14, Kelly 4, Dickson 3, Brockman 3, Clark 2, Askew 1.
Total Rebounds: Oakley 15, Kelly 5, Clark 3, Askew 3, Dickson 3, Brockman 3, Roper 1.
Steals: Clark 4, Roper 2, Askew 1, Kelly 1.
Assists: Oakley 3, Kelly 2, Clark 1, Askew 1, Brockman 1.
Blocks: Kelly 1, Dickson 1.
Fouls: Oakley 4, Brockman 4, Askew 3, Kelly 3, Dickson 2, Roper 1.

Sapulpa Stats

Scoring: Edwards 20, Lindsey 12, Read 5, Hobbs 5, Lewis 2, Abbuge 2.
Fouls: Lindsey 3, Hobbs 3, Edwards 2, Abbuge 2, Willoby 1, Read 1, Lewis 1.

Sandite Boys place fourth at Port City Classic, beat Catoosa 47-44

The Sand Springs boys’ basketball team (4-9) snapped a three-game losing skid Thursday, taking down Catoosa 47-44 en route to a fourth place finish at the Port City Classic.

The Sandites fell 54-37 to 4A No. 2 Victory Christian (13-3) in the semifinals, however, and 47-46 to No. 19 Tahlequah (10-5) in the placement round. 

Jason Clark scored 15 and Ethan Oakley had 13 points to guide their team to its first win of 2022. 

Catoosa took a 32-31 lead into the fourth quarter, but freshman Kooper Kelly came alive and scored all seven of his points in that stanza, while Oakley and Clark went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line in crunch time. 

Clark scored ten more on Friday, but was the only Sandite in double digits against the Conquerors, who went on to win the tournament.

Saturday’s game was a real heartbreaker, as the Sandites had it all but locked away late in the fourth quarter. 

With only 23.3 seconds remaining, Clark laid up on a steal for a 46-41 Sandite lead. 

The Tigers wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, and Braylon McDowell hit a three with nine second remaining, then Shaun Young sent Kelly to the line for a one-and-one.

After the freshman missed his free throw, Hayden Smith snagged the rebound and the Tigers took a timeout to dial up a three-point buzzer beater from Brycen Smith for the win.

Clark once again led the Sandites with 14 points in the loss.

Up next for the Sandites is a return to conference action with a Frontier Valley road game at Bixby (5-9, 0-5) on Tuesday. Both teams are still looking for their first conference win of the season.

1/20/2022 - CPHS 47 Catoosa 44
1Q: CPHS 11-7.
2Q: Catoosa 13-10.
3Q: Catoosa 12-10.
4Q: CPHS 16-12.
Free Throws: CPHS 10-of-17, Catoosa 19-of-26.
Penalties: CPHS 18, Catoosa, 16.

Scoring: (CPHS) Clark 16, Oakley 13, Kelly 7, Dickson 5, Askew 3, Jones 2, Brockman 1, Lair 1. (Catoosa) Brown 12, Miller 10, Lewallen 10, McCawley 6, Oxford 5, Hamilton 1.

1/21/2022 - VCS 54 CPHS 37
1Q: VCS 16-7.
2Q: CPHS 10-6.
3Q: VCS 20-10.
4Q: VCS 10-10.
Free Throws: VCS 14-of-18, CPHS 5-of-13.
Penalties: VCS 15, CPHS 16.

Scoring: (VCS) Udoumoh 15, Patton 11, Doctor 8, Granderson 8, Malhi 6, Banner 2, Convington 2, White 2. (CPHS) Clark 10, Brockman 9, Kelly 8, Askew 3, Foster 2, Dickson 2, Oakley 2, Hayes 1.

1/22/2022 - Tahlequah 47 CPHS 46
1Q: Tahlequah 10-8.
2Q: Tahlequah 11-11.
3Q: CPHS 12-11.
4Q: Tahlequah 15-15.
Free Throws: Tahlequah 3-of-7, CPHS 7-of-12.
Penalties: Tahlequah 12, CPHS 11.

Scoring: (Tahlequah) H. Smith 16, Joice 11, Young 9, Matlock 5, McDowell 3, B. Smith 3. (CPHS) Clark 14, Kelly 9, Askew 8, Oakley 8, Brockman 3, Johnson 3, Dickson 1.

Sports Roundup: Lady Sandites Still Undefeated, Wrestling Falls to Bixby

Hailey Jackson scored 31 points for the Sandites against Broken Arrow.

This story was originally written by Scott Emigh for the Sand Springs Leader.

The last time the Sand Springs girls basketball team won ten straight games to start the season, it went on to win conference, regional, and area championships.

Whether this year’s eighth-ranked Lady Sandites reach similar heights remains to be seen, but they are still undefeated after meetings with No. 10 Broken Arrow and Bartlesville this week.

The Sandites picked up a 66-46 win over the Tigers (6-4, 2-2) Tuesday night at the Ed Dubie Field House before traveling to Bartlesville for a 55-37 win against the Bruins (3-7, 0-4) to improve to 5-0 in Frontier Valley Conference action.

Junior star Hailey Jackson went off for 31 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 steals against the Tigers, while Journey Armstead contributed 15 points. Layne Kirkendoll added 8 points and 9 rebounds. 

“(Jackson)’s just coming along and playing hard,” said head coach Josh Berry. “I’ve always said she had the potential to be that good.”

The Sandites led by as much as 28 points early in the fourth quarter before sending in the backups. 

Friday’s game started a little slower, but the Bruins never led after the first quarter and the Sandites ran away with a 22-4 third quarter to put the game safely out of reach. 

“Every game for us in this conference, you’ve got to prepare for it,” said Berry. “If you’re not ready to play, you can get beat. Especially the way we play. We’re a defensively oriented team, so if we don’t come ready to play every night, we can get beat by anybody.”

Armstead scored 23 points with 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists. Jackson scored 8 points with 10 rebounds and Kirkendoll added 6 points with 11 rebounds. 

The Sandites will host Muskogee (1-6, 0-3) Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. before competing at the Jenks/Union tournament Thursday through Saturday. They will play Jenks (2-5) on Thursday before taking on either Trinity Christian or No. 1 Edmond North (10-0) on Friday.

Boys Basketball

The Sandite boys team (3-7, 0-5) is still looking for its first conference win of the season after falling 70-47 to Broken Arrow and 82-54 to Bartlesville this week.

On Tuesday the Sandites were led by Jason Clark with 10 points and Cale Askew with 9 in the home loss to No. 6 Broken Arrow (8-2, 4-1). Clark and Alijah Roper scored 12 apiece against No. 14 Bartlesville (6-4, 3-2).

Sand Springs will get its first unranked opponent in over a month when they play Muskogee (2-6, 0-3) on Tuesday. They will then travel to Catoosa for the Port City Classic with a Thursday matchup against the home team (9-4) at 8:30 p.m.

Wrestling

On Thursday the Sandites (3-1) suffered their first loss of the season, falling 47-24 to No. 5 Bixby (5-1). 

David Ritchey and Colt Hood pinned their foes to start the dual, then Zander Grigsby and Jayden Pait won decisions for an 18-0 lead against last year’s Dual State Runners Up.

The Spartans won the next eight matches, however, before Mason Harris collected a fall at heavyweight to end the night. 

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday at Union with a district triple-header against No. 10 Ponca City (1-2), No. 15 Union (1-4), and Edmond Deer Creek (0-3). The Sandites won five district titles in a row from 2016 to 2020 before coming up short last season.

The Sandite junior high team placed second at the Perry tournament over the weekend with three finalists.

Kase Skaggs, Kaden Pope, and Ryley Kester all placed second and Dawson Briscoe, Jaxon Grigsby, and Jaxon “Scout” Trotter placed third.