Sandite Sports Weekly Roundup: Softball Places Third at Bixby Tournament

The Charles Page High School softball (15-9, 5-3) started a successful week with a pair of perfect games and ended it with a third-place finish at the Bixby tournament.

The Sandites celebrated Senior Night with a perfect double-header Tuesday against the combined team of Tulsa Memorial and Booker T. Washington (0-15, 0-7).

Kelsi Hilton (7-1) struck out 10 and the Sandites totaled 15 hits in a 20-0 game-one rout. Addie Hughes (8-8) struck out 10 and the Sandites recorded 13 hits in the 10-0 second game. 

The Sandites rode that momentum into a crucial 8-3 district win Thursday against Bartlesville (11-8, 3-4) behind a six-strikeout performance from Hughes. 

On Friday the Sandites rolled to a 14-0 shutout of Union (6-18) in the first round of the Bixby tournament. Hughes pitched a one-hitter with six strikeouts and Mikenna Stephens went 3-of-4 at the plate with four RBI.

Hilton struck out seven in a 4-2 win over El Reno (4-9) while also recording three RBI in the second game of the tournament.

The win streak came to a close in a 6-0 loss against Perry (24-5) Friday evening but the Sandites got back in the win column with a 5-1 victory over Raymore Peculiar (7-6) Saturday morning. 

To cap off the week, Hilton hit a walk-off RBI single to prevail 5-4 over Coweta (16-7) and pay back an August defeat. 

Hilton batted .583 on the week with a team-high 14 hits, three triples, 13 RBI, and 11 runs. Morgan Rector was .565 at the plate with 13 hits, six RBI, and 12 runs.

Hilton went 3-0 in the circle with a 1.44 ERA and Hughes was 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA.

Sand Springs will return to action Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. with a key district game at Jenks (19-3, 10-0), then will travel to Stillwater (14-6, 6-3) Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

Cross Country

Josie Grona led the Sandite elementary with a fourth-place finish at the Sapulpa Chieftain meet, Saturday, September 3rd. She ran the one-mile race in 6:23.36. Kellen Adkins was 18th to lead the boys in 6:47.05.

Kelsi Hilton led the varsity girls with a ninth place finish, running the two-mile in 13:29.31. Taigh Wright led the boys in 12:23.49.

Chloe Grona was runner-up in the junior high girls’ one-mile run, finishing in 5:59.85. Dax Wilcox was the top junior high boy, placing 14th in 5:54.46. 

On September 10th the Sandites took a depleted roster to Broken Arrow. 

Wright led the boys with a 50th place finish, running the 5K in 19:38.80. Gracie Gifford led the girls, finishing in 26:11.92 for 57th place. Melany Lamb led the junior high girls, placing 63rd in 37:08.79. 

Volleyball

The No. 15 Sandite volleyball team (7-6) snapped a five-match skid with a 3-0 sweep of Pryor (2-15) Tuesday night on the road. Sand Springs won 25-14, 25-10, and 25-14.

The Sandites will return to action Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. with a conference rivalry game at 5A No. 7 Sapulpa (13-10, 1-3). Sand Springs is 0-4 in conference action.

Football

The Sandite freshman class (2-0) continued an undefeated streak stretching back to its seventh grade season, winning 34-0 against Bartlesville. The eighth graders also moved to 2-0 with a 48-14 win against the Bruins. 

Wrestling

The first-year Lady Sandite wrestling program had a successful first meeting with prospective athletes. New coach Ty Bowling hopes to have as many as 20 girls in the program this season.

Addie Hughes has busy first week with Sandite Softball

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

The Sand Springs softball team is off to a 3-4 start to the season after a busy first week. The Sandites kicked off 2022 with a pair of non-district losses before playing in the Broken Arrow tournament over the weekend.

Sophomore Addie Hughes received the bulk of pitching duty, going 2-4 with 31 hits, 14 strikeouts, and only four walks in 26 innings.

The Sandites were shut out 9-0 at Tahlequah (5-3) and 2-0 at home against Owasso (4-2) in a no-hitter.

Kelsi Hilton pitched the first win of the season on Friday against Edmond North (0-3) and totalled 16 hits, three walks, and eight strikeouts over 9 ⅔ innings in week one.

Sand Springs batted .500 against the Huskies in a 15-3 tournament-opening rout in only three innings. Jaden Jordan scored three runs and four RBI and hit the team’s first homer of the season.

Hughes picked up her first win of the year in a 9-2 romp against Claremore (2-3), pitching six strikeouts.

Jordan was 3-of-4 with a run and two RBI, Mikena Stephens was 2-of-4 with a run and three RBI, and Ashlyn Clark was 2-of-4 with two runs. 

Broken Arrow (4-1) spoiled their tournament title hopes 7-5 in the third game of the day, despite out-hitting the Tigers eight to seven. The Sandites committed two errors and stranded nine in the close battle.

On Saturday the Sandites won a 9-0 shutout against Jay (0-5). Hughes only gave up one hit in three innings for the win and Jordan blasted her second homer of the season.

The Sandites’ day ended in a 9-2 loss to Bristow (6-1) in bracket play despite a seven-hit performance that included solo homers from Jordan and Hilton. 

Abby Glasglow went 3-for-3 at the plate but was stranded every time, as were four other Sandite runners. 

The Sandites will look to get back above .500 Monday with a district double-header Monday at Enid (2-2) before playing at the Rogers State Festival on Thursday and Friday.

Fishing

Two teams of Sand Springs bass fishers earned their way to the Bassmaster High School National Championship on Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina this week.

Freshmen Eli Rogers and Nathan Griffin placed 158th out of 311 teams, catching eight fish weighing 12 pounds, 7 ounces. Seniors Mack Taylor and Parker Haling caught nine fish weighing 12 pounds, 1 ounce. 

Lady Sandite Softball looking for new stars to lead team to new heights

This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Countless athletes have left their mark on the Sandite Softball Complex in the 23 years since it opened, including 31 All-State players. 

As the Sandites get ready for the 2022 season, they’ll attempt to replace some of those stars while looking for new talent to elevate the program and add to the legacy.

Charles Page High School is coming off an 18-15 campaign and will have some big shoes to fill after graduating All-State selections Jolee McNally and Raegan Rector, as well as Lauren Hammock, Taylor Skipper, and All-State alternate Avery Tanner.

“They were just such a great group of seniors, all five of them,” said Shelli Brown, who is entering her 26th year as head coach.

“They provided leadership in different ways from being on the field to being vocal and talking to the kids and trying to keep them up.”

Despite that star-studded leadership, last year’s team came up a hair shy of making it to the State Tournament after falling to eventual State finalist Owasso at Regionals.

After a five-year streak of Regional Championships, the Sandites haven’t made it back to Hall of Fame Stadium since 2019.

“Anytime we don’t make it to the state tournament is disappointing,” Brown said. “That’s just our goal. It’s our expectation.”

“That’s what we work for year round is to get us in the best possible spot to get there and when you put in all that effort (and we had a great group of senior kids and I felt really bad for them because they had worked so hard). When you fall that short and you put in that much time and effort it just kind of lets you down a little bit because we didn’t get to where our goals were.”

As the Sandites look for new leadership to step up this year, Brown says it could even come from some of the underclassmen.

“I think it’s not only going to be leadership from my senior group, but I think we’re gonna have a couple kids in the junior group and one or two in the sophomore group that are going to step in and provide some of that leadership we’re going to need.”

“That whole sophomore group, they’re probably more my vocal group. I expect a lot from some of those sophomores.”

Mikenna Stephens, Ashlyn Clark, Addie Hughes, and Kenzie King all got good playing time last season and show a lot of promise.

“I’ll be interested to see how Addie will do on the mound,” said Brown. “She’s really worked hard in the offseason. She’s really been working on her spin and she’s had some success this summer.”

Hughes pitched 19 innings last season with a 1-1 record and 3.2 ERA behind Kelsi Hilton and Nataley Crawford.

Hilton went 10-6 with a 4.54 ERA and is expected to carry most of the weight this year. Crawford was 5-6 with a 4.23 ERA.

While the pitching staff is mostly intact, the batting lineup took some huge losses. Fortunately, the team will have an ace up their sleeve. 

After taking a break from softball last season, Jaden Jordan will be back for her senior year.

“That’s going to add some power to our lineup that we had lost,” said Brown. 

Jordan was an All-District first baseman as a sophomore and batted .436 with a team-best .734 slugging average. She hit four home runs and a grand slam that year.

Hilton is also expected to bring some heat at the plate after batting .413 last season. 

While the Sandites look to get back to the State tournament and beyond, they’ll be looking to their past for inspiration. Sand Springs has won 17 regional titles and has a long history of success.

“I think it makes a big difference and we try to promote that history in our complex,” said Brown. 

“We’ve got banners everywhere. All of our All-Staters are up on the wall. Every Regional tournament we’ve won is up on the wall. Every State tournament we’ve been to is up on the wall.”

“We talk about it all the time. Go around and look at these things. Look at the kids and what they’ve done. Look at the history.”

Sand Springs has a unique history in that most of the town’s accomplishments have come from native Sandites. While other 6A programs tend to get a lot of move-ins, Sand Springs benefits from an exceptional local youth program.

“Most of our kids have all been Sandites who grew up and played ball in the town that they live in. That’s kind of unique. I don’t know if that happens as much as it used to.”

Those Sandites continue to contribute to the program after graduation as well, as Brown’s staff frequently includes her former players. 

The Sandites kicked off the season with their first practice on July 18th and the biggest task for this young group of Sandites will simply be building team chemistry. 

“We’ve got a lot of kids that work really hard and love softball; we’ve just got to get the chemistry together. Over the last two years I’ve graduated twelve or so kids so we’re young in some spots.”

“You’re going to have some kids out of position when you graduate that many. You’re going to have kids in different spots and they’re going to have to get used to each other.”

“That’s kind of what we worked on in the spring. That’s one thing I love about spring ball is that I can focus on our defense and they can work on getting each other’s timing down. What are your strengths? What are our weaknesses? Work on base running and some of those things where there’s just not the pressure you have in fall ball with every game.”

Once that chemistry is established, the sky is the limit. 

“We just have to work on producing runs, playing good defense, continue to work on the mental game.”

“They know what kind of work it takes to get to where we want to go.”

Sandite Roundup: Shelli Brown celebrates 600th win in 25th season

25th-year Sandite Softball Head Coach Shelli Brown is presented with a commemorative ball for her 600th win by the Class of 2022 seniors.

A version of this story was originally published in the Sand Springs Leader.

Shelli Brown has been the head softball coach at Charles Page High School since before her current class of seniors was even born. In fact, she’s been the head coach since before some of her assistant coaches were born.

Now in her 25th season as a Sandite, Coach Brown is a pillar in the community. 

“Shelli’s an icon in women’s softball at the high school level,” says Sand Springs Athletic Director Rod Sitton. “She started her career here, hopefully she ends her career here. She’s not only a great coach, but a great leader and a great example for the young ladies that go through here. It’s been a real privilege to have her here and work with her, and also be her boss. She’s just a great person all around.”

On Tuesday, August 24th, the team celebrated Brown’s 600th career win in fast pitch. The milestone came in a 14-6 rout of Adair on Thursday, August 19th at the Rogers State festival in Claremore. They also beat Lincoln Christian 11-2 in the first game of the festival.

Owning a 603-326 record with 10 regional championships, two academic state championships, two district championships, and one conference championship, Brown has been one of the most successful coaches in school history in any sport. Under her guidance, 32 sandites have received All-State accolades and at least 60 have signed to play at the next level.

“It’s not about excellence just in softball itself, but it’s also about academic excellence,” added District Superintendent Sherry Durkee. “Personally, I’m super proud of the two academic state championships.” 

Prior to the Tuesday-night doubleheader against Enid, Brown’s senior class presented her with a commemorative game ball signed by the entire team, along with flowers and balloons. Then they gave her a 601st and 602nd win by drubbing the Pacers 20-3 and 3-1.

Raegan Rector went 3-for-3 at the plate with five RBI and two doubles in the first game, Mikenna Stephens was 3-of-4 with four RBI, and Kelsi Hilton was 3-of-4 with four runs. 

With temperatures nearing 100℉, the bats slowed down in game two, and the Sandites actually needed a fifth-inning comeback. Trailing 1-0, Taylor Skipper tied it up with a single to score Ashlyn Clark, then Skipper and Jolee McNally scored on an error for the lead.

Nataley Crawford pitched eight strikeouts and only three hits in the first game, and Hilton got the win in game two. 

The Sandites followed it up with a 12-4 district beatdown of Bartlesville on Thursday that saw Hilton go 3-of-4 at the plate with a triple, two runs, and four RBI, while also striking out four batters in four innings from the circle. Lauren Hammock was also 3-of-4 with three runs and two RBI.

Sandite Softball is now 5-3 on the season and will continue district action on the road with a Thursday game at Bixby (9-2, 5-0).

CPHS Volleyball

The Class 6A No. 13 ranked Sandite Volleyball team (7-4) suffered a 3-1 conference loss to No. 3 Broken Arrow (10-3) Tuesday, August 24th at the Ed Dubie Field House.

The Sandites lost sets of 25-15, 25-22, and 25-9, but stole the third set 25-20 for their first game win against the Tigers since 2018.

Payton Robbins scored nine kills with three blocks, 16 digs, and three aces in the loss. Layla Lenex had three kills and five blocks. Tehya Johnson had two kills, two aces, and 23 assists. Jacelyn Smith scored seven kills and two blocks. Charley Fahland had two aces and 17 digs, and Kasidy Holland had seven kills and three digs.

Sandite Volleyball will travel to Regent Prep Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

CPHS Cross Country

The Lady Sandite varsity cross country team placed 11th in a 5K run at Edmond Deer Creek, August 21st, led by Jazmin Lopez in fifth place out of 105 runners with a time of 23:13.98. 

The boys team didn’t have enough runners to place as a team, but Noah Hanlon finished in 26th with a time of 19:13.58.

The elementary girls placed third at Kiefer Saturday, August 28th. Chloe Grona won the one-mile run in 5:52.45, Josie Grona placed third in 6:19.71, and Sophie Grona placed 15th in 7:06.99.