Gabe Glenn returns to the diamond in honor of mother

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This story was originally written for the Sand Springs Leader.

Gabe Glenn can’t remember the last time he played a game without his mother in the stands. 

“I couldn’t tell you one baseball game she missed in 14 years probably,” he said. “Not one.”

But she couldn’t make it to Sunday evening’s Tulsa Area All Star game at ONEOK Field in Tulsa. She won’t get to see her son play in college, or ever again. At least, not in person.

Amanda Glenn was one of four victims of the gunman who attacked the St. Francis Natalie building in Tulsa on June 1. She was laid to rest on Thursday.

Since her death, baseball has been the furthest thing from Gabe’s mind. “I haven’t thought much about (baseball),” said Glenn. “But it was good to get here.”

“It’s good to be back playing ball,” said Glenn. “That’s what I love doing. Honestly, I miss Ma. I doubted playing this game, but that’s what she would want me to do.”

Glenn got the start and spent five innings at third base, recording one put-out. He was 1-of-3 at the plate with a walk, a single, and a reach-on-error that drove in a run.

The win capped a lustrous high school career for the Sandite, who finished his senior season with a .433 batting average, 45 RBI, and 37 runs scored.

He plans to continue his career at the next level.

“I was doing it for me, but I’m also doing it for her. She loves me playing. Today was my first baseball game ever without my mom. She’d want me to go to college; she wanted me to play college baseball.”

Glenn has an offer from Northern Oklahoma College at Tonkawa, and a few other colleges are also talking to him. 

Whatever the future has in store for him, he’ll never find better teammates than his boys in black and gold. 

“The support I’ve gotten from Sand Springs has been unbelievable. I can’t explain it. Ty (Pennington), Cruz (Norris), and Gunnar (Casey); those are my three best friends. It’s us four, always.” 

Pennington was selected to the All-State game in Enid last Sunday but skipped it to spend time with Glenn.

Glenn also had two teammates on the All Star squad with him, and the stands were filled with Sand Springs supporters. The roar from the crowd was noticeably louder when Sandites took the plate than when anyone else was at bat.

Carson Seabolt spent three innings in center field and pitched the fifth inning. On the mound he recorded the win with one strikeout, two walks, and no hits or runs scored.

Seabolt also scored the North’s first run after drawing a walk in the bottom of the third. Glenn reached on an error and Seabolt came home to make it 2-1.

Courtesy of Avery Tanner.

Nathan Gibson drove in the game-tying RBI on a sacrifice hit to third in the fifth inning and recorded five put-outs in four innings at first base.

The North got the 4-2 win, but the bottom of the seventh was played anyways to give the teams equal playing time in the exhibition match.

For Gibson and Seabolt, it was the end of the road. The two plan on attending tech school next year to study HVAC systems.

All three Sandites wore special stickers on their helmets with the letter “A” for Amanda at the center of two angel wings. There’s little doubt she still managed to watch her son’s final game as a Sandite.

Sandite Alumni Report: Fall sports wrapping up, lots of Sandites see action

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Gloria Mutiri was the No. 2 scorer on her team in a 3-0 loss to Iowa State.

Volleyball

Kansas State University (8-15, 3-8) fell 3-0 to Iowa State (16-8, 7-5) last week in sets of 25-21, 25-20, and 25-18. Sophomore Gloria Mutiri played all three sets and recorded 5 kills, 1 solo block, and 2 digs as the second-highest scoring player on her team. The Wildcats will travel to No. 1 Texas (17-2, 11-0) Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

Men’s Golf

University of Denver sophomore Carson Griggs finished the fall season with an even performance for 31st place at the Hoakalei Country Club Invitational in Hawaii, helping his team to a ninth-place finish. The Pioneers will return to action in the spring at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate tournament in Mobile Alabama on February 10th.

Men’s Soccer

Former Sandite and Men’s Head Coach at Oral Roberts University, Ryan Bush has led the No. 20 ranked Golden Eagles to a 13-3 record thus far in the season. ORU will play at Denver in the first round of the Summit League Championship Thursday at 5:00 p.m.

Oklahoma Wesleyan University (16-3) won a KCAC Conference Quarterfinal match 9-1 against Southwestern (10-9). Next up is fourth-seeded York College (13-6) Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. in Wichita. Sandite Ignacio Garcia is a freshman on the team.

Women’s Soccer

The Oral Roberts University soccer team coached by former Sandite Roger Bush ended the season with a 6-9-4 record following a 1-0 loss to South Dakota State in the Summit League Championship semifinals. Sandite Brooklyn Eardley started sixteen games this season, primarily as a defender.

Southwestern Christian University finished the year 6-9-1 following a 4-0 loss to Texas Wesleyan (13-5). Junior Megan Deshazo finished the season with 9 goals and 3 assists.

Northern Oklahoma College at Tonkawa ended its season with an 8-8-2 record last weekend after a 1-0 loss to Seminole State College (19-0-3) in the first round of the NJCAA Region 2 Tournament. Sophomore Emma Peak scored two goals and one assist on the season, with a brace against the University of Arkansas at Rich Mountain (2-12-3).

Oklahoma City University (9-9) was eliminated in the first round of the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament with a 1-0 loss to Mid-American Christian University (12-4-1) to end the season. Sophomore goalie Abigail Banks saw action in two matches this season.

Missouri University of Science and Technology senior Kayla Foster ended the season with a bang, scoring both goals in a 2-1 upset at Southern Indiana (10-6-1). The Miners went 6-8-3 this year, and Foster scored 6 goals and 1 assist with 17 starts.

Men’s Cross Country / Track and Field

Colby Community College placed tenth at the NJCAA National Championships Saturday, and crowned a national champion. Ian Baustert is a sophomore on the team, but hasn’t seen action this year. He is also on the Track and Field team, which has not released its spring schedule yet.

The Oral Roberts University Track and Field team will kick off the season Friday, December 6th at the Bob Timmons Challenge in Lawrence, Kansas. Freshman Mitchell Mefford will throw discus and shot put for the Golden Eagles.

The Savannah College of Art and Design won its fifth-straight Sun Conference Championship Saturday. Freshman Jacob Smith placed 47th in the 8-kilometer run in 29:22.58. SCAD will return to action at the NAIA National Championships Friday, November 22nd in Vancouver.

The U.S. Air Force Academy placed fifth at the Mountain West Conference Championships. Freshman Aden Baughman did not see action. The Falcons will compete at the NCAA Mountain Regional Friday in Salt Lake City.

Women’s Cross Country / Track and Field

Grand Canyon University placed third at the Western Athletic Conference Championships, but junior Cheyenne Walden did not see action. The Antelopes will compete at the NCAA West Regional Friday in Colfax, Washington.

Southern Nazarene University placed 31st at the NCAA Division 2 Central Regional Championship, ending their season. Sara Abbet ran her last race at the Great American Conference Championship, in which SNU finished eighth. The Sandite was 118th in the run with a 5K time of 24:47.1.

Baseball

Seminole State College broke ground on a new athletic facility recently. The $7.25 million Brian Crawford Memorial Sports Complex will eventually be home to the Trojan Baseball team, featuring freshman Cal Watkins. Seminole Baseball will kick off Monday, February 3rd at Bacone College.

Freshman Kyler Copeland will make his college debut at the College of the Ozarks this spring. The Bobcats have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

Eastern Oklahoma State College will begin their 2020 season Tuesday, February 11th at Carl Albert State College. John Miller will be in his freshman season with the Mountaineers.

The Northern Oklahoma College Enid Jets will start the 2020 season Saturday, February 1st with a double-header against Northeast Community College. The Jets feature freshman Cale Savage.

The University of Central Oklahoma picked up two Sandite transfers for the coming season. Junior pitcher Jake Terry from the University of Oklahoma, and Jacob Bailey from Seminole State College. The Bronchos have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

Softball

Kennedy “Goose” Salyers is in her senior year at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. The Savage Storm will kick off the season February 1st at Texas Women’s University.

Jacie Taber will kick off her freshman campaign at Missouri State University on Friday, February 7th against Mississippi State in the NFCA Lead-Off Classic at Clearwater, Florida.

Destanie Garrett will be a freshman at Southwestern Christian University this spring. The Eagles have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma has yet to release its 2020 schedule. Madelyn Blair will be a freshman this year.

Jessica Schuler is in her senior year at Northeastern State University, and Cameron Clemons is a freshman. The RiverHawks will begin their season Friday, February 7th at the Harding Invitational against Harding and Midwestern State.

Oklahoma State University went 7-0 in the fall season and junior Sydney Pennington was on fire offensively. The Cowgirls have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

Rogers State University will travel to Gulf Shores Alabama to start their season Friday, January 31st. Sandite All-State selection Kimi Presnell will be a freshman this year.

Freshman Elizabeth Luttrell will play for Cowley County Community College this spring. The Tigers have yet to release their 2020 schedule.

Former All-State Sandite Joely Rogers is entering her second season as the Coffeyville Community College pitching coach. The Red Ravens will take on North Arkansas College in a double-header Saturday, February 8th.

Men’s Tennis

Oklahoma Baptist University will feature freshman Logan Bateman this coming season. Bateman saw action in one pre-season tournament. The 2020 schedule has yet to be released.