Sand Springs qualifies two for Golf State Championship

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School golf teams failed to qualify for the State Championship as a whole, but two boys placed high enough as individuals to earn their ticket to Stillwater. Not just two boys, but two brothers. 

The 6A East Regional was held at Ponca City this year and Carson and Garrett Griggs were among the seven players to qualify as individuals. Carson had the best round of the seven, scoring rounds of 81 and 73. Garrett came in third with rounds of 77 and 82. 

Sand Springs has never had a State Champion in Golf, so if one of the Griggs brothers pull it off, they'll notch a special place in the history book.

Carson qualified as a freshman (he's a sophomore now) and placed 30th of 73 last year, coming in right in the middle of the pack with a total score of 161, fourteen strokes behind the Champion.

Weather permitting, the State Tournament will be held at Karsten Creek in Stillwater May 9-10. The girls team did not qualify anyone this year.

Sandites will travel to Owasso for Regionals and battle Broken Arrow in Round One

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association released the 6A Regional baseball brackets Monday afternoon. The Charles Page High School team (21-14) will travel to Owasso Wednesday at 2:30 PM for their first round game against Broken Arrow (21-14). 

The Sandites and Tigers have neck-and-neck records, each winning 21 games and losing 14, and each having one win over the other. In the Sand Springs/Broken Arrow Wooden Bat Tournament the Tigers got the 6-4 win, but the Sandites retaliated with a 10-3 victory of their own less than a week later. 

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The tournament is double-elimination, and from there the Sandites will take on either Sapulpa (6-21) or Owasso (25-6). Sapulpa shouldn't pose much difficulty, as the Sandites have already defeated their Highway 97 rivals three times this season by a combined score of 26-7.

Owasso will be the biggest obstacle in the way of the Sandites' ticket to State. The Rams are the top team in the district and have already defeated Sand Springs twice, just last week. The games were far from blowouts, however, and the Sandites nearly overtook Owasso in the first game. losing by a close 11-10.

PITCHING

Conner Dennis (1-0) has an earned run average of 0.00, having faced 23 batters over 7 innings. He's given up 1 hit, 3 walks, 0 runs, and 0 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 4 strikeouts and a .643 WHIP.

Rhett Rutledge (2-1) has an earned run average of 2.07, having faced 125 batters over 27 innings. He's given up 25 hits, 21 walks, 13 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 56% strikes for 23 strikeouts and a .561 WHIP. He also has 2 saves and 0 blown saves.

Brock Youngblood (4-1) has an earned run average of 2.57, having faced 136 batters over 33 innings. He's given up 33 hits, 14 walks, 18 runs, and 12 earned runs while pitching 64% strikes for 13 strikeouts and a 1.317 WHIP.

Hunter Greathouse (2-0) has an earned run average of 3.73, having faced 66 batters over 15 innings. He's given up 8 hits, 12 walks, 10 runs, and 8 earned runs while pitching 61% strikes for 32 strikeouts and a 1.200 WHIP. He also has 1 save and 0 blown saves.

University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry has an earned run average of 3.77, having faced 211 batters over 42.66 innings. He's given up 45 hits, 42 walks, 29 runs, and 23 earned runs while pitching 58% strikes for 51 strikeouts and a 1.946 WHIP. 

Jake Ward (4-3) has an earned run average of 3.91, having faced 227 batters over 48 innings. He's given up 49 hits, 34 walks, 33 runs, and 27 earned runs while pitching 57% strikes for 49 strikeouts and a 1.635 WHIP.

Josh Cordell (2-3) has an earned run average of 3.95, having faced 164 batters over 34 innings. He's given up 40 hits, 41 walks, 31 runs, and 19 earned runs while pitching 42% strikes for 26 strikeouts and a 1.753 WHIP.

Joey Montgomery (1-2) has an earned run average of 6.64, having faced 96 batters over 19 innings. He's given up 23 hits, 12 walks, 22 runs, and 18 earned runs while pitching 55% strikes for 10 strikeouts and a 1.632 WHIP.

BATTING

Cody Motes holds a .500 batting average, .500 slugging average, and .500 OBP with 3 runs, 1 RBI, 1 single, and 3 stolen bases.

Hunter Greathouse has a .390 batting average, a .470 slugging average, and a .483 OBP. He's scored 23 runs and 15 RBI with 29 singles, 8 doubles, 2 triples, and 8 sacrifices. He's also stolen 11 bases this season.

Jake Ward has batted .381 this season with a .488 slugging average and .563 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 16 RBI with 25 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 4 sacrifices, and 4 stolen bases.

Josh Taber has batted .366 this season with a .387 slugging average and a .491 OBP. He's scored 30 runs and 19 RBI with 32 singles, 2 doubles, 6 sacrifices, and 23 stolen bases.

Joey Montgomery is batting .351 with a .443 slugging average and a .457 OBP. He's scored 3 runs and 21 RBI with 27 singles, 6 doubles, 1 home run, 1 sacrifice, and 2 stolen bases.

Tyler McCallie is sitting at .339 batting, and .542 slugging, with a .473 OBP. He's scored 20 runs and 11 RBI with 13 singles, 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 9 stolen bases.

Rhett Rutledge has batted .339 this season with a .523 slugging average and .471 OBP. He's scored 34 runs and 20 RBI with 24 singles, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 2 home runs, 7 sacrifices, and 20 stolen bases.

Riley Rutledge has batted .333 this season with a .333 slugging average and .600 OBP. He's scored 2 runs and 1 RBI with 1 single.

Treyce Tolbert holds a .314 batting average, .392 slugging average, and .462 OBP He's scored 25 runs and 21 RBI with 26 singles, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run, 5 sacrifices, and 10 stolen bases.

Ty Fain holds a .282 batting average, a .308 slugging average, and a .451 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 8 RBI with 9 singles, 2 doubles, 2 stole bases, and 4 sacrifices.

Jake Terry has batted .276 this season with a .483 slugging average and .408 OBP. He's scored 9 runs and 10 RBI on 8 singles, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 2 sacrifices, and 5 stolen bases.

Southwestern Christian University-signee Trevor Tolbert has batted .244 this season for a .308 slugging average and .366 OBP. He's scored 10 runs and 17 RBI on 15 singles, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 sacrifices, and 1 stolen base.

Mack Thompson holds a .237 batting average, .395 slugging average, and .396 OBP. He's scored 16 runs and 4 RBI with 5 singles, 3 doubles, 1 home run, and 5 stolen bases.

Brock Youngblood has a .200 batting average, a .200 slugging average, and a .200 OBP. He has scored 1 runs and 2 RBI on 1 single.

Malachi Walton has batted .167 with a .167 slugging average and a .375 OBP. He's scored 17 runs and 2 RBI with 1 single and 5 stolen bases.

Kameron Adcock has racked up a .167 batting average, a .167 slugging average, and a .286 on-base percentage. He's scored 3 runs, hit 1 single, and stolen 1 base this season.

Rhett Rutledge leads Sandites to run-rule victory over Bartlesville

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School varsity baseball team (21-14) won their regular season finale with an 11-1 run-rule payback victory over Bartlesville (11-21). The Bruins had previously scored a pair of one-run upsets over the Sandites earlier this month while the Sand Springs team was in a bit of a slump.

The boys went 13-4 in March and at one point racked up a six-game win streak. This past month has been tougher for the Sandites, who won only eight of eighteen games and dropped five in a row before the Bartlesville win. The dry spell appears to be over for the Sandites, and just in time, as they nearly upset the top team in the district in a nail-bitter 11-10 loss to Owasso (24-6) on Monday and notched a significant moral victory in the Bartlesville win, setting themselves up well in district standings at fourth.

Rhett Rutledge (2-1) got it done on the mound and at the plate, pitching all six innings for the win, giving up only three hits and six walks against three strikeouts. He picked up two runs and batted in two runners on two singles. 

Bartlesville took the initial lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by Trevor Doyle to score Garrett Meidl, but it would be their only run of the game.

The Sandites tied it up quickly in the bottom of the first as Rutledge picked up his first run of the game on a sacrifice by Joey Montgomery.

The big go-ahead inning came in the bottom of the second as Senior Southwestern Christian University signee Trevor Tolbert singled in Hunter Greathouse, who doubled. Rutledge reached on an error to bring in Jake Ward and Tolbert, and Tyler McCallie scored on a passed ball for the 5-1 advantage.

In the third inning Greathouse was hit by pitch and advanced to third on a double by Ward before coming home on a throw. Ward scored on a sacrifice grounder by Tolbert to push the edge to 7-1.

In the sixth inning, Malachi Walton was hit by pitch, Tolbert reached on error, and Ty Fain singled to load the bases. Walton came home on a single by Rutledge, Tolbert and Fain both scored on a double by Josh Taber, and Rutledge scored the mercy-rule run on a sacrifice fly by Montgomery.

The Regional Tournament will be held sometime next week, with Regional assignments to be issued on Monday. Photo galleries from this season can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Baseball

Union wins two of three in Regional Series against Sand Springs

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 14 ranked Charles Page High School slow pitch softball team (12-7) scored a pair of upsets at 9-2 and 9-3 over No. 10 Elk City (23-15) and No. 4 Union (24-6) respectively, before falling 1-0 in their second game against the Redskins. The Thursday afternoon Regional playoff was a double-elimination bracket, and Union rebounded from their first loss to the Sandites with a low-scoring game that saw only five total hits from the two teams. 

Game two against Union was far different from the first game which had twenty hits between the two teams. Senior Northeastern State University-signee Jessica Schuler (8-4) got the loss on the mound, despite giving up zero earned runs, and only two hits and two walks. 

The lone run of the game came on a sacrifice fly from Mackenzie Addis to score Jackie Self, who reached on an error in left field. The Lady Sandites stranded a total of four runners over the course of the game in their only shutout loss of the season. 

With each team holding a 2-1 tournament record, the Redskins avenged their earlier loss with a 16-2 payback for the Regional Title and a ticket to State. 

The host team took a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first as Sammy Ibison and Lexy Dobson each singled, then scored on an error in left field that allowed Addis to reach second. Another error on the same play, this time at third base, allowed Addis to reach third. She soon after came home on a throw. Toni Weese doubled to bring in Paige Boyle, who also doubled.

Sydney Pennington hit her second homer of the day to get the Sandites on the board, but it would be the last run the girls scored till the bottom of the fourth.

Union added two more in the top of the fifth as Britton Clark doubled in Dobson and Brylee Dickinson sacrificed to bring in Addis. 

The top of the fourth is where the Redskins effectively put the win out of reach for the Sandites, racking up another six runs with four coming on errors. Kimi Presnell drew a walk for the Sandites and came in on a double by Madelyn Blair, but Union caked on three more runs in the top of the fifth. The Lady Sandites failed to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth and Union won it by mercy rule to end the season for the Sandites. 

Schuler got the loss on the mound in game two, with Stella Millican (4-3) pitching the final inning.

Photo galleries from Regionals and the rest of the season can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Slow-Pitch-Softball

Sydney Pennington scores 2 runs, 6 RBI, and a homer in 9-3 playoff victory over Union

By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No. 14 ranked Charles Page High School slow pitch softball team (12-5) traveled to Union Intermediate High School Thursday for the Regional Championship and won their first game 9-2 over No. 10 Elk City (23-14), then dominated the host team 9-3. Senior Northeastern State University signee Jessica Schuler (7-3) pitched both wins, giving up seven hits and five walks in the win over Union.

The No. 4 Redskins (22-6) started off with a 2-0 advantage in the first inning. Sammy Ibison reached base on an error at short stop to start the game, but Oklahoma State University-commit Sydney Pennington made up for it on the next play, outing the runner at second in a double play to clear the bases. Mackenzie Addis reached base on balls and was batted in on a double by Aaliyah Villalobos, who in turn scored on a single by Paige Boyle.

Sand Springs evened things up in the bottom of the inning as Kennedy "Goose" Salyers singled and came in on a home run by Pennington, her tenth this season. Union reclaimed the lead in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly by Jackie Self to score Toni Weese, and held it till the bottom of the fifth when the Sandites put the game in the bag.

Freshman Jacie Taber reached on an error, Salyers and Kimi Presnell singled to load the bases, and Pennington brought the lot home with a three-run go-ahead single. Madelyn Blair scored Pennington on a double to make it 6-3.

The Lady Sandites iced the cake in the bottom of the sixth as Rachel Blair doubled in Kellie Johnson and scored on a sacrifice by Taber. Salyers hit a single and scored on yet another single from Pennington for the 9-3 lead.

The Sand Springs vs Union photo gallery can be found at https://sanditepride.smugmug.com/2016-Slow-Pitch-Softball/42816-Sand-Springs-vs-Union/

Lady Sandite Basketball advances in playoffs with 46-43 win over Booker T Washington

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Story and photo by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The No.11 ranked Charles Page High School girls' basketball team (17-8) is still alive in their playoff run after a close 46-43 win over No. 13 Booker T Washington (16-10) Thursday night in Catoosa. 

The girls won their first Regional game against Union last week, guaranteeing their advancement to Area, but lost in the Regional Championship to No.4 Sapulpa (22-3), 48-40, meaning they have to take the long way to State by winning two straight at Area. Their win over Booker T puts them halfway there, now they just need to defeat No. 9 Owasso (19-7) Saturday at 1:30 PM.

Junior Sydney Pennington led the scoring effort for the Sandites with 14 points, followed by sophomore Gloria Mutiri who had a double-double with ten points and twelve rebounds. 

The Lady Sandites took an early 11-3 lead before trailing off defensively toward the end of the first quarter, at one point allowing the Hornets to snag six straight offensive rebounds, and their opponent took a 17-13 lead early in the second. 

Pennington tied things back up with a pair of layups and it was a back and forth affair from there. Rhys Anderson hit a two to take the lead back for Booker T. Sandite freshman Destiny Johnson missed a two but Mutiri rebounded and tied things up at 19-19. Anderson sank another shot, followed by Mutiri, then freshman Holly Kersgieter snatched a half court steal and hit the layup with five seconds left in the half to take the lead back for the Sandites.

Kambri Davis hit a three, followed by Taylor Sells with a two and it was the Hornets with a 26-23 lead to start the second half. Pennington, Kersgieter, and Mutiri went on a 6 point run for Sand Springs to take back the lead for a while, but the Hornets found 5 points of their own to carry a 33-31 advantage into the final stanza.

The lead exchanged hands five times in the fourth period, but Sand Springs emerged to a definitive lead off a run from Johnson who sank a field goal and three free throws to give her team a 44-39 advantage. Sells hit a two and added a free throw and it continued to come down to the wire as both teams were in the double bonus with 1:16 to play. 

Aiya El-Hassan had a chance to tie things up from the charity stripe, but missed her second shot and senior Cierra Scott was fouled on the rebound and sent to the line to score the final points of the night.

If the girls can overcome Owasso on Saturday, they'll advance to the State Championship tournament for the first time in half a decade. It won't be easy. The girls defeated the Lady Rams 51-48 earlier this season, but the last time the two teams met it was Owasso with a 53-48 victory.

Come out and support your girls Saturday afternoon at 1:30 at Catoosa High School, right up the road from the Hard Rock Casino! It's been an incredible year of State Championship appearances from Sand Springs, let's rally around our incredible athletes and send another team to the top!