Sandites come from behind for 8-7 victory over Spartans, McCallie and Mongtomery hit homers

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Sandites (15-3) and Spartans (12-3) went head to head for the third time in under a week in a district match up at Sand Springs Tuesday night. The Charles Page High School baseball team trailed for most of the game, frequently tying it up, but didn't take the lead till the final pitch of the game. 

In the Bixby Tournament Friday night the Spartans defeated the Sandites 4-1 but Sand Springs retaliated with a 10-6 victory for the tournament championship Saturday night to end the Spartans' ten-game win streak. 

In Monday night's home game the Sandites gave up a 2-0 lead to the Spartans in the first and had to fight from bottom for the duration of the game. Jake Ward got the start on the mound and hit the first two batters with the pitch to walk them. Tanner Griffin sacrificed to bring home Gavin Staton and Cade Cavalli sacrificed to score Breydon Daniel before the Sandites fielded a third out.

The Sandites returned the favor in the bottom of the inning as Sandite of the Week Rhett Rutledge reached on a fielder's choice and Hunter Greathouse singled to bring him home. Then, Greathouse came home on a passed ball to even the score.

The second inning was a no-hitter for both teams, but Bixby reclaimed their lead in the third as Staton doubled on an error and came home on a Daniel single. Once more the Sandites weren't content to leave an inning in the hole and Rutledge doubled before coming in on a wild pitch. 

In the top of the fourth AJ Parker and Braden Hackler both singled and Staton walked to load the bases. Daniel struck out but Griffin singled to score Parker for the 4-3 lead. Ward struck out Cavalli and Nic Swanson as well. 

Tyler McCallie hit his first home-run of the season in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game back up but once more the Spartans reclaimed the lead as Jeremy Goodwin stole home in the next inning. This time the Sandites would fail to land a hit and remained in the hole going into the sixth.

Daniel lined out to Rutledge at short to start the sixth and Griffin grounded out to Rutledge. Then, Cade Cavalli went to bat and drew a walk. He survived three pickoff attempts before coming in on a double by Swanson, who in turn came in on a single by Matthew Henderson for a 7-4 lead.

The Sandites had their most impressive inning yet in the bottom of the sixth and Trevor Tolbert singled and came in on a Joey Montgomery home run. Mack Thompson singled and took second on a passed ball. Rutledge and Ward were both hit by pitch to load the bases. Thompson came home on a balk with Greathouse at bat to tie things up 7-7 but Greathouse flied out to right field to strand the runners. 

Brock Youngblood relieved Ward on the mound and pitched a no-hitter and it came down to the bottom of the seventh. Taber was walked, Trevor Tolbert flied out, Montgomery singled, McCallie grounded out, and Thompson walked to load the bases with two outs. Treyce Tolbert came to bat and was walked to score Taber for the win.

The Sandites return to action tomorrow evening, once more at Bixby. 

Sandite of the Week: Rhett Rutledge

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

This week Sandite Pride recognizes Charles Page High School senior Rhett Rutledge as Sandite of the Week for his outstanding performance at the Bixby Tournament this past weekend. 

Rutledge averaged .267 batting, .467 slugging, with a .368 OBP, and made his season pitching debut with a Championship round victory over the host team. 

The Sandites (12-3) won their fifth straight in the tournament opener 8-5 against Hilldale (6-9). Rutledge landed the first hit of the game with a triple and came in on the next play with a sacrifice fly from Jake Ward for the first run. He was walked on his next plate appearance and scored once more on a Hunter Greathouse double. He reached first on an error in the bottom of the sixth and scored his third run of the game on a Greathouse single. 

Their sixth straight victory was a come-from-behind extra-inning win over Union. Rutledge landed one hit in the top of the fifth and stole second on a passed ball, but was left stranded. The Sandites won that one 7-6 in eight innings. 

He failed to land a hit in the next two games (a 4-1 loss to Bixby and an 8-0 run-rule shut out of Life Prep Academy), but batted .667 in the finale and won the game on the mound. He struck out one in the first and gave up an unearned double. He grounded out on a sacrifice to score Jake Terry for a 4-0 lead in the top of the second. 

He scooped a grounder to put out a batter at first in the bottom of the second and struck out another for a no-hitter. He sacrificed again to score Treyce Tolbert in the top of the third, but gave up a run in the bottom of the inning. 

He pitched a no-hitter in the fifth, striking out one and putting out another at first on a grounder. He hit a leadoff line drive single in the top of the sixth and was batted in by Josh Taber. By the bottom of the sixth the Spartans were pushing hard for a rally and loaded the bases. Rutledge gave up one single, two runs, one earned run, and two walks before being relieved by Brock Youngblood. The Sandites went on to win the game 10-6 for the tournament championship.

Sandites win Bixby Tournament with 10-6 victory over Spartans

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Story by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School baseball team (14-3) got a rematch against the Spartans (12-2) Saturday evening at Bixby. The tournament was a five team pool and despite a Friday night loss to the Spartans, the Sandites got to play them in the Championship round as they defeated the other three teams.

The Spartans rode a ten-game win streak after beating Union Saturday afternoon while the Sandites had just rebounded from their 4-1 Friday night loss with an 8-0 run-rule shutout of Life Prep Academy.

Christian Byford got the start on the mound for the Spartans and was replaced before he had pitched even a third of an inning after walking Treyce Tolbert, Hunter Greathouse, and Jake Ward consecutively. David Ryan took over on loaded bases and Greathouse came back to bat, replaced on base by Malachi Walton. The new pitching change seemed to work as Greathouse was struck out for only the second time this season. Josh Taber was up next and scored Treyce Tolbert on a single-by-error, but Ward was put out at second. Trevor Tolbert went to bat and Walton stole home, then Taber stole second and third on passed balls and came home on Tolbert’s single. Tolbert would be left stranded as Joey Montgomery flied out to center, but the Sandites had successfully taken a 3-0 lead.

Rhett Rutledge (1-0) went to the mound for the Sandites in his first time pitching this season. Gavin Staton grounded out to third, Cade Cabbiness struck out swinging. Breydon Daniel doubled on a McCallie error in left field and stole third on a passed ball but was ultimately left stranded as Cade Cavalli flied out to left.

McCallie was up next to bat for the Sandites and flied out to left field, but University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry slid into second on a close double and reached third on a Treyce Tolbert single-by-error. Rutledge grounded out to Ryan on a sacrifice scoring Terry and the Sandites took a 4-0 lead. Ward was hit by pitch and Greathouse drew a walk to load the bases, but Taber flied out to left field and the Spartans came in to bat.

The bottom of the second was a no hitter as Nic Swanson grounded out to Rutledge, Jeremy Goodwin flied out to left field, and Zac Tryon struck out swinging. Trevor Tolbert struck out for the first Sandite at-bat, but Montgomery was walked, McCallie singled, and Terry singled to load the bases. Treyce Tolbert singled to bring home Montgomery and McCallie scored on a Rutledge sacrifice. Ward walked to load the bases but all three would be left stranded as Greathouse flied out to short.

Staton and Matthew Henderson both flied out to Taber in right field but Daniel doubled on an error and reached third on a Tanner Griffin single. Cavalli smacked a center field fly and Daniel came home shortly before Griffin was outed at second to end the inning 6-1.

The Spartans were finally beginning to make plays and pitched a no hitter in the top of the fourth as Taber grounded out to first, Trevor Tolbert struck out, and Montgomery flied out to right field. Cavalli doubled to left field and Cole Parker singled but Parker was put out at second on a fielder’s choice.

Ryan pitched another no-hitter inning in the top of the fifth, but the Sandites were equally savvy on defense and Rutledge struck out Staton, Ward caught out Henderson on a popup, and Rutledge scooped a grounder from Daniel and put him out at first.

Rutledge hit a leadoff line drive single in the top of the sixth, followed by Ward who was hit by pitch, and Greathouse who reached on an error to load the bases. Taber came in to clean up and batted in Rutledge and Ward with a single. Trevor Tolbert flied out to left field and Greathouse was put out at home, but Montgomery was hit by pitch and McCallie doubled to score Taber and Montgomery. Terry flied out in foul territory but the Sandites had furthered their lead to 10-1.

Griffin singled to start things off for the Spartans and the Sandites helped him along with a series of errors. Cavalli reached on a McCallie error, Swanson reached on an error by Ward to load the bases, and Griffin scored on an error by Trevor Tolbert. Goodwin was walked and Parker sacrificed to score Cavalli. Tryon walked to load the bases with one out and Staton came to bat. Brock Youngblood (1-0) relieved Rutledge on the mound. Staton hit a grounder to short and was outed in a double play to second and Sand Springs came in to bat the top of the seventh with a 10-3 lead.

Treyce Tolbert grounded out to second but Rutledge doubled to center field and Ward drew a walk. Greathouse flied out in foul territory, Taber walked to load the bases, but Trevor Tolbert struck out and it came down to the bottom of the seventh for the Spartans.

Henderson, Daniel, and Griffin all singled to load the bases with no outs. Cavalli brought in Henderson and Daniel with a double to the center field fence. Swanson drew a walk to reload the bases. Goodwin flied out to right field but scored Griffin to make it 10-6. Parker was next to bat and was put out at first on a double play along with Cavalli at home.

The Sandites dealt the Spartans a triple insult, ending their ten-game win streak, beating them at their own tournament, and paying them back for their previous night's loss. The Spartans will have their chance to even the score this upcoming week, however, as the two teams will meet at Sand Springs Monday night and at Bixby Tuesday night. 

Sandite Baseball run-rules Life Prep Academy 8-0 in Bixby Tournament

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Hunter Greathouse pitched no hits in his second win of the season

Story by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

The Charles Page High School baseball team (13-3) rebounded from their Friday night loss to Bixby (11-1) with an 8-0 run-rule shutout over Life Prep Academy (1-5) Saturday morning.

Hunter Greathouse (2-0) got the win on the mound for the Sandites, pitching three innings with no hits and seven strikeouts. Jake Ward (4-0) pitched two innings in relief and struck out two while giving up three hits.

Greathouse had his hand in all three first inning outs, striking out two and catching a foul for the third.

Treyce Tolbert drew a walk for the first Sandite plate appearance, then stole his way to third before coming in on a passed ball. Ward was hit by pitch and found his way in for a run on another passed ball and curtesy runner Malachi Walton (running for Greathouse, who walked) scored on a Josh Taber single. 

Taber was put out at second, Tyler McCallie singled and stole second with Ty Fain at bat, and Fain singled to bring McCallie in. Cody Motes replaced Fain on base and promptly stole second on a passed ball and Jake Terry walked and both stole bases. Motes scored on a passed ball and Treyce Tolbert walked to load the bases. The runners would be left stranded, however, as Rutledge flew out to left field and the Sandites went to field with a 5-0 lead.

Noah Roberts flied out to left field to start the second. Ramon Hart was hit by pitch and stole second, but was stranded as Greathouse struck out two more batters.

Ward hit a close grounder to second and barely beat the ball to base for a single. Greathouse flied out to center to advance Ward. Walton made his first plate appearance of the season and grounded out to first. McCallie was hit by pitch and Fain singled to left field to score Ward. McCallie stole home on a passed ball and Terry walked but was stranded as Mack Thompson flied out and Life Prep came in to bat trailing 7-0.

Jaivin Burrows grounded out to Greathouse, AJ McDaniel struck out looking, but Beckford reached first on a dropped third strike. He would be left stranded, however, as Ricardo Seymour lined out to short. Motes and Rutledge both grounded out in the bottom of the third and Ward struck out in the first runless inning.

Ward relieved Greathouse on the mound to start the fourth. Myron Johnson grounded out to short, but Roberts singled for the first hit of the game for the Fire then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kohei Furukawa grounded out to advance Roberts, but the runner was stranded on third as Malich Barry flied out to short.

Greathouse walked to start the bottom but was caught stealing and Walton struck out. McCallie also walked but was stranded as Fain flied out to center.

In the fifth Tristen Shanelec singled to third and made his way around the bases with Burrows at bat, but was put out at home on a fielder’s choice. McDaniel and Beckford both struck out and the Sandites were back at bat. Terry hit a double to the left field fence and Thompson took a pitch to the head to advance to first. Both stole bases with Motes at bat and Motes singled to score Terry and win the game by run-rule.

The Sandites are now 3-1 in the tournament after dropping their first loss in seven games to host Bixby last night. They will next play either at 4:00 or 6:30 depending on the results of the Bixby vs. Union game at 1:30.

Spartans end Sandite win streak with 4-1 tournament victory

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Story by: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

It come down to the wire for the Charles Page High School baseball team (12-3) as they trailed 4-1 coming in to bat the top of the seventh. Jake Terry and Treyce Tolbert were put out at first. Rhett Rutledge drew a walk and Jake Ward stepped up to bat. The first pitch was a foul, then came two balls and another foul. The slugger grounded out to third on the next pitch and the Bixby Spartans (11-1) had successfully sabotaged the Sandites’ six-game win streak.

Joey Montgomery (0-2) got the loss on the mound for the Sandites, giving up 7 hits, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs.

Treyce Tolbert was first to bat for the Sandites and was outed on a center field fly. Rutledge hit a popup to first, but Ward finally got the Sandites on base with a walk. Sandite of the Week Hunter Greathouse smacked a long line drive to right field for a single, but both runners were stranded as Josh Taber tipped a grounder to first and was put out.

Gavin Staton singled to center for the Spartans and came in on a Trevor Tolbert error as Cade Cabbiness grounded past second for a single. Breydon Daniel had secured the single but got greedy on and went for two and was put out by Rutledge. Cade Cavalli reached first and Cabbiness scored on a Greathouse error, but Nic Swanson grounded out to third to end the inning with a 2-0 Spartan advantage.

Trevor Tolbert drew a walk to start the second. Montgomery hit a pop fly to foul territory, Tyler McCallie flew out to right field, and Tolbert was caught stealing second to bring Bixby in to bat. Cole Henderson lined out to Rutledge at short and Jeremy Goodwin and Cole Parker both flied out to Taber in right field.

Terry led off the third for the Sandites and failed to beat his bunt to first. Treyce Tolbert struck out and Rhett Rutledge flied out to short for another scoreless inning. Montgomery struck out the first batter swinging and Cabbiness grounded out to Rutledge. Daniel singled but was put out at second on a fielder’s choice.

Sand Springs finally started to put men on the bases in the bottom of the third as Ward was walked and Greathouse hit a deep single into center field. Ward was picked off at second, however, and Taber sacrificed to advance Greathouse to second. The pressure was on Trevor Tolbert and he didn’t disappoint, scoring Greathouse on a double. Montgomery was hit by pitch, but the two runners were stranded as McCallie hit a pop fly to right field.

Cavalli singled on a leadoff grounder and Swanson reached on a combination fielder’s choice and error.  Henderson singled with a full count as Greathouse outed Cavalli at third. Goodwin reached on a controversial error call to load the bases and Swanson reached home on a passed ball after Parker flied out to center. Staton flied out next and the Sandites came in trailing 3-1.

Treyce Tolbert and Ward were walked but Terry was outed on a pop foul fly and Greathouse lined out to right field to bring in the bottom of the fifth. Cabbiness walked and Daniel singled to right. Griffin sacrificed to score Cabiness and the Spartans took a 4-1 lead. Cavalli reached on a fielder’s choice and Henderson lined out to center to usher in the sixth.

Taber grounded out to second and Trevor Tolbert hit a pop foul fly. Montgomery doubled but McCallie flied out to center leaving the Sandites just one inning to try and tie things up. Goodwin flied out to McCallie in left field. Paker tripled on a centerfield line but was picked off leaving Staton at bat with a full count and he was promptly struck out. But the seventh was no kinder to the Sandites and the Spartans came away with their ninth-straight win.

The Sandites will next take on Life Prep Academy Saturday at 11:00. 

Baseball mid-season stats update: Greathouse, Tolbert, combine for 24 runs and 17 RBI; 4 pitchers remain undefeated

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By: Scott Emigh, Editor-in-Chief

We're three weeks into the high school baseball season and the Sandites (10-2) are on fire with a six-game win streak after coming from behind to top Union 7-6 in extra innings last night. As the boys head into round three at the Bixby Tournament tonight, here's where they stand as individuals.

Hunter Greathouse has played all 12 games this season and is the current Sandite of the Week. He holds a .556 batting average with 9 runs, 13 singles, 6 doubles, 1 triple, and 10 RBI. He has a .667 slugging average, a .600 OBP, 2 sacrifices, and has only been struck out 1 time in 36 at-bats. Fielding, he has 7 putouts and 17 assists, typically playing shortstop or third base. He's got a 1-0 record on the mound with a .730 ERA, a 1.273 WHIP, and throws 58% strikes. He's faced 50 batters over 11 innings, given up only 7 hits, 7 walks, 8 earned runs, and has struck out 22.

Jake Ward has played all 12 games this season and holds a .484 batting average with 12 singles, 2 doubles, 1 home run, 5 runs, and 7 RBI from 31 at-bats. He has a .613 slugging average, a .610 OBP, and 3 sacrifices. Alternating between pitching and first-base, he has 30 put outs and 7 assists. He has a 4-0 record on the mound with a .19 ERA, a 1.143 WHIP, and throws 56% strikes. He's faced 84 batters over 21 innings, given up 14 hits, 10 walks, 4 earned runs, and has struck out 25. 

Joey Montgomery has played all 12 games this season and holds a .462 batting average with 15 singles, 3 doubles, 5 RBI, and 1 run. He has a .538 slugging average, a .488 OBP, and has 78 putouts and 7 assists, primarily as catcher. He has a 0-1 pitching record with a 1.00 ERA, a 1.5 WHIP, and throws 55% strikes. He's faced 31 batters over 6 innings, given up 5 hits, 4 walks, only 1 earned run, and has struck out 4.

Rhett Rutledge has played all 12 games this season and holds a .314 batting average with 8 singles, 1 double, 2 triples, 9 runs, and 4 RBI on 35 at-bats. He has a .457 slugging average, a .455 OBP, and 4 sacrifices. Fielding primarily as a shortstop, he has 17 putouts and 20 assists.

Treyce Tolbert has played 12 games this season and holds a .382 batting average with 11 singles, 1 double, 1 home run, 15 runs, and 7 RBI. He has a .471 slugging average, a .533 OBP, 1 sacrifice, and 19 putouts in center field. 

University of Oklahoma-commit Jake Terry has played 11 games this season and holds a .143 batting average with 1 single, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 run, and 3 RBI on 21 at-bats. He has a .286 slugging average, a .280 OBP, and 2 sacrifices. Fielding, he has 11 putouts and 2 assists. He holds a 4-0 record pitching with 1 save, a .100 ERA, a .850 WHIP, and throws 45% strikes. He's faced 93 batters over 20 innings, given up 22 hits, 15 walks, only 2 earned runs, and has struck out 21. 

Southwestern Christian University-signee Trevor Tolbert has played 11 games this season and is a former Sandite of the Week. He holds a .308 batting average with 5 singles, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 runs, and 11 RBI from 26 at-bats. He has a .461 slugging average, a .500 OBP, and 3 sacrifices. As second baseman he has 14 putouts and 12 assists.

Mack Thompson has played 11 games this season and holds a .167 batting average with 2 doubles and 7 runs. He has a .333 slugging average, a .286 OBP, and 3 putouts in left field. 

Ty Fain has played 11 games this season and holds a .250 batting average with 4 hits, 4 runs, and 2 RBI on 16 at-bats. He has a .313 slugging average and a .429 OBP with 2 sacrifices. Fielding, he has 10 putouts in left field.

Josh Taber has played 11 games this season and holds a .524 batting average with 11 singles, 7 runs, and 8 RBI on 21 at-bats. He has a .524 slugging average, a .643 OBP, 3 sacrifices, and has only been struck out once. Fielding, he has 35 putouts in right field. 

Gunnar Phillips has played in 7 games this season and holds a .200 batting average with 2 singles and 4 runs with 1 RBI. He has a .200 slugging average and a .529 OBP with 1 sacrifice. 

Tyler McCallie has played 5 games this season and holds a .545 batting average with 5 singles, a double, and 6 runs on 11 at-bats. He has a .636 slugging average and a .545 OBP.

Josh Cordell has played and pitched 4 games this season and has an 0-1 record on the mound. He's faced 73 batters over 15 innings, given up 20 hits, 9 walks, 5 earned runs, and has struck out 10. He throws 42% strikes, has a .333 ERA and a 1.933 WHIP.

Kameron Adcock has played in 3 games this season, all at the Best of the West tournament in Phoenix, and has scored 2 runs with a .250 OBP. As catcher, he has 4 put-outs and 2 assists.

Riley Rutledge has played 2 games this season and has scored 1 run and 1 single on 2 at-bats for a .500 slugging average and a .500 OBP.

Brock Youngblood has played 2 games this season and has 3 put-outs and 2 assists. He pitched his first game yesterday against Hilldale and got the win with a .43 ERA, a 1.143 WHIP, and threw 54% strikes. He gave up 5 hits, 3 walks, and 3 earned runs over 7 innings and faced 31 batters and struck out 4. 

Cody Motes has played in 1 game this season and scored 2 runs as a courtesy runner against Notre Dame Prep. 

Malachi Walton played his first game last night against Union and tied the game up as a pinch runner to force extra innings where Sand Springs found the win.